Keith Parker’s talk will highlight leadership in action at Goodwill where the mission of putting people to work is accomplished every day.

This event is co-sponsored by Georgia Social Impact Collaborative and Serve-Learn-Sustain. 

Keith T. Parker is president and CEO of Goodwill of North Georgia. One of the largest nonprofit organizations in the southeast, Goodwill spans a 45-county territory, operating 60 stores, 58 donation centers and 13 career centers. Goodwill employs nearly 3,000 people, each of whom play a direct or supporting role in the organization’s donated goods retail operations and its career services. Annually, Goodwill collects upwards of 2.5 million donations and serves more than 7 million shoppers. Through the revenue generated in its stores, the organization is able to connect tens of thousands of North Georgians to jobs each year. Parker took the helm at Goodwill of North Georgia in October 2017. Prior to transitioning into his leadership role at Goodwill, Parker has served as CEO of the largest transit systems in several cities, including San Antonio, Charlotte and most recently, Atlanta.

Throughout his career Parker has received numerous awards and accolades for his work as an organizational leader and transportation visionary. He won Texas CEO of the Year Awards in 2011 and 2012.  He was recognized as the nation’s Outstanding Public Transportation Manager by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) in 2015. METRO Magazine named Parker as one of its 20 Most Influential People of the Decade. In 2016, Parker was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve on the National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC). In November the same year, he was named one of eight Public Officials of the Year by Governing magazine. In August 2017, Parker was selected as one of Atlanta’s Most Admired CEOs by Atlanta Business Chronicle.

A native of Petersburg, Virginia, Parker was appointed to the Virginia Commonwealth University Board of Visitors by Governor Terry McAuliffe in 2016. Parker received VCU’s Alumni Star Award in 2015.

Parker served on the board of directors for Goodwill of San Antonio and Goodwill of North Georgia. He remains active and engaged in civic and charitable organizations, including service on various national and local boards of directors – such as Georgia Chamber of Commerce Board of Advisors, Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, National Infrastructure Advisory Council, The Eno Center for Transportation, Park Over Georgia 400 Steering Committee, Virginia Commonwealth University Board of Visitors, Virginia Commonwealth University Health Systems Board of Directors, Grande West Board of Directors and Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau. Parker holds an MBA from the University of Richmond, as well as a Master of Urban and Regional Planning and a BA in Political Science from Virginia Commonwealth University.

About Georgia Social Impact Collaborative:

The Georgia Social Impact Collaborative (GSIC) was formed by a group of community leaders committed to developing a stronger ecosystem of impact investing in Georgia. By bringing together our state’s leaders representing all sectors of our social fabric, we envision an energetic and dynamic network that strengthens our social impact ecosystem.

Since late 2016, GSIC has embarked on a two phase plan to cultivate Georgia’s ecosystem of enablers, entrepreneurs, intermediaries, and investors. Phase 1 resulted in a report released in June 2018 that highlights the need for impact capital among entrepreneurs and the desire of investors to dedicate their capital to impact. Phase 2 concluded in October 2018 with the launch of the Georgia Social Impact Map, an attempt to put the data collected during Phase 1 online as a resource for those engaged in the social impact ecosystem in Georgia.

About Serve-Learn-Sustain:

Serve-Learn-Sustain is an Institutional effort to equip Georgia Tech students to learn and serve around the theme “creating sustainable communities” through engagement with content and context. The initiative was developed as Tech's Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), as a key component to its reaffirmation of accreditation.

About the Impact Speaker Series:

Since 2002, the Impact Speaker Series has brought highly successful business leaders from a variety of industries to campus to share their experiences and give advice to students and other entrepreneurs on topics ranging from "building a venture around intellectual capital" to "successful entrepreneurship in large organizations" and "socially responsible leadership." The weekly series provides Georgia Tech students, alumni and the Atlanta business community an opportunity to network and learn from successful entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and notable business and non-profit leaders. The lecture series is sponsored by the Institute for Leadership and Entrepreneurship, Serve-Learn-Sustain, and Georgia Social Impact Collaborative. 

The series is free and open to the public. Reservations are not required.