This month the Sustainable Atlanta Roundtable circled back from being “on the road” and returned to the home venue at All Saints.’ The discussion focused on Proctor Creek’s current challenges and future opportunities for redevelopment and revitalization.
Special thanks to our panelists
Erik Fyfe, Proctor Creek Coordinator, Hosted at Park Pride
As Proctor Creek Coordinator, Erik works to support the efforts of a broad base of stakeholders working to improve the environment and quality of life in Atlanta’s Proctor Creek watershed. His role involves strengthening communication among watershed stakeholders and drawing attention to efforts underway in Proctor Creek. Erik manages the About Proctor Creek website, newsletter and associated social media, and he facilitates the Steering Committee for Proctor Creek, a collaborative forum of organizations and agencies involved in the watershed. His position draws from his experience as a community mediator and environmental educator, and Erik’s previous work includes helping found Atlanta’s first biodiesel program, producing a film series highlighting perspectives on climate change, and helping businesses innovate and become more sustainable. Erik holds a Masters of Environmental Management from Yale University with a focus on Industrial Ecology and Environmental Conflict Resolution.
Raymond Christman, Senior Vice President, Mid-South Division Director, The Trust for Public Land
Ray Christman is Senior Vice President and Division Director for The Trust for Public Land, a national land conservation and urban parks non-profit. In this role, Ray oversees TPL’s operations in 22 states in the Midwest and South, including here in Georgia.
Ray has spent his career working in the fields of conservation, affordable housing, urban development and banking, including 15 years heading the Federal Home Loan Banks of Pittsburgh and Atlanta. Prior to joining TPL, he helped found and later served as Executive Director of the Livable Communities Coalition of Metro Atlanta, and also served as chairman of former Mayor Shirley Franklin’s Peachtree Corridor Streetcar project.
Na’Taki Osborne Jelks, Board Chair, West Atlanta Watershed Alliance, Co-Chair, Proctor Creek Stewardship Council
Na’Taki Osborne Jelks co-founded the West Atlanta Watershed Alliance (WAWA), an urban, community-based organization of Proctor, Utoy, and Sandy Creek Watershed residents in Northwest and Southwest Atlanta, GA who are overburdened with environmental stressors and pollution, but often underrepresented at environmental decision-making tables. WAWA was established as a result of community efforts to halt discriminatory wastewater treatment practices in West Atlanta, and the organization has grown to become an impactful force in community-centered sustainable development.
Under Mrs. Jelks’ leadership, WAWA worked with West Atlanta residents to impact the closure of a combined sewer overflow facility and has led community efforts for more than a decade to clean up, protect, and restore Proctor Creek.
In 2013, WAWA joined forces with the Community Improvement Association and Environmental Community Action to establish the Proctor Creek Stewardship Council, a grassroots organization that works to help watershed residents shape and influence decisions that impact environmental quality, health, and quality of life in the Proctor Creek Watershed. With over 15 years of experience living and working in the watershed, Na’Taki is currently Co-Chair of the Stewardship Council.
Na’Taki also serves as an adjunct Instructor in the Environmental Science and Studies Program at Spelman College, her alma mater and is a Ph.D. candidate at the Georgia State University School of Public Health.
