Hosted by Adam Wozniak and Darren Parkinson
Brent Parkinson / Imbera Foodservice
Commercial Director
Brent Parkinson started as a simple farmer’s son in Zimbabwe. He survived two civil wars, and has traveled to more than 150 countries. Brent is now the Commercial Director for Imbera Foodservice. Imbera provides commercial refrigeration around the world.
UHY Advisors, Inc. is one of the nation’s largest professional services firms in the U.S., delivering financial, tax and business consulting services to companies ranging from mid-sized to the Fortune 500. The firm’s innovative Management & Technology Consulting practice provides a one-stop solution for a company’s financial and operational functions, with a full suite of services to transform a company’s performance and profitability.
Frank Fenello is managing director of the UHY Atlanta office, and leads the national management consulting practice. He has more than 20 years of experience in management and professional consulting in the finance, audit and accounting professional services industries. Follow Frank on LinkedIn
Kevin Sharpton is a Staff Consultant with UHY Advisors’ Accounting Automation group, providing a wide range of process optimization and finance transformation solutions for UHY clients. He joined UHY in February 2016, and focuses on business process improvement, strategy, project management, and the implementation and optimization of BlackLine software. Follow Kevin on LinkedIn.
Chad Creasman is a Staff Consultant with UHY Advisors’ Internal Audit, Risk & Compliance group, providing a wide range of IT and accounting controls-related auditing and consulting services. His primary focus is providing clients with service organization controls (SOC) attestations, SOX IT compliance over internal controls related to financial reporting, cybersecurity risk management and PCI compliance. Follow Chad on LinkedIn.
June Choi is a Manager with UHY Advisors’ Accounting Automation group, providing a wide range of process optimization and finance transformation solutions for UHY clients. She joined UHY in June 2008, and focuses on business process improvement, strategy, project management, and the implementation and optimization of BlackLine software. As a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), she serves clients nationwide, bringing expertise in financial and business consulting. Follow June on LinkedIn.
Cheerag Jani is a Manager with UHY Advisors’ Management & Technology Consulting group, providing portfolio, program, and project management; digital transformation services; and operational and financial process optimization. He joined UHY in June 2015, and has seven years of project management and professional consulting experience in various industries. Follow Cheerag on LinkedIn.
Landry Tientcheu was born in Châtenay Malabry, a town in the Paris suburb of Hauts-de-Seine. He lived there until the age of 4 years and then moved to Douala, Cameroon where he spent his childhood and adolescence. Later, as a young adult, he immigrated to the United States where he graduated as an engineer.
Today he lives in Northern California and serves passionately through engineering design, songwriting and literature. Find out more about Landry on his website. You can also download his music on iTunes, or follow him on Facebook.
WIT Connect is one of Atlanta’s most engaging and interactive events for STEM leaders! For the past 20+ years we’ve auctioned off some of Atlanta’s most highly visible technology executives and raised over $2 million to support the development of young girls and the advancement of women in STEM. WIT Connect is one of the premier fundraising and networking events of the year with over 600 top level executives in the technology field. In addition to our highly anticipated executive auction, it is also an evening where we focus on the mission of WIT. At this event, we highlight our WIT Girls and WIT Campus young women, along with the impact WIT programs has had on their advancement in STEM, which includes scholarship awards.
Vicki Hamilton and Danielle Joiner McPherson
Madison Kenney
Rachel Alston and Keith Sciulli
Jamila Cowan-Wideman and Etienne Batiste
Tim Fraher and David Rodriguez
Linda Hoopes / Resilience Alliance
President
Dr. Linda Hoopes is the Founder and President of Resilience Alliance, an Atlanta-based company that helps leaders increase the resilience and change-readiness of their organizations. She is a licensed industrial-organizational psychologist, and is the author of two books: “Managing Change with Personal Resilience” and the newly-published “Prosilience: Building Your Resilience for a Turbulent World“.
In her spare time she is a musician, sailor, and photographer.
Greice Murphy / Advanced Care Pediatrics
Co-Founder and CEO
Greice Murphy moved to the USA in 2003 to work as a currency trader for a major regional finance firm in Atlanta. She received her BA in Radiology from Ulbra, Brazil and has her Masters in International Business from FGV, Brazil. After working in the finance sector, Greice was asked to help a major retailer navigate its post-recession future working directly with the company’s CEO and CFO. Upon project completion in the retail space, Greice decided to start ACP. Greice, along with two other like-minded partners, founded ACP in 2010 and focused on changing the underserved medically fragile children’s community in Georgia. Passionate about the business and its mission, Greice has led ACP to be the fastest growing Private Home Care company in Georgia, making the INC 5000 list for the first time in 2016. A member of the Entrepreneur Organization (EO), she loves learning and enjoys developing new relationships.
Greice has been married to another entrepreneur and CEO for almost 10 years, and is mom to two beautiful young boys. Greice likes to spend her free time with her family, working out, and traveling around the world, especially back to her roots in Brazil.
Jim Murphy / Advanced Care Pediatrics
Co-Founder
Dr. Kay Kirkpatrick
Dr. Kay Kirkpatrick won a May 16 runoff election for the Georgia Senate District 32 to become
the fifth physician to serve in the current General Assembly. Sen. Kirkpatrick was an orthopedic
surgeon in the Atlanta area for more than 30 years, she served as the co-president of Resurgens
Orthopedics for 12 years, she remains active in the Resurgens Charitable Foundation she
founded, and she is a member of the Medical Association of Georgia’s Medical Reserve Corps –
which is prepared to respond to natural disasters and disease outbreaks in the state. Dr.
Kirkpatrick’s district stretches from east Cobb County to Sandy Springs. She succeeds Sen.
Judson Hill, who ran for the 6th U.S. Congressional District seat that was vacated by Rep. Tom
Price, M.D., who became the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
Dr. Kirkpatrick believes that a lot of important health care issues will be addressed at the state
level regardless of what happens with the American Health Care Act – which recently passed the
U.S. House of Representatives. Sen Kirkpatrick believes that the key health care challenges we
face in Georgia include ensuring that patients who live in rural areas and other underserved
populations have access to the care they need. She also believes that we need to manage the
Medicaid program in a more effective way, including using a more proactive approach to
managing chronic disease. Dr. Kirkpatrick says that, “We also have a big problem with a lack of
competition in both the health insurance and health care delivery arenas in the state. These are
complex problems, but we need to protect patient choice and we need to promote competition in
health care.” Sen. Kirkpatrick also emphasizes that, “We need to take steps to address the
prescription drug abuse and heroin overdose epidemics in the state, which have taken an
especially heavy toll on our young people.” Finally, she believes that the medical profession can
play a key role in helping the state prepare for natural disasters and disease outbreaks, which is
why she volunteered to become a member of the Medical Association of Georgia’s Medical
Reserve Corps.
MAG President Steven M. Walsh, M.D., says that, “The Medical Association of Georgia is
extremely proud of Dr. Kirkpatrick. It is imperative for physicians to have a voice in the state’s
legislative process, so I hope that her election inspires other physicians to run for elected office.”
Skye Estroff / Taste of Atlanta
Marketing and Media Manager
Skye Estroff is the marketing and media manager for Atlanta’s largest food festival, Taste of Atlanta. Skye manages all TV, radio and print media relationships, as well as strategizing and planning all social media. She is an Atlanta native, a University of Georgia graduate and an expert in Atlanta’s best food.
Wes Jones and Jackson Smith / Honeysuckle Gelato
Co-Founder
Founded in 2011 by Jackson Smith, Wes Jones, and Khatera Ballard, Honeysuckle Gelato is a craft gelato manufacturer headquartered in Atlanta. Today, the company has 18 employees and its products can be found in retail locations across the Southeast. Additionally, Honeysuckle Gelato is served in restaurants throughout Atlanta and the company recently opened its first retail location in Ponce City Market. Since launching the Honeysuckle Gelato, the three founders have created more than 250 flavor combinations, their top seller being Sea-Salted Caramel.
Honeysuckle Gelato combines the rich and smooth texture of gelato with the decadent flavors and desserts of the South. All of the company’s gelatos and sorbets are made from scratch in Atlanta and use the finest and freshest local ingredients.
Naomi Green / The Giving Kitchen
Director of Partnerships
As a life-long Atlanta native, Naomi Green is thrilled to join The Giving Kitchen team as Director of Partnerships and Strategic Events. Naomi brings extensive experience and knowledge of the restaurant industry which she’s gained over the past fifteen years. She has engaged in all dimensions of the restaurant business, rising from a server and bartender to senior management and event planning. Most recently, she was the Director of Events & Marketing at Fox Bros Bar-B-Q, where she signficantly contributed to the restaurant’s expansion initiatives. Previously, she was Event & Marketing Manager at the Palm Restaurant in Atlanta. Naomi also worked as a Corporate Trainer around the country and then as Banquet Sales Manager for Maggiano’s Little Italy in Atlanta, Charlotte, and Nashville.
Naomi has seen first hand the devastating impact of unanticipated hardship on Atlanta’s restaurant community. These experiences have motivated her to take on a leadership role in many industry related fundraisers, including launching Charlotte’s Web, The Pinky and the Team Hidi annual benefit events. Additionally, with the International Women’s House, Naomi works to serve immigrant and refugee women and their children who have been victim of domestic violence. She was also the chief organizer of the Palm’s sponsorship of the PGA’s TOUR Championship fundraiser, supporting the athletic engagement in golfing for children from low income families. Throughout these endeavors, Naomi has combined her pratical career experience with the skills obtained through her her studies at Boston University’s College of Communication and Journalism.
Naomi is excited to be able to blend her love for the restaurant community with her commitment to improving the lives of Georgians. She grew up in East Atlanta Village and Little 5 Points, attended the Atlanta Public Schools, and has remained a beloved fan of all things Atlanta. She currently resides near Decatur, and when she’s not out exploring some of Atlanta’s finest culinary hotspots and hidden dives, Naomi enjoys group running, spending time with her friends and family, and playing soccer regularly.
