Leadership & Partners

Columbus Ahead is a shared commitment.

Nine regional partners, aligned around one roadmap for Jobs, Talent, and Place. Below, you'll find the partners driving implementation, the backbone organization keeping them aligned, and the governance structure that holds the whole effort accountable to the community.

Implementing Partners

The Columbus Ahead strategy is co-owned and executed by a network of lead regional partners. Each organization brings specialized expertise to drive operational workflows and measurable results across Jobs, Talent, and Place.

RPI: The Backbone

With nine partners moving at once, someone has to keep the machine aligned. That's RPI's job. As the backbone organization for Columbus Ahead, RPI doesn't implement every initiative - it makes sure the ones being implemented add up to the plan. RPI's role rests on three responsibilities:

Resource Alignment: Directing funding, staff time, and community investment toward the initiatives that move the needle - and away from duplicated effort.

Ecosystem Management: Keeping nine independent organizations rowing in the same direction, with shared timelines, shared data, and a shared definition of success.

Shared Accountability: Tracking progress against the plan's KPIs and reporting back to the community - publicly, and on a regular cadence.

A cross-sector partnership. One shared vision. Jobs, Talent, and Place - moving forward together.

Governance & Accountability

Columbus Ahead is guided by the RPI Board of Directors - Chairs from the partner organizations driving the strategy, each bringing their institution's accountability directly into the room. This collaborative structure ensures all partners are moving in sync, sharing resources, and working side-by-side to achieve our region's 2030 vision.

RPI, Inc. Board

  • Pace Halter

    Chair, RPI, Inc.
    W.C. Bradley Real Estate

  • Heath Schondelmayer

    Immediate Past Chair, RPI, Inc.
    Synovus / Pinnacle Financial Partners

  • Dr. Dionne Rosser-Mims

    Chair, United Way of the Chattahoochee Valley
    Troy University

  • Doug Jenkins

    Chair, Columbus GA Chamber
    Southern Company Gas

  • Fred Maglione

    Chair, StartUP Columbus
    Boys & Girls Clubs of the Chattahoochee Valley

  • Selvin Hollingsworth

    Chair, Development Authority
    LightSpeed Datalinks

  • Tyler Pritchard

    Chair, Midtown Columbus
    Bodewell Injury Group

  • Wes Kelley

    Chair, Uptown Columbus
    Brasfield & Gorrie

RPI Steering Committee

The architects of the regional vision. The Steering Committee brought together diverse leaders from across education, non-profits, government, and business to collaborate and design the foundational goals of Columbus Ahead. Their shared work laid the groundwork for the strategy’s three pillars and accountable targets.

Charles Auer, Ft. Benning

Billy Blanchard, Covey Equity

Betsy Covington, Community Foundation of the Chattahoochee Valley

Shaun Culligan, City of Phenix City

Jeremy Cummings, Columbus Water Works

Mike Dempsey, Ft. Benning

Melissa Gaunt, East AL Chamber of Commerce

Pace Halter, W.C. Bradley Real Estate

Hon. Skip Henderson, Columbus Consolidated Government

Ken Henson

Pam Hodge, Columbus Consolidated Government

Selvin Hollingsworth, Development Authority of Columbus

Doug Jenkins, Southern Company Gas

Wes Kelley, Brasfield & Gorrie

Missy Kendrick, Choose Columbus

Tricia Konan, Goodwill Industries of the Southern Rivers

Katie Kreig, Bradley-Turner Foundation

Justin Kreig, Historic Columbus

Ben MacMinn, StartUP Columbus

Fred Maglione, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Chattahoochee Valley

Marquette McKnight, Media, Marketing & More

Steve Morse, Uptown Columbus

Ben Moser, United Way of the Chattahoochee Valley

Rainer Mullin, Mildred Miller Fort Foundation

Julio Portillo, Midtown Inc.

Dr. Stuart Rayfield, Columbus State University

Dr. Dionne Rosser-Mims, Troy University

Heath Schondelmayer, Synovus / Pinnacle Financial Partners

Crystal Shahid, Truist Bank

Jansen Tidmore, Columbus Chamber of Commerce

Martha Ann Todd, Columbus Technical College

Brad Turner

John Turner

Ashley Woitena, Visit Columbus

Chris Woodruff, Cotton Companies

Jimmy Yancey

Becca Zajac, Dragonfly Trails, Inc.

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