Speakers

Born and raised in Monroe, Louisiana, Ray is a critically conscious and outcomes-driven educational leader. Over nearly 15 years, Ray has held various roles in schools & communities in Baton Rouge, LA, Atlanta, GA, and Newark, NJ including substitute teacher, graduate assistant, literacy teacher, educational policy fellow, instructional coach, education community organizer, curriculum auditor, assistant principal, adjunct professor, and educational consultant.  His undergraduate and master’s degrees are from LSU (Geaux Tigers!) and outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his wife and their 2 young daughters and relishes victories for the Los Angeles Lakers, LSU Tigers, and the culture (politics, hip hop, etc.). 

Ray firmly believes in the limitless potential & power of all children and knows they will be the leaders of their revolution- now and later. As a second-year Head of School, Ray looks forward to being a good steward of all and continuing to co-create the most optimal conditions that Ansley School students, families, staff, and community deserve, and so much more.

Dr. Wright is a tenured Professor and the Chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine. He also serves as the Vice Chair for Innovation and Discovery and leads the Emergency Neurosciences Laboratory (ENL).

He is a board-certified emergency medicine physician practicing at Emory affiliated hospitals and Grady Memorial Hospital, Atlantas premier Level 1 Trauma Center. He is actively involved in both the preclinical and clinical assessments of traumatic brain injury, stroke and other acute neurological conditions. He was the PI of the ProTECT III multicenter clinical trial of progesterone for acute traumatic brain injury and currently serves as the southeastern Hub PI of the Neurological Emergencies Treatment Trials network and Co-PI of the Georgia StrokeNet network. He has had continuous NIH/Federal funding for over 15 years.

He is an adjunct faculty in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology and works closely with an elite team of engineers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute where he participates in numerous concussion research and technology development endeavors. He is the Co-inventor of the DETECT technology, a rapidly deployable, easily administered, comprehensive system for the assessment of concussion and other neurological disorders. He is also adjunct Faculty in the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing and the Rollin's School of Public Health.

A proud Jew and Zionist, Dov Wilker has been Regional Director of the American Jewish Committee Atlanta since 2011 and AJC's National Director for Black Jewish Relations since 2018. After earning his International M.B.A. from Tel Aviv University, Dov worked for an Israeli software start-up. Dov began his career with the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Southeastern United States and previously served as AJC Atlanta’s Assistant Director. Dov is currently a Wexner Field Fellow, a board member of the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival, and an advisory board member for the Atlanta Ballet. Dov has been recognized as a 40 under 40 by both the Atlanta Jewish Times and the Atlanta Business Chronicle and received the Asian American Heritage Foundations Distinguished Service Award. He is married to Juliana Jacobson, and together they have two daughters.

On April 18, 2022, the Decatur City Commission confirmed the appointment of Scott Richards as the Police Chief for the City of Decatur.

Chief Richards began his career as a police officer with the City of Decatur in 1994 and has served with distinction in various capacities throughout his tenure. He served as Deputy Police Chief starting in 2016 prior to being appointed Interim Police Chief in April 2021.  Chief Richards received a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Georgia State University and a Master of Public Safety Administration from Columbus State University. 

Chief Richards is eager to get started in his new role. “We have an amazing group of dedicated, compassionate, and empathetic employees at the Police Department that I am looking forward to continuing to work with to propel the Department into the future through innovative technology, community policing, and 21^st Century Policing initiatives.  We will explore new and innovative community policing initiatives and will work even harder to establish trust and build relationships within our community.”

The City initiated an extensive national recruitment process upon the retirement of former Police Chief Mike Booker who served in that position for 15 years.

City Manager Andrea Arnold stated, “Chief Richards’ proven leadership skills, strong community relationships and creative approaches to policing make him the most qualified person for this position.  I am confident that he will listen and engage with all in order to serve our community well.”

Mayor Patti Garrett expressed that “The City Commission is excited for the Police Department and our community to have Scott Richards at the helm of the Department.  He has been instrumental in shaping the culture of the Department that practices community policing and embodies the values of integrity, empathy, humility and trust.”