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Kathy Bremer and Charles Edwards

To get a sense for the impact that professional services firms have on any local community, all you have to do is look at the Board rosters of any major not-for-profit, institute of higher education and business association and you’ll see immediately that the leaders hail from professional services. Increasingly, Atlanta’s professional services firms are joining forces with their clients to increase their community impact. The Client Advisor Community Involvement Award recognizes one professional service firm and client pair for their joint efforts on behalf of the public good.

We were honored to have the 2010 Winners of the Community Involvement Award, Kathy Bremer, Managing Director of Boardwalk Consulting and Charles Edwards, President and CEO for the Atlanta Center for Self Sufficiency (ACSS) on our radio show.

ACSS resulted from the May 2010 merger of the Samaritan House of Atlanta and Atlanta Enterprise Center, two non-profits that had been helping Atlanta’s homeless and near homeless achieve self sufficiency for more than 20 years. And as our guests explained, that merger resulted in their crossing paths.

As Kathy explained, her firm focuses fully on non-profit leadership, including board enrichment, executive search and non-profit strategy on a national basis. She noted, “as a non-profit, when you have the leadership piece right, you are going to be able to help more people.”

Charles took advantage of the opportunity to “brag on Kathy” in our interview, noting that her role in the success of the merger was “absolutely essential.” He explained that she served as the facilitator as the two merging organizations created the initial plan for ACSS, including accessing the target market that the organization would serve and identifying the imperatives for success of the merger—-all through the lens of leadership.

Having fully defined the role, she began her search for a unique, entrepreneurial-minded visionary leader who could build something that did not previously exits. Charles Edwards was just such a leader.

As a seasoned business executive, he brought a fresh approach and a passion to fulfill the mission of ACSS. As Charles noted, “ACSS empowers homeless individuals to achieve economic self sufficiency and their ultimate potential to thrive in life.”

Charles explained that he was attracted to the role because he could see that it would allow him to make a major new impact on the Atlanta community by breaking the cycle of homelessness forever. The motto for ACSS: Inspire Hope and Make it Real—and that is exactly what he is doing.

His growth goals for the organization are ambitious—ACSS currently serves 500 individuals per year who are capable of achieving self-sufficiency. In the next 4 to 5 years, the goal is to grow that by a factor of 4X. Charles stressed the import role that professionals from firms throughout the Atlanta area will play in achieving that goal. As he noted, the professionals really get excited about figuring out how to grow the organization—and in turn—they realize personal growth as well.

Kathy and Charles stressed the need his organization and many others in Atlanta have for individuals from professional service firms. They also noted the benefits that those volunteers realize. And both stressed that you can start small—-volunteer at a food bank, get on a committee—-just get involved.

To learn more about how to get involved in non-profit service, to hear about the difference that you can make and the unique opportunities at ACSS, and to tap into Kathy’s expertise, we invite you to download the full interview.

Our guests:

Kathy Bremer, Managing Director, Boardwalk Consulting

Charles Edwards, CEO, Atlanta Center for Self Sufficiency

Kathy Bremer has spent her entire career raising aspirations in corporate, nonprofit and community settings. She is known for her tenacious pursuit of excellence, whether on behalf of clients, colleagues or the larger community.

Kathy joined BoardWalk after eight years as Partner and Atlanta Managing Director with Porter Novelli, where she led a ten-fold growth in revenues and profits. Clients she served personally include such best-in-class organizations as the national offices of American Cancer Society and Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Aflac, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta Women’s Foundation and Georgia-Pacific.

Prior to Porter Novelli, Kathy served from 1991 to 1998 as Senior Vice President of External Relations for CARE, one of the world’s leading humanitarian organizations.

Kathy’s commitment to the nonprofit sector is pervasive. She has chaired or served on over a dozen nonprofit boards. She recently completed a four-year term as board chair of the Georgia Center for Nonprofits, a thriving organization that is the statewide advocate for the nonprofit sector. She currently chairs the Board of CHRIS Kids and serves on the American Cancer Society Patient Navigator Cabinet and several nonprofit boards. Kathy is a frequent speaker on nonprofit and career issues, and a facilitator of strategic planning for numerous nonprofits.

Earlier in her career, Kathy was Senior Vice President at NW Ayer advertising. At Ayer and a prior agency, she headed accounts including Procter & Gamble, Minolta and the Ad Council. During a two-year stint in Tokyo, Kathy edited international corporate publications and wrote for Newsweek and NHK radio news. She authored several books for Japanese students of English and contributed two chapters to the book Discover Japan.

Charles R. Edwards
President and CEO

Charles R. Edwards became president and CEO of the Atlanta Center for Self Sufficiency (ACSS) upon its founding on May 1, 2010. Prior to ACSS, Charles served more than four years as assistant dean of corporate relations and assistant dean of development at Georgia State University’s J. Mack Robinson College of Business. Before his time in academia, Charles enjoyed working four years as chief marketing officer of the 1996 Paralympic Games and more than five years as an executive search consultant. He also helped lead a successful Internet infrastructure venture as co-CEO during a one-year sabbatical from his executive search practice. Charles launched his career with IBM, where he was an executive in sales and marketing for over 15 years. Academically, Charles earned a bachelor of science in Industrial Engineering and a master in business administration from the University of Michigan, and a master of science in Industrial Engineering from Wayne State University.

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LeighAnn Costley of UHY Advisors

Being on the front end of a growth curve can be exciting for any firm, and challenging as well. Few firms really master growing rapidly while still continuing to deliver an exceptional client experience.

But a few are able to do just that—and many of those firms were honored at our recent 5TH Anniversary Client Advisor Awards luncheon (December, 2010) including UHY Advisors, a 2010 nominee.

Our guest on Growing Professional Services Radio, LeighAnn Costley, is a CPA and Principal with UHY Advisors GA, Inc. and is the practice leader of the Southeast region Tax Services group in Atlanta.

We asked LeighAnn to join us on this week’s program because her firm has been able to maintain a high level of client satisfaction even as they continue to expand and grow their firm. She generously shared how the Firm has been able to do that. Continue reading →

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Sidney Welch and Jason Bring

Massive industry shifts mean massive growth opportunity for professional services firms. Right now, the big shift is most evident in the healthcare market. We talked to one of the leading healthcare law practices in the country about how they are readying themselves and their clients for the coming growth.

And, as our guests Jason Bring and Sidney Welch noted in the beginning of the broadcast, it is an exciting time to be involved in Healthcare and the changes in that industry are happening almost daily. While those changes may be challenging for many, they also provide growth opportunity for trusted advisors who, like our guests, make a commitment to being well-informed and aptly prepared to help their client’s navigate through the changes.

We invited Jason Bring and Sidney Welch, both Partners in the Healthcare Practice of Arnall, Golden Gregory (AGG), a provider-focused healthcare group, to join us to talk about the industry, the changes and their role at the center of the healthcare convergence.

As Sidney noted, she joined AGG and their Healthcare Practice because of the depth and breadth of the healthcare expertise that the firm has attracted, noting that it is the largest Healthcare Practice in the Southeast and has a national reputation. In growing the practice, AGG has attracted physical therapists, Government regulators, MS in Public Health so they know the industry, not just the laws.

In explaining the idea of “healthcare convergence”, Jason and Sidney discussed how the breadth and depth of their Firms’ practice has helped them to be on the forefront of the movement. Essentially, the reform initiatives are focusing on breaking down the barriers and silos typically found in healthcare to provide a better continuum of care and a continuum of quality.

Jason noted the AGG Healthcare Convergence Symposium that they have launched, noting that AGG is assembling a roundtable that will bring together a diverse group of professionals and leaders in the industry. The Symposium will make AGG the place where healthcare converges and will provide a platform for industry thought leaders.

Download the complete podcast to hear more about this innovative new initiative as well as other insights on how AGG has grown their premier Healthcare Practice and has solidified it’s position at the epicenter of the healthcare convergence movement.

Our guests:

Jason Bring

Jason Bring is a partner in Arnall, Golden Gregory’s Healthcare Group, where he leads the firm’s long-term care litigation defense practice. He represents nursing homes, hospitals, and physicians in litigation, governmental investigations, regulatory compliance, and administrative disputes. His practice covers four primary areas:

• defending nursing homes against liability claims throughout the southeast
• representing providers in certificate of need (CON) matters in Georgia and South Carolina
• defending providers in False Claims Act (qui tam) cases and investigations nationally
• pursuing administrative appeals on behalf of providers to recover and maximize reimbursement under the Medicare and Medicaid programs

The majority of Mr. Bring’s defense work is on behalf of nursing homes, where he capitalizes on AGG’s decades of experience in representing long-term care facilities in reimbursement, survey, regulatory, and transactional issues. Recent successes include obtaining several rulings compelling the arbitration of plaintiffs’ claims, obtaining a voluntary dismissal of a nursing home defendant from a multi-defendant action, and significantly lowering a client’s claims experience.

On the certificate of need front, Mr. Bring counsels and represents hospitals and other institutional providers in obtaining or challenging CONs. He has participated in many of the more significant CON cases in Georgia in the last ten years and has helped obtain several important decisions in the Georgia Court of Appeals. For example, for an imaging provider facing CON revocation proceedings by the state, Mr. Bring and his colleagues defended the action for three years through several administrative and judicial layers and crafted a strategy that allowed the provider to remain operational the entire time. More recently, he represented an existing ambulatory surgery center insuccessfully challenging a competitor’s application for a Certificate of Need (CON) to develop an orthopedic surgery center.

Jason Bring, Partner, Arnall, Golden Gregory, LLP, Atlanta, GA

Phone: 404.873.8162

Email: jason.bring@agg.com

Website: http://agg.com/

Sidney Welch

Sidney S. Welch is a partner with Arnall Golden Gregory LLP’s healthcare practice. Ms. Welch concentrates on representing physicians and physician practices in all legal aspects of their practices on a national basis. This expertise includes the following:

• Advising clients on federal and state regulatory matters, including the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, Stark I, II & III, the False Claims Act, privacy and security issues under the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act, state self-referral laws, fee splitting and the corporate practice of medicine
• Working with physicians and hospitals on physician-hospital relationships, including joint ventures, on-call programs, Medical Staff Bylaws, Medical Staff hearings and disciplinary matters, credentialing, and recruitment
• Structuring business relationships from a corporate and regulatory perspective
• Negotiating business and contractual relationships with other physicians, hospitals and third parties
• Representing physicians in litigation and administrative matters, including: Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement issues; investigations, audits and appeals; medical licensure issues; and disputes with insurance companies, other physicians and hospitals

While in law school, Ms. Welch clerked with the University of Alabama-Birmingham Medical Center and the Office of General Counsel for the American Medical Association. Ms. Welch is a frequent speaker on health care issues and regularly addresses the Medical Association of Georgia, the American Medical Association, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Medical Group Managers Association, American Society of Medical Association Counsel and Georgia Medical Group Managers Association.

Sidney Welch, Partner, Arnall, Golden Gregory, LLP, Atlanta, GA

Phone: 404.873.8182

Email: sidney.welch@agg.com

Website: http://agg.com