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Angie Allen

Angie Allen spent 30 years in the financial services field and was the founding CEO of GLOBALT, Inc., an investment management firm. Prior to that, she was a Vice-President of Prudential-Bache Capital Funding. She is a former director of the Georgia Securities Association and in 1994 was the first female recipient of its Industry Leadership Award.  Ms. Allen is a former director of the Society of International Business Fellows, and a founding member and past president of the Atlanta Association of Women in Securities. Angie was born in Evanston, Illinois, completed her undergraduate work at Northern Illinois University, and received her M.B.A. from Georgia State University (GSU.) In 2000, Angie founded Full Circle Living (FCL), fueled by a basic passion to help “level the playing field” of opportunity. The not for profit’s original mission was to raise awareness and understanding of serious conditions that preclude a high quality of life including economic and health disparities, and lack of education and employment opportunities. Experience and research led FCL to conclude that these disparities won’t be mitigated unless women have an equal say in the allocation of global resources. To promote this message, Angie and her FCL partner, Enid Draluck, published "50-50 Gender Balance - Why We Have To "Get" It and Get It Now." Because of this conviction, Angie was a founding member of The Circle of Sisters, is a member of the Women's Solidarity Society of the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, was a “Woman with Vision” Supporter of the Atlanta Women’s Foundation and is a former member and has served on the board of The International Women’s Forum - Georgia. FCL particularly promotes gender balance in leadership and has been a catalyst in the GSU/J. Mack Robinson College of Business (RCB) WomenLead program for developing female leadership. Angie is especially proud of her role in promoting this program because it tangibly expresses her most cherished beliefs/convictions about the critical role of women leaders in today’s global society/marketplace, and because WomenLead’s success has already attracted the participation of other Colleges within GSU and has received multiple academic awards, it has every potential to become a national model.   Angie is a supporter of Georgia State University, which she believes is uniquely positioned to help “level the playing field” because of the University’s diversity and representation of first-generation college students (like herself.) She serves on the Dean’s Council for GSU’s Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, on the Women Lead Advisory Board, and formerly served on the RCB board and received the 2013 Robinson Alumni Community Service Award. Angie is a past chair of the GSU Foundation (GSUF), past chair of the GSUF Investment Committee, served on the GSU Burning Bright Capital Campaign Committee, and received GSU’s Distinguished Alumnus award in 2016.  Her husband, Sam, has also become a steadfast supporter and they both are greatly inspired by their engagement with extraordinary GSU students.  She has served on the boards of the Emory University Ethics Center, the State YMCA of Georgia, Acción USA/Atlanta, and Crossroads Community Ministries, on the finance committee for Early Learning Property Management, Inc and was a member of Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS).  Angie began to replace statistics with first-hand awareness of social injustice by being part of the FCS Urban Ministries Rotational Capital fund investor group to address the 2008 mortgage meltdown in South Atlanta, by being an inaugural member of the Spark Opportunity initiative of The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta to address disturbing inequality gaps right in her own backyard in Thomasville Heights, and through being a Grady Health System Ambassador and seeing how crucial the extensive indigent care Grady provides is to our region. The reason Angie includes this chronicle of her involvements is because, on reflection, she now believes some of her work and intentions were not-well-informed, because voices from the communities addressed were not guiding the work. This reflection led her to a deep dive into the history of America’s societal systemic racism, particularly against American Indians and descendants of formerly enslaved Black Americans. That, in turn, led to a self-examination of her own unearned “White” privileges that were unfairly distributed to her throughout her life, and she is now committed to putting that right. She wrote about some of this journey in Past Due: Why Reparations to Black Americans and American Indians are Overdue, Featuring One White Woman’s Debt, a book she co-authored and is available at no cost on Kindle. Angie has a long way to go as far as walking her talk, making anti-racism less intellectual, and living in solidarity.

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Thien Vo

Thien Vo is a passionate advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion, hailing from Vietnam and currently residing in Indianapolis, Indiana. A proud graduate of Georgia State University, Thien holds degrees in Computer Information Systems and Managerial Sciences with concentrations in Health Informatics and Data Analytics. As a champion of learning and equal opportunities, she has consistently demonstrated a commitment to making a positive impact. Her dedication to advancing knowledge and fostering inclusivity is exemplified by her achievements as a C200 Scholar and StartUp Ladies Awardee, recognizing outstanding leadership potential and commitment to community. Currently serving as a Senior Advanced Analytics Technologist at Eli Lilly and Company, Thien plays a pivotal role in leading transformative projects that seamlessly integrate technical expertise with creative problem-solving. In addition to specializing in the utilization of historical clinical trial data to enhance trial design and operations, she contributes significantly to strategic initiatives aimed at refining Lilly's Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) efforts. For the past four years, Thien has served as Tech@Lilly's Apprenticeship Program Chair and Owner, overseeing the management of seven apprenticeship programs, including Information Management, Data Science, User Experience (UX), and Cybersecurity. In this role, she has been instrumental in providing upskilling opportunities for Lilly team members globally, working collaboratively with universities to tailor curricula for apprenticeship programs.  Additionally, Thien has played a crucial role in recruiting talent for Lilly at Howard University, actively contributing to the company's commitment to creating a diverse talent pipeline. Notably, she spearheaded the creation of Lilly's first HBCU hackathon, bringing together 107 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in spring 2023 to fostering innovation, diversity, and collaboration within the tech community. In recognition of her exemplary contributions, Thien received the 2020 Lilly Innovator Award (LIA), a testament to her innovative mindset and dedication to driving positive change within the organization. Further underscoring her commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), she was awarded the 2024 Tech@Lilly DEI Award. Thien's passion lies in the realm of business intelligence, where she leverages the power of data analytics to drive continuous improvement in organizational processes. A true trailblazer at the intersection of technology and human-centric solutions, she invites others to join her in shaping a future where innovation and inclusivity go hand in hand. Through her efforts, Thien is not only shaping the landscape of her industry but also actively contributing to the ongoing dialogue surrounding DEI. Her journey from a Vietnamese-born immigrant to a leader in the field stands as a testament to the transformative power of curiosity, diversity, and the pursuit of excellence.

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Sam Allen

Sam Allen began his investment career after receiving an undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University, serving in the U.S. Army Counter-Intelligence Corp and graduating with an MBA from the Harvard Business School.

 

Working for several investment management firms led Allen to co-found Allen & Associates, which was subsequently acquired by United Asset Management, a publicly traded company.

 

In 1990, he co-founded GLOBALT, Inc., an investment management company focusing on U.S. companies with significant global operations. 

Mr. Allen has served on multiple corporate boards and continues to be involved in the Atlanta community through his service on nonprofit boards including over 20 years of service on the Investment Committee of The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, a member of the Grady Ambassadors, as a founding member of the Atlanta Advisory Council of YearUp, on the Board of Directors of Annandale Village, and the Advisory Dean’s Council of the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University. Allen was a long serving board member of the Atlanta Enterprise Center which joined forces with Samaritan House of Atlanta resulting in the Atlanta Center for Self Sufficiency. Mr. Allen has been an integral part of establishing the WomenLead program at the J. Mack Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University and continues to be involved to ensure the future growth of the program.

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Courtney Carmichael

Courtney Carmichael is a Georgia native, data nerd, researcher and novice genealogist. She is also dipping her toes in authorship. In the past, most of Courtney's writings have been related to academic research for different classes where she tailored these writings to focus on topics she cared for and wanted to learn more about like racism, demography, and the criminal justice system.

 

The hope in researching and writing about these issues? For Courtney, it is figuring out the different ways racial justice can come into fruition and aiding in its growth and realization.

 

Whether if it's through hosting racial reconciliation groups and a book club at her church or helping research the history of American Indians and Black Americans in the US to explain why reparations are owed, she wants to share knowledge, facts and stories in hopes of igniting understanding, empathy, and action in people.

Currently, Courtney is the Research Associate II at the GA Health Policy Center.

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Enid Draluck

Enid Draluck began her professional career with a national telecommunications company where she worked with Fortune 100 companies around metro Atlanta. In 1987 Enid left to create the 14th Streatery restaurant and full-service catering business, The Catering Connection, Inc. with her husband. After selling the restaurant and catering company, she established An Extra Hand, a personal concierge service where she worked with Atlanta executives and corporations. For the past 24 years, Draluck has been a partner in Full Circle Living (FCL), designed to “level the playing field”, specifically supporting women and girls locally, nationally, and globally. In 2008, after extensive involvement in the community, educating ourselves through research, and listening to those on the ground doing the work, we continued to narrow the focus of FCL to view organizations and projects through a gender lens, establishing a policy to review everything we do and support with an emphasis on gender balance. The discrimination affecting females, Black Americans, and American Indians was exacerbated in the United States when COVID-19 hit these groups disproportionately hard in 2020; access to quality healthcare, the police killings of Black Americans, and the continued inequity in our society were reinforced for these populations. Examining the history behind this endemic racism and intergenerational trauma unveiled the “real history” of our country that connects us all. Our current work to address this history at FCL revolves around reparations or as we call it, re-redistribution. Draluck has been involved on various levels with many not-for-profits in the Atlanta community. Enid serves as the Auction Chair for the Women’s Resource Center to End Domestic Violence Champions for Change event and past Chair of Movers, Shakers and Changemakers for youthSpark. Enid was the Co-Chair of the CHRIStal Ball for CHRIS180 for four years and is currently Chair of the BE COR-Ageous Bash fundraising event for COR and is a Trustee of the Jewish Women’s Fund of Atlanta and the Education Chair. Enid has served on the IGNITE Across America steering committee, a member of the Women’s Solidarity Society at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights (NCCHR), former Chair of the LGBTQ+ Institute at the NCCHR and the Chair of the Inter-Faith Initiative for the Human Trafficking Institute at the Center. Currently Enid is a member of the Women’s Philanthropy Network at Georgia State University and serves on the Executive Committee and as the Co-Chair of the Education Committee. For years Enid served as a mentor at Georgia State University through the Honors Program and the J. Mack Robinson College of Business and was a catalyst behind the WomenLead program at the J. Mack Robinson College of Business. Enid is also on the Development Committee of Backpack Buddies of Metro Atlanta In 2013, Enid was presented with the BOLD Award from Girls, Inc. and in 2014 received the U.S. Presidential Volunteer Service Award for her work with the U.S. Fund for UNICEF. In 2017 Enid proudly accepted the Community Service Award from CHRIS180 and in 2018 was named an Honorary Alumna of the J. Mack Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University. In 2023 Draluck was named the Woman of Excellence for the United Way of Greater Atlanta. Her academic background is in Journalism, with a Bachelor of Arts from Indiana University. Enid and her husband Jerry have been married for 43 years and have a son, Jeffrey and welcome his fiancé Erica into the family.

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Keionna Thomas

Keionna Thomas is a May 2023 Rutgers University - Newark graduate, with a Bachelor's degree in Marketing, a minor in Social Justice and concentration in Entrepreneurship. Keionna was an Honors Living and Learning Community (HLLC) Scholar where she worked with community members to better understand those around her and how she can create social change. Keionna served as the Community Service Coordinator for Women Business Undergraduate in Leadership Development on its Executive Board. In her junior year, she was accepted as a BOLD Scholar, a program of the Helen Gurley Brown Foundation. Through this program, Keionna grew as a leader and was awarded a fellowship. Keionna has interned with the Panasonic Foundation in their Office of Social Impact and Inclusion, supporting marketing and communications, employee volunteerism, philanthropic giving, and DEI, with the overarching goal of increasing access to STEAM Education. Keionna worked as an intern with KIPP NJ Charter schools, supporting their marketing department with increasing enrollment at their schools and ensuring parents and families remained involved with student life.  Additionally, she served as an assistant in the Rutgers Newark Chancellor's office where she performed research to further the university’s enrollment and retention of students from diverse backgrounds.  Keionna is an avid reader, food fanatic, and enjoys staying active. Upon Keionna’s move to Georgia post-graduation, she looks forward to spending time with her grandparents, exploring her new city, and traveling with friends.  With Keionna’s one-year fellowship through the Helen Gurley Brown Foundation, she will be working with Full Circle Living to gain hands-on experience through research, marketing and communications efforts, and engaging with the community to further develop her skills and understanding of social issues as she enters her career post-graduation.

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