Speaker: LAI Member & Atlanta Regional Commission Executive Director Douglas Hooker
The Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) is the intergovernmental planning and coordination agency for metropolitan Atlanta. ARC coordinates many areas of planning with and among local governments, and serves as a convener on issues that affect the region’s long-term sustainability and competitiveness. Doug Hooker, ARC’s Executive Director, will share on the agency’s strategic direction, as well as how ARC and other groups are convening around the critical issue of housing affordability.
Cost: $30.00
Doug Hooker’s Bio:
Doug Hooker leads the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC), the agency which coordinates local government policy and planning for metro Atlanta,to enhance the region’s economic competitiveness. ARC brings best practices and fosters innovation in challenges to community development, transportation and mobility, water and natural resources, arts and culture, aging and independence resources, workforce development, homeland security, and community-oriented research and analytics.
In his career, he has worked for public sector and private sector organizations, among them: the City of Atlanta’s Department of Public Works (serving as the Commissioner who led the agency through the 1996 Olympic Games); the State Road & Tollway Authority, SRTA (Executive Director); Director of Finance and Administration with Bio-Lab, Inc., and Vice President for Business Development and Marketing with Atkins Engineering (formerly PBS&J). He began his career with Georgia Power, having worked as a design engineer, project manager, section supervisor, and as a technology policy analyst. Through the different facets of his career, he has been able to work on important regional and local projects in the areas of energy, education, transportation, transit, and water.
Doug is involved in several aspects of the community and his profession, including board service on the Council for Quality Growth, the Georgia Tech (President’s) Advisory Board, the Ivan Allen College (of Georgia Tech) Advisory Board, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra board, and the board of the Atlanta Music Project. He serves on the advisory board for Atlanta Tech, Agnes Scott College, and CHRIS 180 (formerly CHRIS Kids). He is currently on the Executive Directors’ Council of the National Association of Regional Councils (NARC) and he is an active member of the Major Metros Seminar group. Recently, he has joined the national advisory board for SPARCC (the Strong Prosperous, And Resilient Communities Challenge).
In past years, Doug has served on the boards of Leadership Atlanta, the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, the Civic League, the Emory University Board of Visitors, the Georgia Tech Alumni Association Trustees, the Georgia Tech School of Civil & Environmental Engineering Advisory Board, Atlanta Area Technical College Institute for Males, the Regional Business Coalition board, Georgians for Passenger Rail, the Atlanta Opera, the Georgia Conservancy, Park Pride and the Institute for Georgia Environmental Leadership, and the Regional Leadership Forum.
He is an alumnus of several leadership programs: Leadership Atlanta, Leadership Georgia, the Regional Leadership Institute, Leadership PBS&J, and the Institute for Georgia Environmental Leadership.
He has received numerous awards and recognitions including the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Ivan Allen College School of Public Policy, 100 Most Influential Georgians (Georgia Trend Magazine), 100 Most Influential Atlantans (Atlanta Business Chronicle), 10 Most Influential Atlantans (Atlanta Tribune), Lauren H Solomon Trailblazer Award (COMTO), The Whitney Young Leadership Award (Atlanta Council of Boy Scouts of America), Who’s Who in Black Atlanta, the Empowering Leader award and the Excellence in City Government award from the Atlanta City Council, and several others.
Doug holds a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering degree and a Master of Science (in Technology & Science Policy) degree from Georgia Tech, as well as a Masters of Business Administration from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School. He is married to Patrise Perkins-Hooker, a Georgia Tech and Emory alumna herself, who is the County Attorney for Fulton County, and the first African American to serve as President of the State Bar of Georgia. In his spare time, Doug composes music, plays in a community band, loves to travel with his wife, spend time with his grandchildren, and read.