Director of Marketing and Communications at Wellroot Family Services

Carol Hill is the Director of Marketing and Communications at Wellroot Family Services, a Georgia nonprofit that has spent 155 years walking alongside children and families as they build stability, resilience, and hope-filled futures. She leads integrated marketing strategy across paid, earned, shared, owned, and direct channels in support of Wellroot's $15 million annual revenue goal.

Carol brings 25 years of brand and communications leadership spanning nonprofit and Fortune 500 environments. Before joining Wellroot in 2022, she spent more than a decade at Georgia-Pacific, where she managed advertising budgets as large as $50 million and P&L responsibility up to $1.3 billion across brands including Angel Soft, Quilted Northern, and Dixie. At Wellroot, she has applied that same discipline to a leaner nonprofit marketing budget, developing the organization's Brand Playbook and training its CEO and leadership team on AI tools including Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT, and Claude, building a curriculum that has accelerated content production while protecting editorial quality.

Carol holds an MBA from Emory University's Goizueta Business School and a BS in Public Relations from the University of Florida. She is passionate about proving that powerful storytelling and smart, responsible use of AI aren't at odds with careful stewardship of limited nonprofit resources. They're how organizations like Wellroot do more with what they have.

Principal AI Strategy & Business Transformation at WSI Digital Boost

Gerardo Kerik is Principal of AI Strategy and Business Transformation at WSI Digital Boost, where he helps organizations navigate AI adoption through consulting, training, and hands-on deployment. He currently works with some of the country's leading nonprofit and cultural institutions, including the New York Botanical Garden, Central Park Conservancy, and Atlanta Botanical Garden, guiding executive teams through practical AI integration.

Before launching his consulting practice, Gerardo spent more than 20 years in Fortune 100 marketing leadership at Disney, Turner Broadcasting, and Diageo across global markets. He holds an MBA from London Business School and is an Industrial and Systems Engineer.

Gerardo is a frequent speaker on AI strategy for executive audiences, with recent engagements including Atlanta AI Week, the Kore.ai and Microsoft Frontier Boardroom Series, Golden Seeds, and the SHRM Atlanta AI and Technology Summit.

Director at Forvis Mazars

Kendra LaFleur is a Director in the Assurance practice and Market Sector Leader for Nonprofit and Higher Education at Forvis Mazars. With more than 16 years of public accounting experience, she advises nonprofit organizations, colleges and universities, and other mission-driven entities on accounting, financial reporting, compliance, governance, and operational matters. Known for her practical, client-focused approach, Kendra helps organizations navigate complex challenges and strengthen long-term sustainability.

An active leader in both her profession and community, Kendra serves on a number of professional and nonprofit boards and advisory councils, including the AICPA Profession Ready Initiative Advisory Board and the Georgia State University School of Accountancy Advisory Council. She also serves as Chair of Girls on the Run Georgia. Her achievements include recognition as a Forbes Best-in-State CPA, Global Woman to Watch Emerging Leader, 40 Under 40 honoree, and recipient of the Georgia Society of CPAs Public Service Award.

CFO at the Atlanta Botanical Garden

Noel Barnes is Chief Financial Officer of the Atlanta Botanical Garden, where he leads financial strategy, budgeting, forecasting, investments, compliance and financial reporting while supporting the Garden’s major growth initiatives. He also provides executive oversight of information technology, including financial systems, technology infrastructure and process improvement.

Noel brings more than 25 years of financial and operational leadership experience across the nonprofit, investment advisory and technology sectors. Before joining the Garden, he served as CFO of the Woodruff Arts Center and held executive leadership roles with Edge Capital Partners and EzGov. He began his career with Arthur Andersen. Noel is a Certified Public Accountant and holds degrees in economics from the University of Georgia and accounting from Georgia State University.