November 17, 2026: Annual Signature Event
The 10th Annual IWF Georgia Member Signature Event:
Reception & Dinner with Keynote Speaker
Featuring: Mayor Shirley Clarke Franklin, Moderated by Valerie Jackson
Location: TBA!
Timeline:
4:30 pm - 5:30 pm New Member Orientation & Reception (Invitation only)
5:30 pm - 6:30 pm Cocktail Reception
6:30 pm - 7:00 pm Seated Dinner
7:00 pm - 8:00 pm Program
About Our Speaker:
Shirley Franklin was elected the first African American woman mayor of a major southern city in 2002 and served two terms until 2009. During her eight years as mayor of Atlanta, she is best known for advocating for and tackling major government operations and ethics reform, launching the Atlanta Beltline, planning and executing over $5 billion in airport and water infrastructure improvement, leading the acquisition of the Morehouse College Collection of Martin Luther King Jr. Papers, launching the Regional Commission on Homelessness and developing successful business and public sector partnerships and alliances. Upon leaving office, she was appointed to the William and Camille Cosby Endowed Chair at Spelman College and served until June 2011.
She is currently the Barbara Jordan Visiting Professor in Ethics and Political Values at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas in Austin, a position she has held since 2013. She also serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of Purpose Built Communities and is President of Clarke-Franklin and Associates, Inc. Additionally, she co-chairs the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta’s Regional Commission on Homelessness and serves on the boards of the United Nations Institute For Training and Research (UNITAR), Mueller Water Products, Delta Air Lines, The Volcker Alliance, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Neighborhood Community Stabilization Fund.
Shirley Franklin is a frequent public speaker and subject matter expert on leadership, public policy and community engagement. She is passionate about her city and has engaged in Atlanta-based community service for over 39 years, including active participation in the arts, homelessness and higher education.
About our Moderator:
Valerie Richardson Jackson ’s life embodies an innovative spirit and a list of first for Black Americans. At 13, she and her two brothers integrated an all white high school in Richmond, Virginia suffering daily harassment and intimidation. At 16, she was among the first Blacks hired as a telephone operator at the Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company. With a B.S. in Business Management from Virginia Commonwealth University, she established the first clerical training program for the Neighborhood Youth Corps in Richmond. In 1971 she was among the early Black students to earn an MBA from the prestigious Wharton School of Business. After working as Account Executive at Grey Advertising on General Foods products, she became an Eastern Region Marketing Supervisor at Trans World Airlines (now United) corporate headquarters in New York. She was the first Black person to hold those positions. For over 20 years, her voice was recognized as the award winning host of WABE's Between the Lines and Valerie Jackson in Conversation, talking with notable writers and thinkers, such as Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, Dr. Maya Angelou, Wynton Marsalis, Alice Walker, Deepak Chopra and Neil deGrasse Tyson. She is a partner in Atlanta Restaurant Partners, owners of fine dining restaurants and a licensed franchisee of TGIFridays.
Serving as Atlanta ’s First Lady in three of her husband Maynard Jackson ’s terms, her direct efforts helped to bring the Democratic National Convention to Atlanta in 1988 and the Olympic Games in 1996. As Co-chair of the Children ’s Olympic Ticket Fund, over 20,000 tickets were given to underserved children in the Atlanta area.
A former and the first Black president of the International Women ’s Forum of Georgia, she is also a former board member of Atlanta Technical College, the Girl Scouts of Northwest Georgia, American Cancer Society, and numerous other organizations. Among her many awards, she was named one of the “ 100 Women of Influence” by the Atlanta Business League, inducted into the YWCA of Greater Atlanta ’s Academy of Women Achievers and named an “Atlanta Legend” by Atlanta Magazine.
Valerie Jackson shared over 25 devoted years of marriage with the late Mayor Maynard Jackson and was a major force in adding his name to the Atlanta airport, now Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. She is the proud mother of their two daughters, Valerie-Amanda and Alexandra.
History of IWF Georgia's Signature Event:
In 2017, we started our annual Signature Event to celebrate the 30th year of IWF Georgia - kicking off with one of IWF Georgia’s founding members, Mrs. Rosalynn Carter, Former 1st Lady of the United States; followed in 2018 with Keisha Lance Bottoms, the 60th Mayor of Atlanta; 2019 with Stacey Abrams, Former Member of the Georgia House of Representatives; our virtual keynote in 2020 with Carol Tomé, CEO of UPS and fellow IWF Georgia member; 2021 with Head of Science for the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Cori Bargmann; in 2022 we heard from Civil Rights Activist, and Founder, President and CEO of the Trumpet Awards Foundation, Ms. Xernona Clayton, and in 2023 Sally Yates, Former United States Deputy Attorney General was our featured speaker. We continued our annual tradition each November and again in 2024 for the 8th annual Signature Event we hosted an exciting speaker, Roz Brewer, former COO of Starbucks and CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance who was moderated by Virginia Hepner. The 9th Signature Event featured Rev. Naomi Tutu moderated by Natosha Reid Rice.
