Joy Eason Hopkins, President

Joy is a native Georgian that has lived and worked in various parts of the country. Her experiences range from building cotton gins in Nigeria, Niger and El Salvador, to managing human services for people with disabilities in rural Georgia. A friendship in the late 70s with Dr. Marc Gold led Joy to being part of one of the most important instrutional technology projects of the decade, teaching staff in community programs around the United States the Try Another Way Technology that opened doors to community life and employment for many people who had been isolated and forgotten.

After returning to Georgia, she designed and coordinated The Community Conference.  The Community Conference brought together people from varied experiences of social change including community organizing, the civil rights and disabilities movements to create a learning context through celebration and stories.

Her experiences and love of community helped to make her instrumental in establishing supported employment in Georgia and elsewhere throughout the country. She became Coordinator of Partnership 2000, a major collaboration between Georgia's state agencies, providers and the business community to promote supported employment throughout the state.

Since 2000, her work has included action research, micro-enterprise development, and workforce development. She has been the key person on a workforce development initiative funded by the Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities, which has included the creation of a certificate program offered through Georgia’s Technical and Adult Education System (DTAE).