October 8, 2026

Flourish Atlanta

Mark your calendars for a very special Heroes for Hope gala, a cornerstone of our mission to prevent and end homelessness.

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We’re thrilled to announce Rose J. Hunter Jones of Hilgers PLLC and Dr. Kofi Smith of Keystone Management as Co-Chairs for Heroes for Hope 2026. This year, we are proud to honor Chris Womack, Chairman, President, and CEO of Southern Company as our Individual Hero, and Rocky Atkins, Hope Atlanta Board Chair, as our Volunteer Hero. We are also we are proud to honor two Corporate Heroes including Truist, accepted by Regional President, Katie Saez, and The Coca-Cola Foundation, accepted by President, Carlos Pagoaga. 

We hope you’ll join us for an unforgettable evening celebrating this year’s extraordinary Heroes and their invaluable contributions to our community!

Honorees

Individual
Hero for Hope

Chris Womack
Chairman, President, CEO
Southern Company

Volunteer
Hero for Hope

Rocky Atkins
Board Chair
Hope Atlanta

Corporate
Hero for Hope

Truist
accepted by Regional President,
Katie Saez

Corporate
Hero for Hope

The Coca-Cola Foundation
accepted by President,
Carlos Pagoaga

Event Co-Chairs

Rose J. Hunter Jones
Partner
Hilgers PLLC
Dr. Kofi Smith
CEO
Keystone Management

With over 125 year of service, we are reflecting on the incredible individuals, corporations, and organizations who have shaped our journey. We look forward to celebrating and recognizing our past honorees at this year’s Heroes for Hope.

Our Legacy Heroes have played a special role in our journey and have helped make Hope Atlanta the organization it is today.

Legacy Individual Heroes

  • Former Mayor & Ambassador
    Andrew Young
  • Reverend Hosea Williams
  • Former Congressman
    John Lewis
  • Former Mayor Shirley Franklin
  • Horace Sibley
  • Mark O’Connell
  • Jack Hardin
  • Former Councilwoman
    Debi Starnes
  • Tad Hutcheson
  • Milton Little
  • Former Councilman
    Kwanza Hall
  •  
  • Noel Khalil
  • Aaron Goldman
  • Ken Baggett
  • Former Mayor Kasim Reed
  • Egbert Perry
  • Robert LaChapelle
  • Ann Cone
  • Althea Broughton
  • Bentina Terry
  • Shan Cooper
  • Mayor Andre Dickens
  • Cheryl Naja
  • Cathryn Vassell
  • Crystal Hanlon

Legacy Corporate and Nonprofit Heroes

  • Cobb Family Resources
  • The Coca-Cola Company
  • PwC
  • The Atlanta Spirit/The Hawks
  • Atlanta Real Estate Collaborative
  • Northside Hospital
  • The Home Depot
  • Chick-fil-A
  • Atlanta Gas Light
  • QuikTrip
  • Atlanta Union Mission
  • Crossroads Community
    Ministries
  • Atlanta Community Food Bank
  • The Gateway Center
  • Cobb County Family and
    Children Services
  • Mercy Care
  • Norfolk Southern

Thanks to Our 2026 Heroes for Hope Sponsors

TITLE
Northside Hospital logo.
CHAMPION
Chick-fil-A logo.
GUARDIANS
ADVOCATES

VyStar Credit Union
Cox Enterprises
Truist
Eversheds Sutherland
The Home Depot Foundation
Georgia-Pacific
Gorman & Company

FRIENDS

AT&T
David & Katie Zanaty
Jack & Caroline Hardin
The McKelvey Family
Gas South
Colonial Pipeline

PATRONS

CORT
Jerry H. Getant
Kirk Elifson
Laura Deisley/Walker Deisley Consulting
Ron Alston
Rocky Atkins & Sally Cohen
Sterling Seacrest Pritchard
Todd Silliman

Previous Heroes for Hope Events

Since 2000, Hope Atlanta has hosted the annual Heroes for Hope gala, honoring community leaders making an impact in the fight to prevent and end homelessness.

Heroes for Hope 2025 was an incredible night. Together, we didn’t just celebrate 125 years of Hope Atlanta — we launched the next 125.

From Ms. Gloria’s powerful story to the voices of Ms. Tre, Ms. Lisa, and Mr. Jeffery, we saw what hope in action looks like: lives transformed through compassion, connection, and opportunity.

We were honored to recognize our Heroes for Hope and Legacy Heroes, whose leadership continues to shape Atlanta. Because of your generosity, we raised over $1 Million to advance Hope Atlanta’s mission and meet the challenges ahead proving that homelessness is not inevitable; it’s solvable.

  • Individual Hero for Hope: Cathryn Vassell, Partners for HOME
  • Corporate Hero for Hope: Norfolk Southern, accepted by Mark George, President and CEO of Norfolk Southern
  • Founder’s Award Winner: Crystal Hanlon, Senior VP and Culture Officer, The Home Depot
  • Co-Chairs: Matt Keith, Senior Vice President of Bank of America and Tiffany Callaway Ferrell, Vice President, Operations at Atlanta Gas Light and Chattanooga Gas Company

On October 9th, 2024, Atlanta civic and corporate leaders championed progress and Hope during the sold-out 2024 Heroes for Hope gala that raised a record-breaking $800,000!​

  • Individual Hero for Hope: Mayor Andre Dickens, City of Atlanta
  • Corporate Hero for Hope: QuikTrip, accepted by Kevin Thornton, President of QuikTrip
  • Volunteer Hero of the Year: Cheryl Naja, Hope Atlanta Board of Directors, Alston & Bird (retired)
  • Co-Chairs: Matt Keith, Senior Vice President of Bank of America and Tiffany Callaway Ferrell, Vice President, Operations at Atlanta Gas Light and Chattanooga Gas Company

“Visions of Hope”

On October 26th, 2023, we celebrated our Heroes,  unveiled a bold new strategic plan, and held a live auction.

  • Individual Honoree: Shan Cooper, Founder and CEO of Journey Forward Strategies, LLC
  • Corporate Honoree: Atlanta Gas Light, accepted by Pedro Cherry, President and CEO of Atlanta Gas Light and Chattanooga Gas
  • Co-Chairs: Kashi Seghal, Founder and CEO of Retaaza, and Chris Sizemore, CEO of Incisive

“Voices of Hope”

November 17th, 2022, Heroes for Hope returned in person to celebrate our honorees and several milestones, like the expansion of Hope Atlanta’s services to include hunger relief.

  • Individual Honoree: Bentina Terry, Senior Vice President of Customer Strategy & Solutions at Georgia Power
  • Corporate Honoree: Chick-fil-A, accepted by CEO Andrew T. Cathy
  • Co-Chairs: Ashley Northcutt, Tax Partner at Tidwell Group and Chris Sizemore, CEO of Incisive

“A Day of Hope”

Our virtual Heroes for Hope event took place on October 7th, 2021.

  • Individual Honoree: Ann Cone, Senior Vice President of CBRE
  • Individual Honoree: Althea Broughton, Partner at Arnall Golden Gregory LLP
  • Co-Chairs: Heather Olson, Managing Director at Berkadia, and Monalisa Chowdhury, Head of Financial Reporting & Business Unit Controllership at Voya Financial

ATLANTA COUNTS ON HOPE.

HOPE COUNTS ON YOU!

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