We help tech help people.
We help tech help people.
All of us at Techbridge are proud to be a part of the best community of leaders, innovators, and philanthropists out there. With our Techbridge Award Series, we recognize outstanding community members throughout the year with several distinguished awards.
Nominations for this year’s awards open and close at midnight on .
Individuals nominated for this award demonstrate excellence at a national or civic level, exercise exemplary social or corporate responsibility, play a leading role in advocating for volunteerism, and provide an outstanding contribution to community service efforts.
Individuals nominated for this award are an outstanding volunteer or staff member of a nonprofit organization in Georgia who engages the wider community to assist in-need and at-risk community members. The recipient demonstrates an understanding of technological innovation and social entrepreneurship.
This award recognizes chief technology or chief information officers exhibiting exceptional qualities and abilities. The Ed Steinike CIO Award was first given in awarded to an exceptional CIO demonstrating a passion for mentoring and commitment to philanthropy.
A nominee for this award conceptualizes, strategizes, and launches the venture, and navigates the evolution of the business model and is a founder, owner, or past owner of the business at the time of the nomination allowing for selling the business or acquisition arrangements.
President & CEO, H.J. Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs
James M. Bailey (Jay) is a dynamic force committed to his unwavering motto, “Build As We Climb.” With a transformative vision, he embodies the essence of a change agent, thought leader, entrepreneur, and emerging philanthropist, directing his life’s mission towards uplifting others.
As the President and CEO of the H.J. Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs (RICE), Bailey leads the world’s largest entrepreneurial hub dedicated to growing, scaling, and developing Black businesses. In just four years under Bailey’s visionary leadership, RICE has supported over 500 entrepreneurs full-time, generating an impressive $184M in annual revenues, sustaining 2,153 jobs in the community, and sparking a staggering $478M of new economic impact in the Metro Atlanta area.
An Atlanta native, sought-after speaker, three-time TED Talker, and die-hard Georgia Bulldog, Bailey has a proven track record of success. His leadership and commitment to the community have been recognized by three U.S. Presidents: In 2012, he was one of eight Americans honored at the White House as a “Champion of Change: Following in the Footsteps of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” In 2016, President Barack Obama bestowed upon him the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his dedicated volunteer service.
Bailey has been recognized with the prestigious National Point of Light Award, named one of Atlanta’s “Most Admired CEOs” by the Atlanta Business Chronicle, ranked on Atlanta Magazine’s “POWER 100” list of the most dynamic leaders in the city, and honored by Georgia Trend Magazine as one of the “100 Most Influential” leaders in the state.
Bailey is a devoted member of the Atlanta Rotary Club, dedicated to the motto “Service Above Self.” His remarkable board service includes roles on the Georgia Chamber and Metro Atlanta Chamber Board of Directors. Additionally, he serves as a board director for both the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office and Invest Atlanta Foundation, as well as the founding chairman of Citizens Trust Bank’s Next Generation Advisory Board. Focused on education, he serves on the University of Georgia Board of Visitors, as an Agnes Scott College trustee, a board director for the Atlanta Speech School, and on the Executive Board of the Veritas School of Social Sciences.
Bailey is a nationally recognized landowner and serves as a trustee for the Georgia Forestry Foundation. An esteemed graduate of Leadership Georgia, Leadership Atlanta, and the Regional Leadership Institute, Bailey has earned numerous accolades. Among them are the Whitney M. Young National Community Service Medallion, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drum Major for Service Award, the Maynard Jackson Community Impact Award, a 2023 Atlanta Business League Man of Influence, the Startup Atlanta Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Bernie Marcus Downtown Economic Impact Award. Additionally, he takes great pride in being a dedicated member of Alpha Phi Alpha and the 100 Black Men of Atlanta.
Founding Executive Director of the Partnership for Innovation
Debra Lam is the founding executive director of the Partnership for Innovation, a public–private partnership supporting community-driven innovation, economic opportunity, and workforce development across the Southeast.
Lam previously served as Pittsburgh’s first chief of innovation & performance, where she led efforts to make government more transparent and responsive through technology, data, and sustainability. Earlier, she worked globally as a management consultant with Arup, advising cities on strategy, infrastructure, and economic growth.
Lam holds degrees from Georgetown University and the University of California, Berkeley, and serves on the boards of the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta and the Fitzgerald Family Foundation. She has lived and worked in U.K., China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.
Her writing has appeared in Newsweek, The Atlanta Journal–Constitution, and The Conversation. She is also the co-author of Empowering Smart Cities Through Community-Centered Public–Private Partnerships, which highlights how collaboration between government, business, and communities can deliver practical working solutions.
With over 20 years of experience, Johnson excels in strategy, fundraising, and program innovation. Johnson has formed impactful cross-sector partnerships and received major honors, including the Manhattan Institute’s Social Entrepreneur Program of the Year, Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Most Admired CEO, and Georgia’s Outstanding Citizen Award. He’s also featured among Atlanta Magazine’s Top 500 Most Powerful Leaders.
Johnson’s journey from adversity to success includes earning degrees from the University of Maryland and Harvard, authoring The Hope Inside, and becoming a keynote speaker and leadership coach. He’s been featured in national media such as USA Today, FOX, BET, and The Huffington Post. Johnson is also active in Rotary and Leadership Atlanta, demonstrating his commitment to community and leadership.
Arun Kandel is the CIO of the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Arun Kandel is a people-first technology leader who believes IT should empower mission and people. As CIO of the Southern Poverty Law Center, he has transformed a fragmented tech environment into a cohesive, secure, and service-driven ecosystem. Kandel has built a high-performing IT team, cultivating a culture rooted in trust, mentorship, and collaboration. His leadership enables cross-functional teams to work smarter, faster, and more effectively.
Kandel’s impact goes far beyond day-to-day operations; he’s passionate about lifting others. He has created tech internships for under-served youth, giving them real-world experience and a clear path toward meaningful careers.
Kandel‘s contributions earned him the Georgia CIO ORBIE® Award and KSU’s Five in Flight Alumni Award. The latter recognizes excellence in leadership and innovation. Kandel holds an MBA from Kennesaw State University and a B.A. in Computer Science from Capital University.
Kandel leads with humility, always uplifting others and proving that fundamental transformation starts by putting people first.
Kathy Tira is the SVP, Chief Digital Workplace and Business Systems Officer at Experian.
Kathy Tira leads global strategy, delivery, and transformation for internal corporate systems and end-user technology at Experian. Her organization supports HR, finance, sales, operations, legal, risk, audit, and workplace technology, serving tens of thousands of employees worldwide.
Tira has delivered multi-million-dollar savings, accelerated modernization, and significantly improved employee experience and adoption. A recognized technology leader, she earned a Silver Stevie® Award in for excellence in transforming business. Tira was named a ORBIE CIO Awards finalist and selected as a WIT Women of the Year Honoree.
Tira is passionate about developing talent at all levels and mentoring future leaders across the technology organization. She is known for connecting tech strategy to business outcomes and is a strong advocate for mobile-first and accessibility-forward solutions to empower employees to thrive in a modern digital workplace.
Founder & CEO — Goodr, Inc.
In after years of personally preparing and distributing meals to people experiencing homelessness, Crowe-Houston launched Goodr, a sustainable waste management and hunger solutions company that uses technology to reduce food waste and provide dignified access to nutritious food.
Under Crowe-Houston’s leadership, Goodr has redirected more than 25 million pounds of surplus food, delivered nearly 40 million meals and counting, and opened 28 free Goodr Grocery Stores across the country in schools, senior centers, and communities facing food insecurity. These stores empower families to choose healthy food with dignity and are central to Goodr’s scalable, long-term solutions to hunger.
Goodr has been recognized as a World-Changing Company by Fortune Magazine, and Crowe-Houston’s work has been featured in Oprah Magazine, Forbes, Fast Company, CNBC, and the New York Times. She has been named one of Goldman Sachs’ Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs, the NBMAA Entrepreneur of the Year, one of Entrepreneur Magazine’s Top 100 Influential Female Founders, and one of Insider’s 100 People Transforming Business.
Crowe-Houston currently serves on the boards of the Metro Atlanta Chamber, Drawdown Georgia, the Wellstar Health Foundation, and the Invest Atlanta Emerging Markets Board, where she helps shape strategy at the intersection of health, climate, equity, and inclusive economic development.
Her book Feeding Hope will be released in .
CEO — WrightNow Solutions
Founder & CEO — PadSplit
Atticus LeBlanc is the founder and CEO of PadSplit, the country’s largest coliving marketplace.