Brookhaven Rotary at the USO!
Special thanks to Bill Smith and Bryan Katz for coordinating another great day of volunteering at the airport with the USO! Please mark you calendars to join us for our next opportunity on Wednesday, January 30th!
November 7 - Brad Bryant
Brad Bryant serves as Vice President, REACH Georgia, a needs-based mentorship and scholarship program administered by the Georgia Student Finance Authority (GSFA).Prior to coming to GSFA, Bryant served as General Counsel and Executive Director of the Georgia Foundation for Public Education.
Bryant’s experience in school board governance spans over 25 years.Governor Sonny Perdue appointed Bryant to the Georgia Board of Education in 2003 and he served in that role until Governor Perdue appointed him to fill the unexpired term of State School Superintendent Kathy Cox.He served on the DeKalb County School System Board of Education for 12 years, including seven years as chair.Bryant has been an active member of the Georgia School Boards Association (GSBA) and the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) and served as president of both organizations.He continues to serve as a NASBE mentor for new state board members. In 2017, Bryant was recognized nationally by NASBE its Distinguished Service Award.
Bryant is a graduate of Presbyterian College, University of Georgia and Mercer Law School.He clerked for Judge Wilbur D. Owens, U. S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia.He currently is a member of the Board of Trustees of Presbyterian College, the Georgia Supreme Court’s Justice for Children Committee, Voices for Georgia’s Children and the State Bar of Georgia. He has served as a member of Georgia’s Education Reform Commission and Georgia Appleseed Center for Law and Justice.
Bryant is married to Kay, a RTI specialist for DeKalb County Schools.They live in Atlanta and have two grown children and two grandchildren.
November 14 - Cat McAfee
Cat DaCosta McAfee is the Executive Director of LaAmistad, a nonprofit organization serving Latino students and families throughout metro Atlanta. Founded in 2001 at Peachtree Presbyterian Church, LaAmistad began as a way to help Latino children in the neighborhood with their homework.
Initially involved as Athletic Director, McAfee rose through the ranks to her current position in 2012. Her passion for the students, the families, and service to the community fuel her daily work. She is deeply involved in the community, serving on Atlanta Public School's Advisory Committee, Georgia Coalition for English Language Learners, and the Georgia Department of Public Health Brain Trust 4 Babies Committee. McAfee is also a founding board member for Atlanta Classical Academy, a tuition-free, open enrollment, K-12 public charter school opened in 2014.
November 21 - Mark Hayes
Mark Hayes has spent nearly three decades bringing news viewers in major cities across the country their news and information of the day. Some of his stops include Dallas, Denver, Detroit and Baltimore. However, his proudest accomplishments came during his tenure in the great city of Atlanta, GA. For more than a decade, Mark was a staple of early morning television on Good Day Atlanta. He believes his most noteworthy achievement, was the nearly 20 hours he spent on air during the Fulton County Courthouse shootings and the subsequent capture of Brian Nichols.
After 2 Emmy nominations and highly coveted National recognition for spot news coverage from the National Press Photographers Association, Mark is now currently the President and CEO of his own media training and strategy company.Mark Hayes Consulting, LLC was founded in 2010.The goal is to help everyone from CEO’s to small business owners make the most of their opportunity for media exposure.He has been a passionate supporter of Boys and Girls Clubs in every city he has been a part of. He has also been a fervent supporter of Drug Abuse, recovery & prevention efforts with different organizations. He was one of the earliest supporters and assisted Simply Grace House in Dallas, TX as they began their efforts to help recovering addicts of drug and alcohol addiction.
Mark and his college sweetheart, Latonya, have been together since they met in 1988 at Howard University. Mark and his wife are members of the classes of 1989 and 1990 respectively. They’ve been married for 25 years and have two children, Malcolm and Kenny. He is also a member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. and loves to travel the world over. His favorite stop to date has been the most amazing week his family spent on the beautiful island of Kauai, which they described as “paradise on earth.”