Deborah Miness, co-chair and President, is a retired urban planner whose career coincided with the rise and evolution of the smart growth movement in urban planning, which emphasizes environmental protection, sustainable urban development, preservation of affordable housing, and meaningful civic involvement in community planning. Miness helped chronicle this growing movement as research coordinator of the Lincoln Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she conducted research on emerging growth management programs nationwide. Later she worked at the state, local and regional levels as a planner to implement such programs at the state and local levels. In Georgia, she administered the state's Growth Strategies Program for local governments and led the Blueprints for Successful Communities program as a vice president of the Georgia Conservancy. From 2007 to 2013, Miness served as executive director of the Washington Sustainable Growth Alliance, a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., which promoted sustainable growth and conservation through peer-reviewed recognition programs. A lifelong progressive, Miness has come out of retirement to join the grassroots resistance to protect the democratic values being threatened by the Republican political agenda.
Patrick Thompson, co-chair, and a clean energy entrepreneur, who champions causes for those people and things which don’t often have representation. He holds a B.S. in biology and psychology from Mary Washington College and holds a computer science degree, and studied entrepreneurism at Georgia Institute of Technology, as well as earned an MBA in sustainability from Green Mountain College in Vermont, the top school in the country for sustainability,He received Environmental Leadership Award for improving Smart Grid and is trained in Solar PV and hot water, EVs, LEED AP, Energy Management, as well as being a lighting efficiency professional. Thompson recognizes the dilemma of our time as those with the most learn sustainability and travel to the margins passing it on to growing economies as a best practice.
Marvin Lim, vice-chair, is a civil rights attorney and a product of DeKalb County public schools. Lim joined the progressive movement because, as a kid, he took class field trips to Stone Mountain and the Martin Luther King Jr. Center, and today feels strongly the center is a better representative of the best of Georgia's past, present and future than the other. He earned his B.A. from Emory University, graduating magna cum laude, and his J.D. from Yale Law School, where he was awarded the Benjamin N. Cardozo Prize for moot court. He works in the field of gun violence prevention litigation and advocacy with a number of organizations. Formerly, he served as the legislative counsel for the ACLU of Georgia, lobbying the Georgia General Assembly on religious liberty, equality, privacy, and criminal justice, and as Gruber Fellow at the national office of the ACLU, where he worked on the issue of religious liberty from both a U.S. and transnational perspective, the latter through a project spearheaded by the International Network of Civil Liberties Organizations. Lim was a defendant-intervenor in Georgia v. Holder, a case regarding Georgia voter proof of citizenship law.
Anne Isenhower, communications board member, is an award-winning national media relations consultant with extensive experience planning and implementing successful strategic communications campaigns for global corporate, professional services, nonprofit, consumer and health-care organizations. She provides media relations and crisis communications counsel and support leading to placements in national, international, Georgia and Atlanta media outlets for clients. Isenhower provides media training and media pitching training to organizations and PR agencies. She was previously the senior vice president of media relations at Golin New York, national director of media relations for the American Cancer Society and vice president and global coordinator of the agency's corporate brand media relations program for FleishmanHillard in New York and Atlanta. A longtime liberal with an extensive nonprofit background, Isenhower wants to make the world a better place for her young son and for everyone.
Dr. Dhaval Patel, an immigrant and ICU doctor, serves as Treasurer. He has lived in two countries and everyday interacts with people of different stripes. Though his experiences, Patel has learned human beings wake up every day and pursue the same goals: food, money, freedom, equality, good health, internal peace and love. “Somehow, we have moved away from what unites us towards what divides us. 2017, a year unlike any in recent history, has been a test to that ideology. I am hoping to do my part in providing the humanity a better shot at a better future-one where we have more in common than not. I consider it my prerogative to provide voice to those who don’t have one or are not being heard. I will leave you with a quote from Mahatma Gandhi: ‘Silence becomes cowardice when occasion demands speaking out the whole truth and acting accordingly.’ We can do this. Together.”
Antwan T. Lang is a native and resident of Savannah, Georgia. He is a Licensed Life, Accident & Health Insurance Broker. He currently serves as Chief of Staff to Georgia House Representative and former Savannah Mayor Edna Jackson. Previous to this assignment, he served as a member of the Chatham County Board of Elections, an elected body. A member of 100 Black Men of Savannah, Inc., he also serves on the Keep Savannah Beautiful Advisory Board, the Savannah Cultural Affairs Commission and CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates). He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Savannah Branch NAACP. He is a life member of the Beach Institute African-American Cultural Center of Savannah. Lang is a graduate of Savannah State University with a BA in Liberal Arts and Social Sciences and holds a Master of Public Administration Degree. He proudly serves as a member of the Georgia National Guard.
Lakeshia Poole is an author, speaker and communications consultant. She has always loved a good story. Throughout her 15-year career, her passion for storytelling and getting words just right has remained strong. Whether telling her own thrilling tales or helping businesses and aspiring authors craft their best stories, she believes that words have the power to change the world. Busy executives, thought leaders and entrepreneurs count on her to deliver content that drives brand awareness and the bottom line. Poole has provided strategic marketing and communications solutions to a variety of clients including, Wells Fargo, Nestle, Walmart, Georgia Power, Habitat for Humanity, and CDC. She’s published five books. Her latest title, “Don’t Post That,” is a fun, quirky guided journal that helps people discover healthy self-expression and communication outside of social media. An alumna of The University of Georgia, she graduated with a Bachelor’s of Art in Sociology and a Bachelor’s of Art in Journalism-Public Relations. When she's not dreaming up new story ideas or helping people find the right words, Poole spends time with family or relaxing on her porch reading and sipping coffee.