My purpose is to love the Creative Spirit, to practice and enjoy more fully the Creative Spirit's presence, and to serve as a compassionate change agent – starting with myself – for individuals, organizations, collaborations, and communities that are committed to making the world a better place.
I launched my “encore career” as a consultant and coach, following my retirement in 2016 from 29 years of service at the Atlanta Community Food Bank. I came to the Food Bank in 1987 after co-founding and living in the Open Door Community, one of the first Atlanta region residential communities for the homeless. Prior to that I worked with the United Methodist Church-related Wesley Community Centers developing meals-on-wheels programs in four metro-Atlanta counties and serving as that organization’s first full-time fundraising/ resource developer. I joined the Food Bank as the founding director of Atlanta’s Table, one of the first prepared-food rescue programs in the country. As Atlanta’s Table quickly became a national model, I help lead the creation of FoodChain, a national network of similar programs. I served as FoodChain’s second board chair and was instrumental in helping over 100 other cities create food rescue initiatives throughout the country. Nationally, I continued my leadership on food banking programs as a member of various task forces for Feeding America, the nation’s food bank network.
Between 1997 and 2012, I served as ACFB’s Chief Operating Officer and was instrumental in developing and clarifying its vision for more shared decision-making and developing a systems approach to overall organizational development. I guided strategic planning and implementation and was a key “owners' rep” during the design and construction of the Food Bank’s LEED (green) certified facility. I also leveraged my leadership within the organization development (OD) profession to engage the Organizational Change Alliance and other helpful consultants to help the Food Bank become one of the acknowledged best-managed non-profits in the state of Georgia. In 2007 the Food Bank received the Community Foundation of Greater Atlanta’s prestigious Excellence in Management award for a fourth time. As a skilled consultant and coach, I guided multiple organization “capacity building” initiatives for ACFB partner agencies including strategic planning, board development, fundraising, project management
In 2012, as part of an overall organization restructuring preparing for senior management succession expected in the next decade, my COO position was de-centralized, and I began my role as VP of Community Services. In this new, externally focused role, I guided greater integration of the Food Bank’s growing services to our community. An exciting new “Community Building” initiative inspired and facilitated clusters of partner agencies to work more collaborative to address food insecurity in targeted geographic areas. That work also involved launching seven initiatives in the region to create multi-organization collaborations with health care providers.
As an alumnus of Leadership Atlanta, I served for three years as co-chair of the successful and well-received Community Exposure Day. Finally, I continue to nurture my undergraduate alma mater, Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, FL, I served an eight-year cycle on that school’s alumni board, helping strengthen a relatively young institution build on its national reputation as a top college for making a significant difference in the lives of its students.
In mid 2019 my wife and I moved to Santa Fe, NM, to support our daughter, son-in-law, and two small grandchildren during the touch Covid 19 years. Thanks to virtual/Zoom technology, I remained on several greater Atlanta non-profit Boards, including helping launch a new one: A Home For Everyone In DeKalb, Inc. In 2022 we returned to greater Atlanta and I resumed my coaching and non-profit consulting. I served as Board President for the Georgia Chapter of the Institute of Management Consultants, Treasurer for the Community of Hospitality and Board President for A Home for Everyone In Dekalb.
Finally, GRANDPARENTING again had a GREAT pull on me and wife Carolyn! Here in July 2025 we've moved up to Hadley, Massachusetts to make family closeness our highest priority. I'm remaining on the Boards of AHFEID and COH and will continue some metro Atlanta consulting, But also moving forward on writing my book - Making A Difference From The Second Row - And From The Back And Sides Of the Room - and seeing more "most beautiful places in the World. All possible due to how my own "succession planning" is playing out.
