On Tuesday, March 13, I had the honor of delivering a keynote speech at Greenprints 2018, a sustainability conference hosted by Atlanta’s Southface Energy Institute. 

Sitting down to write my remarks, I soon realized sustainability means different things to people. It can mean getting more electricity from renewable energy sources or working to make our building practices greener.

For Invest Atlanta, we think of it in terms of fostering sustainable communities through equitable economic growth and mobility. But it really comes down to one thing for us – keeping our economy moving forward by supporting the people of Atlanta.

Invest Atlanta supports people like Kiyomi Rollins, the owner of The Good Hair Shop, who opened her new location in Southwest Atlanta thanks to a small business loan from Invest Atlanta.

We support people like Linda Graham, a Vine City resident for 25 years who participated in our Owner-Occupied Rehab program and received critical long-term safety repairs to her home.

And we work every day for people like Ms. Annie Ruth Gay, who after four years of working with our team, received homeownership incentives to allow her to purchase her first home – at the age of 76! 

There is still much more work to do, and Invest Atlanta will use every tool at our disposable to support equitable growth and mobility for all Atlantans. Under the leadership of Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, we will continue to work closely with residents, our partners, companies, city and state government, and others to ensure our economic vitality is sustainable for the future.

I am IA!