Shirley Franklin Biography

Shirley Franklin became the first African American woman to be elected mayor of a large southern city in 2002, and she served two terms until 2010. She is currently the Executive Chairman of Purpose Built Communities, a non-profit consulting organization that collaborates with local leaders to develop and manage a comprehensive community rehabilitation project. Franklin was the inaugural Barbara Jordan Chair in Ethics and Political Values at the University of Texas at Austin's Lyndon Baines Johnson School of Public Affairs from 2013 to 2016, and she was a visiting professor of Political Science at Spelman College from 2010 to 2012. During Franklin's eight years as mayor of Atlanta, the city witnessed extraordinary expansion, providing her with the chance to engage and interact with many local and regional leaders in solving urban policy concerns such as urban planning, economic development, and infrastructure. She is best known for advocating for and tackling major government operations and ethics reform launching the Atlanta Beltline planning and executing over $5 billion in airport and water infrastructure improvement leading the acquisition of the Morehouse College Collection of Martin Luther King Jr. Papers launching the Atlanta Regional Commission on Homelessness and developing successful business and public-sector partnerships and alliances. Aside from her work as a public official, she has been involved in Atlanta's community for over 40 years, participating in the arts, homelessness, higher education, and politics.

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