Women InitiativeEntrepreneurs selects inaugural class

Picturesque Tudor

Perched on a lush deep lot and close to Emory/CDC and VAHI, this home has a floor plan that flows perfectly for entertaining. Renovated kitchen open to den and onto a screened porch. Exquisite master suite with balcony. Both overlook a backyard oasis that adjoins Callanwolde Forest. Picture yourself perfect – relaxing and enjoying intown living at its best.

Fifteen women entrepreneurs will comprise the inaugural class of the Women’s Entrepreneurship Initiative. The group of women, selected through a rigorous competitive process in the fall of 2015, will have the opportunity to operate their small businesses in an incubator environment, with designated workspace, for 15 months.

The 15 women-owned businesses are: Lynn Lilly, CraftBox Girls; Melanie Rhodes, MelanCo. Enterprises/DSS Experts; Samantha Hodgkins, SparkFire Active LLC; Joanna Douglas, Parketing; Dawn Belisle, Delights by Dawn; Jeannell Darden, Cococurls; Jennifer Bluemling, Borrowed By Design; Sherry Popovic, cME compete; Cicely Gay, Amplifiers Inc.; Logan Williams, Rapid Parking Solutions; Adrienne Brown, Adrienne J. Media; Tiffany Ray, Generation Infocus, Monica Hooks, m-oracle; Sheila Woodhouse, DoxMed; and Tonya Hicks, Women Do Everything.

The businesses are all for-profit, and represent information and communication technology, productbased retail, digital media and marketing, education and training, beauty and healthcare, transportation technology, and food and beverage service.

WEI will be housed on the 11th floor of the Downtown’s iconic Flatiron Building – the city’s oldest standing skyscraper. The 40,000-squarefoot landmark will be a unique collaborative space and serve as a technologically-advanced backdrop to Atlanta’s emerging and existing entrepreneurs.

“Announcing the 15 women selected for the inaugural WEI class is an important step forward in strengthening our city’s entrepreneurial ecosystem,” said Mayor Kasim Reed during last month’s State of the City address. “This initiative will assist women who aspire to entrepreneurial excellence by providing them with the resources they need to grow a successful business. With the help of Microsoft and other partners, these women entrepreneurs will receive mentorship, business coaching and access to technology and office space at no cost to them.”

Along with providing space, WEI will provide seasoned mentors and consultants, technology resources via Microsoft, and post-incubation support to reinforce business longevity and success once back in the community.

Applications for the next class of entrepreneurs will be available in early 2017. For more information about the program, visit weiatlanta.com.

Atlanta oil painter Joel Barr is known for his surprising and bold use of color, his fascination with the surreal and mysterious, and for the narratives imbedded in his works. For him, art is about discovery and that’s what comes through with each work."Life Line" incorporates all of these elements along with a story and a quiet spirituality which flows from painting to painting. This new series and other of his recent works will be exhibited and available. April 8th through 29th.