The Atlanta Story podcast features meaningful stories of Atlanta’s builders, creators, and entrepreneurs. In this episode Jon Birdsong sits down with Sally Bethea , the Founding Director and Riverkeeper of Chattahoochee Riverkeeper and author. Born and raised in Atlanta, Sally spent 30 years setting up and leading the non-profit that protects and preserves the 430 miles of our vital Chattahoochee river – which weaves through the state of Georgia and Atlanta. Topics in today’s interview include l...
Nov 16, 2023•36 min•Season 4Ep. 8
The Atlanta Story podcast features meaningful stories of Atlanta’s builders, creators, and entrepreneurs. In this episode Jon Birdsong sits down with Brian McGowen, President of Centennial Yards. Born in the Bronx, raised in New Jersey, and educated in California, Brian McGowen has been bi-coastal for the majority of his life. His career has spanned between public and private sectors dating back to his time in California, to DC, and culminating in Atlanta. Now, he’s leading Centennial Yards whic...
Oct 19, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Season 4Ep. 7
The Atlanta Story podcast features meaningful stories of Atlanta’s builders, creators, and entrepreneurs. In this episode Jon Birdsong sits down with Victoria Lemos, Founder of Archive Atlanta. Born and raised in New York, Victoria moved to Atlanta 18 years ago and since then has become a prolific podcaster through Archive Atlanta. Two hundred and thirty episodes later, Victoria has covered everything from the most underrated neighborhood – which we discussed, to the quirky stories in the cracks...
Sep 21, 2023•57 min•Season 4Ep. 6
The Atlanta Story podcast features meaningful stories of Atlanta’s builders, creators, and entrepreneurs. In this episode Jon Birdsong sits down with Kelvin Collins, Vice President of Economic Development of Atlanta BeltLine. Born and raised in Grenada, Kelvin moved to the United States for college and since, has spent the majority of his career in the public sector — mainly in New York City. Before getting the call to move to Atlanta, Kelvin worked for the Small Business Services Department, a ...
Jul 13, 2023•41 min•Season 4Ep. 5
The Atlanta Story podcast features meaningful stories of Atlanta’s builders, creators, and entrepreneurs. In this episode Jon Birdsong sits down with Nate Hybl , Founder of Gusto !. Born and raised in Hazelhurst, Georgia, Nate has spent the majority of his career experimenting, crafting, and serving life-giving food through his fast-casual food company, Gusto! What first started out as vast and obsessive research around menu design and branding during nights and weekends, has transformed into a ...
Jun 22, 2023•51 min•Season 4Ep. 4
The Atlanta Story podcast features meaningful stories of Atlanta’s builders, creators, and entrepreneurs. In this episode Jon Birdsong sits down with Nedra Deadwyler, Founder for Civil Bikes. Nedra started Civil Bikes nearly 10 years ago as a way to preserve history while also experiencing Atlanta outside of the normal lens of a car. Her tours are experienced by visitors all over the country who want to learn more about the more silent parts of Atlanta history. When she’s not leading historical ...
Apr 20, 2023•47 min•Season 4Ep. 3
The Atlanta Story podcast features meaningful stories of Atlanta’s builders, creators, and entrepreneurs. In this episode Jon Birdsong sits down with Conor Sen, Columnist for Bloomberg. Conor moved to Atlanta from California in 2010 and has documented several trends and market shifts through his popular Twitter account @conorsen. Conor parlayed his popularity into a weekly Column for Bloomberg where his thoughts on housing, economics, and technology can be read each week. In today’s interview, w...
Feb 23, 2023•42 min•Season 4Ep. 2
The Atlanta Story podcast features meaningful stories of Atlanta’s builders, creators, and entrepreneurs. In this episode Jon Birdsong sits down with Yanni Hufnagel, Founder of Lemon Perfect. Yanni started his career in basketball. From team manager at Cornell to Assistant Coaching positions at Oklahoma, Harvard, Vanderbilt, and Nevada, Yanni is a student of building great teams, recruiting the best, and leaving it all out on the court. Five years ago a spark was ignited around the idea of build...
Jan 26, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Season 4Ep. 1
The Atlanta Story podcast features meaningful stories of Atlanta’s builders, creators, and entrepreneurs. In this episode Jon Birdsong sits down with Zac Harrison , Founder of Fresh Harvest . Over ten years ago, a cross country bike trip sparked the desire to deliver locally grown food to the doorsteps of consumers. Today, Fresh Harvest supplies Georgia grown food and produce to over 3300 households every week through their sourcing and operations. In today’s interview, Zac shares stories from F...
Dec 01, 2022•46 min•Season 3Ep. 10
The Atlanta Story podcast features meaningful stories of Atlanta’s builders, creators, and entrepreneurs. In this episode Jon Birdsong sits down with Cherie Kloss, Founder of SnapNurse. After spending 10 years as an anesthetist, Cherie transitioned careers to be a tv producer and then a technology founder. Through the personal pain she experienced finding, scheduling, and getting paid as a healthcare worker, Cherie started a software company learning how through online education and Youtube vide...
Oct 13, 2022•54 min•Season 3Ep. 9
The Atlanta Story podcast features meaningful stories of Atlanta’s builders, creators, and entrepreneurs. In this episode Jon Birdsong sits down with Shannon Heath Longino , Senior Vice President at Truist Bank where she works on affordable housing initiatives. Shannon was raised by her grandmother, Eva Davis, in the storied East Lake Meadows neighborhood. Through community organization, Shannon was on the front line of transitioning a neighborhood towards greater economic mobility, enhanced res...
Aug 25, 2022•51 min•Season 3Ep. 8
The Atlanta Story podcast features meaningful stories of Atlanta’s builders, creators, and entrepreneurs. In this episode Jon Birdsong sits down with Andrew McConnell Co-Founder and CEO of Rented.com and published author of Get Out of My Head : Creating Modern Clarity with Stoic Wisdom. Andrew received two degrees from Harvard and then worked at McKinsey & Company before starting Rented.com . He is also an accomplished swimmer having been a former member on the US National Team in Open Water...
Jul 14, 2022•43 min•Season 3Ep. 7
The Atlanta Story podcast features meaningful stories of Atlanta’s builders, creators, and entrepreneurs. In this episode Jon Birdsong sits down with Frank Fernandez, CEO of Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta. Going into its 70th year serving our city, the Community Foundation of Greater Atlanta is powered by over 1000 donors to champion equity and secure prosperity for Atlantans. After Harvard and graduate school, Frank dedicated his life to the non-profit and philanthropic sectors. Befor...
Jun 23, 2022•47 min•Season 3Ep. 6
The Atlanta Story podcast features meaningful stories of Atlanta’s builders, creators, and entrepreneurs. In this episode Jon Birdsong sits down with Adam Wexler , Founder and CEO of PrizePicks . With over 50,000 daily active users, PrizePicks is a leading player in the Daily Fantasy Sports Industry. In today’s interview, Adam shares insights from his entrepreneurial journey, the in’s and out’s of the fantasy sports world, what it will take in the years ahead to accelerate growth, and much more!...
May 19, 2022•45 min•Season 3Ep. 5
The Atlanta Story podcast features meaningful stories of Atlanta’s builders, creators, and entrepreneurs. In this episode Jon Birdsong sits down with Greg Bluestein, AJC’s premiere political reporter and newly minted author of Flipped. Greg spent the first part of his career at the Associated Press before transitioning to the AJC. Greg and his colleagues cover the daily political pulse of Georgia through The Jolt with more detailed coverage on his twice a week podcast: Politically Georgia. On to...
Apr 07, 2022•45 min•Season 3Ep. 4
The Atlanta Story podcast features meaningful stories of Atlanta’s builders, creators, and entrepreneurs. In this episode Jon Birdsong sits down with Indra Sofian , Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer at Sora. Indra and his co-founders started Sora while still under graduates at Georgia Tech. Today, they’ve raised over $23 million dollars from the likes of Union Square Ventures and General Catalyst to build a global, online school. On today’s episode, Indra elaborates on the ups and downs of fun...
Mar 17, 2022•53 min•Season 3Ep. 3
The Atlanta Story podcast features meaningful stories of Atlanta’s builders, creators, and entrepreneurs. In this episode Jon Birdsong sits down with Dr. Meria Carstarphen, Former Superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools. Born in Selma, educated at Tulane, Auburn, and Harvard, Meria took the helm of APS starting in 2014 to 2020. During her tenure, she saw graduation rates improve to 80%, transformed a damaged culture infected by the infamous cheating scandal, and made a generational impact for s...
Feb 24, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Season 3Ep. 2
The Atlanta Story podcast features meaningful stories of Atlanta’s builders, creators, and entrepreneurs. In this episode Jon Birdsong sits down with Jesslyn Rollins , CEO of Biolyte . Biolyte is one of the fastest, homegrown consumer brands in the city and state. What started out as a remedy for a family member’s illness has turned into a beverage consumed and purchased from QuickTrips to Krogers by thousands of people. Biolyte is an IV in a bottle that makes super hydration accessible and affo...
Jan 20, 2022•46 min•Season 3Ep. 1
The Atlanta Story podcast features meaningful stories of Atlanta’s builders, creators, and entrepreneurs. In this episode Jon Birdsong sits down with Ryan Anderson, Founder of Georgia Votes. In today’s episode, Jon sits down with Ryan Anderson, Founder of GeorgiaVotes.com. What started out as a fun rabbit hole analyzing voter data, has turned into a premiere source of analysis for any and all Georgians looking to understand voter data and demographics. In today’s episode Jon and Ryan talk about ...
Dec 09, 2021•39 min•Season 2Ep. 11
The Atlanta Story podcast features meaningful stories of Atlanta’s builders, creators, and entrepreneurs. In this episode Jon Birdsong sits down with Kieran McGill, Owner of Fadó Irish Pub. Kieran moved to Atlanta with plans to stay for 24 months. Today he’s transitioning into his 24th year as the owner of 8 total pubs worldwide with 300 employees. In today’s episode we talk about what makes Fado have the purest pour in the United States, how to build an authentic Irish Pub, what trends he sees ...
Dec 02, 2021•44 min•Season 2Ep. 10
The Atlanta Story podcast features meaningful stories of Atlanta’s builders, creators, and entrepreneurs. In this episode Jon Birdsong sits down with Jon sits down with Professional Golfer, Podcaster, and burgeoning businessman Roberto Castro. Roberto was a 4 time All-American at Georgia Tech who studied Industrial Engineering before turning pro. In today’s episode we talk about his experiences and insights from The PGA Tour, how his curiosity in business is pulling him towards creative outlets ...
Oct 21, 2021•38 min•Season 2Ep. 9
The Atlanta Story podcast features meaningful stories of Atlanta’s builders, creators, and entrepreneurs. In this episode Jon Birdsong sits down Founder and CEO of The Illuminarium, Alan Greenberg. Alan is a serial entrepreneur who has started companies in media, healthcare, education, travel, and technology. The Illuminarium is all about democratizing human experiences and just opened the first of several locations last month right off the Beltline. Before this latest venture, Alan co-Founded A...
Aug 19, 2021•44 min•Season 2Ep. 8
The Atlanta Story podcast features meaningful stories of Atlanta’s builders, creators, and entrepreneurs. In this episode Jon Birdsong sits down with Kyle and Brent Pease of the Kyle Pease Foundation . Born and raised in Atlanta, Kyle Pease never let being diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy get in the way of living a normal life. Baseball, wrestling, and swimming were some of the many activities Kyle and his two brothers all grew up doing. As his older brother, Brent, started competing in triathlons,...
Jul 15, 2021•34 min•Season 2Ep. 7
The Atlanta Story podcast features meaningful stories of Atlanta’s builders, creators, and entrepreneurs. In this episode Jon Birdsong sits down with Maurice Cherry , Principal of Lunch — an award winning creative studio. Maurice moved to Atlanta, Georgia to go to school at Morehouse College. In addition to running his creative studio, Maurice has performed over 400 interviews for the widely popular podcast, Revision Path, which was the first podcast to be added to the Smithsonian’s National Mus...
Jun 17, 2021•54 min•Season 2Ep. 6
The Atlanta Story podcast features meaningful stories of Atlanta’s builders, creators, and entrepreneurs. In this episode Jon Birdsong sits down with Joe Rogers Jr, Chairman of Waffle House. In 1979, Joe brokered a deal earning him and the Rogers family controlling interest of the steadily growing Waffle House franchise. Under his leadership, Waffle House grew to over 1900 restaurants while employing over 35,000 people. In the interview, Joe discusses how Waffle House navigated the Covid crisis,...
May 13, 2021•45 min•Season 2Ep. 5
The Atlanta Story podcast features meaningful stories of Atlanta’s builders, creators, and entrepreneurs. In this episode Jon Birdsong sits down with Fred Castellucci, President and CEO of Castellucci Hospitality Group . Fred grew up in Atlanta before heading off to Cornell University. After interning in the consulting world, he quickly realized his heart was in the business of food. Upon returning to Atlanta, he re-ignited his family’s 1 restaurant group and grew it to 7 (and counting) restaura...
Apr 08, 2021•45 min•Season 2Ep. 4
Mayor Franklin served as Mayor from 2002 to 2010 and leaves an indelible legacy affecting every Atlantan today. In this episode we talk about her reputation as the mayor who cleaned our sewer system, had the political vision to act on the Beltline, and lessons she learned from her time working for Maynard Jackson and Andrew Young. We also learn how she has transitioned from public to private life including her current involvement with Purpose Built Communities, and much more. The Atlanta Story i...
Mar 04, 2021•58 min•Season 2Ep. 3
The Atlanta Story podcast features meaningful stories of Atlanta’s builders, creators, and entrepreneurs. In this episode Jon Birdsong sits down with Neal Cohen, Co-Founder of Tip Top Proper Cocktails. Before starting a fast-growing cocktails in a can company, Neal was helping brands create unique experiences at Superfly. One particular industry he worked in was music festivals where he collaborated with his now cofounder, Yoni Reisman. In today’s episode, we talk about the early days of Tip Top...
Feb 04, 2021•54 min•Season 2Ep. 2
The Atlanta Story podcast features meaningful stories of Atlanta’s builders, creators, and entrepreneurs. In this episode Jon Birdsong sits down with Coach Mike Smith, former head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. Mike or Smitty as locals know him, is the Falcon’s winningest coach in franchise history by number of wins. In 2008 he was the recipient of the NFL Coach of the Year Award. In today’s episode, we talk about how to win in the locker room, behaviors from the most committed players he’s ever ...
Jan 07, 2021•47 min•Season 2Ep. 1
The Atlanta Story podcast features meaningful stories of Atlanta’s builders, creators, and entrepreneurs. In this episode Jon Birdsong sits down with Ryan Hersh, Founder of Edison Bicycles . Ryan scratched his own itch when his 4 mile commute in Atlanta took over 1 hour. Through trial and error, he built the first prototype of what would be the first Edison Electric Bike. Fast forward 5 years later and over 1000 bikes have been sold locally and they are just getting started. In today’s episode, ...
Nov 12, 2020•47 min•Season 1Ep. 18
