Who We Are


We empower neighborhoods to thrive by taking a holistic, neighbor-focused approach to revitalization.

Our Mission

Empowering Neighborhoods to Thrive
Focused Community Strategies partners with under-resourced neighborhoods to provide innovative and holistic development that produces flourishing communities and God’s Shalom.

Our Values

Neighboring, dignity, and development are at the core of everything that we do.
Neighboring:
We value local living, believing proximity and diversity allow for mutually transformative relationships.
Dignity:
We value the gifts and abilities of our neighbors, believing as bearers of the image of God we all have the inherent capacity and are engaged as full participants in bringing about the flourishing of the neighborhood.
Development:
We value sustainable strategies, believing that lasting impact requires addressing systemic, economic, and structural barriers to flourishing.

Racial Justice Statement

We are committed to including racial equity in every step we take. We hope you will learn alongside us over the next few years as we acknowledge the realities of racial inequity, affirm that racial equity is possible, and act to make our community one of greater justice.

As such, we believe that working for racial equity is integral to our push for flourishing communities. Systemic racism has created, perpetuated, and entrenched many of the struggles neighborhoods like Historic South Atlanta face every day. Our four pillars of Mixed-Income Housing, Economic Development, Neighborhood Engagement, and Training and Consulting are designed to undo some of these harmful structures and rectify the inequities they produce.

We are committed to racial justice because we believe that every person, every neighborhood, deserves an equitable chance to thrive. Recognizing the realities of systemic racism, both by listening to our neighbors and studying our context, guides our efforts to make that vision possible.

About South Atlanta

Black Americans created a vibrant community called Brownsville here in spite of systemic racial violence and discrimination. Our neighborhood was the original site of Clark College and Gammon Theological Seminary. Neighbors carefully planned the surrounding area as a mixed-income community where all could thrive.

For more than 60 years, this neighborhood was a destination for Black professors, concert artists, and families. The community struggled greatly after the universities relocated in 1941.

In 2000, residents and leadership of the South Atlanta Civic League invited FCS to apply our community development model to Historic South Atlanta. We humbly accepted their gracious offer to partner with the neighborhood to revitalize this historic community.

Meet Our Team

Vibrant people make vibrant communities.

Meet the incredible individuals who are coming alongside South Atlanta every day.

Jim Wehner

President

Marvin Nesbitt Jr.

Senior Director of Community Development

Ruth Evans

Senior Director of Business Operations

Joi Jackson

Director of Development

Danielle Clay

Director of Finance & Administration

Cynthia McNeal

Director of Mixed Income Housing

Jeff Delp

Director of Economic Development

Pamela Stringfield

Director of Neighborhood Engagement

Shell Stafford

Family Services Manager

Shawn Duncan

Director of Training & Consulting

Akio Brewer

Accounting Manager

MPHO GWABENI

Accounting Coordinator

STEVE NIEDERFRINGER

Construction Manager

ANDREA THOMAS

Office Coordinator

CYNTHIA MCGUINNESS​

Grants Manager

ALEXEI STOKES

Operations Manager

MICHELLE WITHERSPOON

Youth Development Coordinator

STACY BRUNGARDT

Lupton Center Lead Trainer

CANDICE KELLY

Community Development Advisor

BABAFEMI IBRAHEEM

Housing Project Coordinator

BILLY QUEZADA

Housing Project Coordinator

Bekah Klein

Development Coordinator: Reporting and Data

MICHELLE THOMAS

Community Grounds and Carver Market Office Lead

ELSA BORELLO

Lupton Center Lead Trainer and Consultant

Breauna Dorelus

Lead Trainer and Consultant

DAVID PARK

Lupton Center Lead Trainer and Consultant

ASHLEY EDWARDS

Residents Services Manager

MIKAYLA SANTOS

Neighborhood Engagement Coordinator

CARLISSA WOODRUFF

Community Grounds Kitchen Lead

SHERRY PYBURN

Carver Market Produce & Inventory Lead

Carver Market

Community Grounds Staff

Stasea waller

Development Coordinator

Damien Feyjoo

Youth Development Coordinator

rose silva

Thought Leadership Coordinator

Our Board Members

Dr. Chris Gray, Board Chair Power Delivery Supervisor, Georgia Power
Jim Wehner, President President, Focused Community Strategies
John Chambliss Partner, The Ardent Companies
Randy Gill Strategic Accounts, Office of CFO Solutions, OneStream
Adam Allman, Treasurer Director, Regent Partners, LLC
Bryant Cornett President, DT Spade
Lisa Haygood Program Lifecycle Manager, IBM
Joshua Ball Brand and Marketing Consultant
Robert Fowler, Secretary President/CEO, Fowler Designs Associates, Inc.
Allen Bell Executive Director, Atlanta Resource Foundation
Florida Ellis Philanthropist
Kim Greene Hughes Owner/Principal Attorney, K.G. Hughes & Associates
Ashley Jones Community Program Manager, Microsoft
Courtney Smith Senior Vice President, Market Manager, PNC
Kim Hixon VP Finance Operations & Transformation, Safe-Guard products
Ben Teague Kinstone Properties, Founder & CEO
Adam Pannell Executive Vice President, Mergers & Acquisitions, Digital Insurance
Courtney Quiros Associate, Alston & Bird LLP
Richard Whitcomb Owner, HV Management

Young Professionals Board Members

The Young Professionals Board is an opportunity to involve the diverse voices of younger community. Young Professionals serve a 1-year term on the board and offer their keen insights to our team.

Benjamin Russell

Project Engineer at H.J. Russell & Company

Jaymi Brooks

Associate at T. Dallas Smith & Company

Mike Brasfield

Category Marketing Manager at Home Depot

Ryan Ramsey

Partner at Barrel Real Estate

Kelly Leu

Audit Senior Manager at Bennett Thrasher

Kyle Patterson

Community Relations Officer at Regions Bank

Herman Pate

CPA, Managing Director at Hydrogen Capital LLC

Paco Treviño

Personal Development Manager at Brasfield and Gorrie

Calvin Dennis

Named Account Manager at OneStream Software

Frankie Kelly

Principal Team Lead in Field Operations at Chick-fil-A, Inc.

Madeline Schmidt

Product Manager at The Coca-Cola Company

Phyllis Montgomery

Early Careers Strategic Campus Manager at Cummins Inc.

Kayla Seawood

Senior Associate, Growth NA at Momentum Worldwide

Michael Ferron

Consultant, Monitor Institute by Deloitte at Deloitte

Olivia McKellar

ELA/ESOL Instructor at Global Village Project

Meet Our Founder

Bob Lupton has invested over 40 years of his life in Atlanta Neighborhoods.

While serving in Vietnam, he felt a call to make cities more equitable. Upon returning home, he and his wife moved into a systemically marginalized neighborhood. He began living and getting to know his neighbors.

Over time, Bob realized that the way he was taught to “help” was doing a lot of harm. He was seeing that too many ministries and nonprofits were transactional and disempowering for local residents. Rather than offering temporary, material relief for systemic issues, he worked to create an integrated, systemic approach to change.

Instead, he began co-creating an approach to development. that mixed entrepreneurship, urban planning, and deep relationship. His musings birthed the widely read book, Toxic Charity, as well as the approach FCS takes to revitalization.

To this day, Bob is a dynamic visionary. He is a Christian community developer, counselor, entrepreneur, and author. In addition to Toxic Charity, Bob has written Theirs is the Kingdom, Renewing the City, and Charity Detox.

Bob has a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Georgia. He serves as a speaker, strategist, and inspirer with those throughout the nation who seek to establish God’s Shalom in the city.

We remain eternally grateful for Bob’s vision and hard work paving the way for our organization.

Join the Team

Check out the latest opportunities to join our dynamic staff team.

Lead trainer and consultant
Housing project coordinator
Major gifts officer
Facilities coordinator
Lead Trainer & consultant position

Not the role you’re looking for? There are plenty of other ways to join the mission!

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