21CL Appoints New Chair of its Board of Directors

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

21st Century Leaders Appoints New Chair of its Board of Directors

(October 7, 2019) Atlanta, GA – 21st Century Leaders announces the appointment of Matt Johnson as chair of its board of directors. Johnson succeeds Kevin Sessions, who has been serving as chair of the board since October 2013. The appointment was effective October 1, 2019, as the start of the organization’s fiscal year. Sessions will remain engaged in a leadership role with 21st Century Leaders (21CL) as a member of its Advisory Council.

Sessions said, “It’s been an honor to serve as board chair over the last six years, and I’m confident in our future and in Matt’s leadership as we continue to grow and develop our young leaders across the state and continue to deliver high-impact leadership training. I have no doubt that Matt’s long-standing commitment to 21st Century Leaders, coupled with his passion and recognized leadership in his industry, will help realize 21st Century Leaders’ full potential as it moves into its fourth decade.”

Johnson joined the board in 2014, but has served as a volunteer with 21st Century Leaders for over a decade. He first got connected with 21st Century Leaders through its partnership with Atlanta Business Chronicle’s 40 Under 40 honorees. He currently serves as a partner at KPMG, one of the world’s leading professional services firms, as the US Technology Assurance Leader. Matt lives in Cobb County with his wife, Becky, and their two daughters (14 and 2) and two sons (12 and 9).  He enjoys spending time with his family and travelling. He is a private pilot and in addition to flying, other interests include caring for a variety of farm animals on their property, cooking and college football. He was born in India and has also lived in southeast Asia as well as traveled to more than 50 countries.

“Investing in people, and particularly young people, is one of the most worthwhile endeavors in life! We have an amazing board and fantastic staff, and I’m tremendously excited to help continue the mission of 21CL as the board chair,” Johnson said. “I thank Kevin for his leadership, example, and stewardship that has positioned the organization to have an impact like never before. I’m grateful for the opportunity to serve, and be inspired by students, our donors and partners, and our team, as we continue to build tomorrow’s leaders, today!”

“Kevin has been instrumental to our success the past six years, particularly as we established the organization’s endowment under his leadership, and transitioned the retirement of our founding executive director. On behalf of the board, staff, and every student we serve, I want to thank Kevin for his dedication and contributions,” said 21CL’s Executive Director Kate Hewitt. “As we look to the future and expand our programs, we are fortunate to have Matt’s leadership as we accelerate our work to be the premier leadership organization in Georgia.”

21st Century Leaders is a youth leadership and talent development organization for Georgia high school students. 21CL provides year-round programming by collaborating with over 50 corporate and community partners. 21CL’s leadership training includes residential summer leadership institutes, school-year training, school-based clubs, and an online learning platform.

About 21st Century Leaders

Since inception in 1989, 21st Century Leaders has served more than 14,000 diverse high school students from over 250 Georgia high schools. 21st Century Leaders is a non-profit organization that connects, transforms, and inspires high school students across Georgia to leverage diversity, explore career opportunities, and become leaders in their school, community, and ultimately the workforce. For more information about 21st Century Leaders, visit www.21stcenturyleaders.org.

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For media inquiries and image requests, please contact:

Kate Hewitt

Executive Director

kate@21stcenturyleaders.org

404.373.7441

21st Century Leaders Receives Commendation from State of Georgia

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Founding Executive Director receives honor for 29 years of service to Georgia’s High School Students

(March 2019) Atlanta, Georgia – 21st Century Leaders is proud and honored to receive a 2019 Commendation from the State of Georgia from former Governor, Nathan Deal to recognize the organization’s 30th year history and specifically recognize the retirement of our founding executive director, Robert “Bob” Watson. 21st Century Leaders’ Board of Directors’ Chairman, Kevin Sessions presented the formal Commendation to Bob on March 2, 2019 at our annual Georgia Youth Leadership Awards.

Here’s a brief excerpt from the Commendation:

WHEREAS: Since 1989, 21st Century Leaders has served more than 14,000 high school students from over 250 high schools in Georgia. The efforts of the organization inspire young leaders and provide benefits for our state’s workforce by developing homegrown talent for Georgia communities and companies; and
WHEREAS: Mr. Robert “Bob” Watson, the founding executive director of 21st Century Leaders, has dedicated his career to the service of students in Georgia; and
WHEREAS: Mr. Watson retired in December 2018, following 29 years of service to youth leadership; and

WHEREAS: This year, 21st Century Leaders will celebrate 30 years of inspiring youth to lead and honor Mr. Watson for his decades of service; now
THEREFORE: I, NATHAN DEAL, Governor of the State of Georgia, do hereby commend

21ST CENTURY LEADERS
and join in recognizing Mr. Robert “Bob” Watson for his service to Georgia’s youth.

View the full 21st Century Leaders Commendation 2019

21st Century Leaders is also asking everyone to share how Bob and 21CL has impacted them and show your appreciation by writing him a message. Everyone is encouraged to submit it before April 15th! SUBMIT YOUR MESSAGE HERE

About 21st Century Leaders:
Since 1989, 21st Century Leaders has served more than 14,000 diverse high school students from over 250 Georgia high schools. 21st Century Leaders is a collaboration of business and professional leaders inspiring high school students to take on leadership positions, seek out opportunities and give back to their communities by connecting them a diverse group of enthusiastic peers, passionate professionals and powerful ideas, transforming their skills, attitudes, and abilities through training and hands-on experiences. For more information about 21st Century Leaders and how you can be a part of the 30 Year celebration, visit www.21stcenturyleaders.org.

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21st Century Leaders Appoints New Executive Director

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

21st Century Leaders Appoints New Executive Director

Founding Director retires after 29 years; New Executive Director to lead organization into its 30th milestone year of service to Georgia’s high school students

(November 2018) Atlanta, GA – The Board of Directors of 21st Century Leaders (21CL) has selected Kate Hewitt, Assistant Director of 21CL, as its next Executive Director. Ms. Hewitt assumed leadership in May 2018 as part of the transition, succeeding the organizations founding executive director Robert (Bob) Watson, who is retiring after 29 successful years of service.

Robert “Bob” Watson, Founding Director, 21st Century Leaders

Mr. Watson and Kevin Sessions, President of TalentQuest and Chairman of the 21CL Board of Directors, announced Ms. Hewitt’s appointment. “Kate’s in-depth leadership experience and her passion for the organization’s mission made her the ideal candidate to lead 21CL into its next 30 years of serving the students of Georgia. In 2019, 21CL will celebrate its 30th milestone year of service to the students of Georgia and we are excited to have her leading this new chapter in the organizations story.”

Kate Hewitt has served 21CL since 2014. She earned her B.A from Butler University. Prior to joining 21CL, Kate served a myriad of nonprofit and corporate clients through her work in marketing, public relations and event planning amassing an impressive track record of achievement in leadership, fundraising and operations excellence. Kate also has a background in broadcast journalism.

“I am humbled to be chosen for this role and very grateful to have the opportunity to lead 21st Century Leaders. It has been an honor to work alongside Bob for the last four years and to learn from his extensive experience and visionary leadership,” stated Hewitt.

21st Century Leaders is a youth leadership and talent development organization for Georgia high school students. 21CL provides year-round programming by collaborating with over 50 corporate and community partners. 21CL training includes residential summer leadership institutes, school-year training, school-based centers, and an online learning platform.

About 21st Century Leaders

Since inception, 21st Century Leaders has served more than 14,000 diverse high school students from over 250 Georgia high schools. 21st Century Leaders is a collaboration of business and professional leaders inspiring high school students to take on leadership positions, seek out opportunities and give back to their communities by connecting them a diverse group of enthusiastic peers, passionate professionals and powerful ideas, transforming their skills, attitudes, and abilities through training and hands-on experiences. For more information about 21st Century Leaders, visit www.21stcenturyleaders.org.

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For media inquiries and image requests, please contact:

Liz Loreti

Director of Development

liz@21stcenturyleaders.org

404.373.7441

 

VoyageATL Magazine Recognizes 21st Century Leaders as “Atlanta’s Most Inspiring Stories”

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21st Century Leaders was founded by a group of business executives who wanted to get their companies engaged with schools and talented youth that were in need of opportunities to reach their full potential for college and career. It soon became clear that there were a lot of youth all across Georgia with extraordinary potential but also a clear lack of opportunities for those same youth to develop that potential for themselves, their schools, their communities and their future places of work. They hired me as Executive Director to lead the effort to develop programs and reach out to additional businesses. The group incorporated in 1989 in Atlanta, and launched its first summer leadership institute program in 1991 with 31 students from 9 high schools. Read more>>

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VoyageATL 

Voyage Media started in Los Angeles, with their flagship publication VoyageLA.  After generating their first million page views in LA they knew their content was resonating with the community. They’ve since grown to Atlanta and a handful of other amazing cities with the help of an amazing network of friends, associates, local insiders and influencers, PR firms, local bloggers, artists, creatives, entrepreneurs and other professionals.

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