Booth 61 with Ricky Steele

James Franklin with TechBridge and Austin Dickson with Literacy Action

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James Franklin/TechBridge

James Franklin was named Chief Executive Officer of TechBridge in July 2011 when he transitioned from his position as Chairman of the Board. James’ service to TechBridge started in 2006 as a volunteer. From there he joined the Board, serving as Products and Services Chair, Digital Ball Chair, and Board Vice-Chair before becoming Board Chair.

Prior to joining TechBridge as CEO, James held executive management positions at a number of IT products and services companies. Most recently, James was General Manager for the Enterprise business segment of Omnilink, a software-as-a-service business. He also worked at Avanade, an Accenture company focused on Microsoft solutions, where he ran the Southeast Region, and HP, where he served as General Manager for HP’s US State Government Consulting business unit. Throughout James’ career he has focused on the delivery of top quality IT products and services for leading brands.

James has a MBA from the University of Maryland and BA in Management Information Systems from the University of Georgia. With generations of family history in Georgia, James is honored to have the opportunity to serve the community through TechBridge.

Austin Dickson/Literacy Action

Austin Dickson is the President and CEO of  Literacy Action, Georgia’s largest nonprofit provider of adult basic education. The organization offers free literacy instruction and job-readiness services for adults with low-literacy skills.

Austin previously served as the Director of Philanthropy for Action Ministries, Inc., a statewide, faith-based, homeless services and basic needs organization. Before joining Action Ministries, he worked for The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta on its regional and environmental initiatives.

A Texas native and Texas Christian University graduate, Austin earned master’s degrees from the School of Divinity at The University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and the Candler School of Theology at Emory University, where he was the student body president. He also holds a master’s in public policy from Georgia Tech. He has taught philosophy at Clayton State University since 2008.

Austin serves in a leadership role at the East Lake Family YMCA and at several startup nonprofits, such as the Atlanta Music Project, Community Farmers Markets, Georgia Benefits Counsel, and L’Arche Atlanta. After his tenure as the President of the East Atlanta Community Association (2010-2011), the community received DeKalb County’s Ernest Prather Neighborhood Award, which recognizes best practices in community development. He is a member of the LEAD Atlanta Class of 2012 and the Leadership DeKalb Class of 2013.