About Our Leadership

Effective November 1, 2022, Ms. Emily Thompson assumed the role of Community Friendship, Inc. President and CEO. Ms. Thompson brings a wealth of knowledge and experience, and will continue to lead and guide CFI as a leading provider of recovery-based mental health programs and services in metropolitan Atlanta. She brings more than 15 years of experience in behavioral health and will continue her mission to aide people become better with each step of their journey. A native to the Metropolitan Atlanta community, Ms. Thompson obtained both her undergraduate and graduate degree in Psychology from Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville, Georgia. 

Ms. Thompson has always been a true advocate of assisting people to enhance the skills and emotional well-being needed to be self-sufficient, independent and thrive in the communities we all work and live. This goes hand-in-hand with the mission, vision and values that Community Friendship, Inc. has held for more than 50 years in the Metropolitan Atlanta community. Ms. Thompson is also “team driven” and the staff and consumers of have welcomed her to the CFI culture and community of working together to eradicate stigma and assist people with their personalized mental health recovery.

Emily Thompson
Emily Thompson
President/CEO​

The Community Friendship, Inc. (CFI) Leadership Team is made up of a diverse group of professionals with a wide range of expertise in behavioral and mental health services, recovery orientated services, nonprofit management, fund development, program development and evaluation, financial management, employee relations and more. Together, we provide responsive programs and services of the highest quality to the Atlanta community. Proficient in higher educational standards, CFI’s Leadership Team combined represents over a century of expertise, education, knowledge and skills as they provide services that make recovery possible for individuals living with mental illnesses.

Leadership Team

Emily Thompson – President and CEO
Rocile Cain – Chief Operating Officer
Debbie Henderson – Chief Financial Officer
Rene Bazel – Director of Development, Communications and Training
Beth Boersma – Director of Psychosocial Rehabilitation (PSR) Program
Diane Clemons – Director of Human Resources
Christy Drummond – Director of Case Management and Homeless Outreach
Shirley Estell- Director of Rehabilitative Housing
Kesha Greene – Director of Quality Assurance
Carrie Vanzant – Director of Specialty Housing O’Hern House/Phoenix House/Presley Woods/Rosalynn Apartments
Jean Mevoli-Cannon – Director of Work Opportunities and Peer Support Services
Lola Williams – Director of Access and Intake

Board Of Directors

Weslee Knapp, Board Chair – Keller Knapp Realty
Hakim Hilliard, Esq. – Board Vice Chair – Hilliard Starkey Law Firm
Eve Byrd, Board Secretary – Director of The Carter Center Mental Health Program
Bill Warren, Board Treasurer – KPMG, LLP
Lei Ellingson – The Carter Center Mental Health Program
Carole Galanty – Community Advocate – 
Willa Presmanes – MTM Behavioral Health Consultants
Robin Ratliff – Assistant Vice President and Public Information Officer, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
Rachel Waford, Ph.D. – Emory University, School of Medicine, Decatur Family Psychiatry
Keith Wood, Ph.D. – Emory University School of Medicine
Melissa Yost – Senior Counsel, Managing Attorney Southern Company 
Jo Ann Haden Miller – Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau 
Christine Schneider, Esq. – Senior Council Thompson Hine
The Late Sherry Jenkins Tucker – Executive Director Georgia Mental Health Consumer Network

 

Advisory Board

Frank Alexander, Esq. – Emory School of Law
Regina Cannon – Chief Equity and Impact Officer, Center for Social Innovation
Susan Culpepper – Fund Development Consultant
John J. Gates, Ph.D. – Retired DBHDD
Mary Leslie – Retired City of Atlanta
Jay L Levin, Esq. – Retired Partner Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, LLP
Jim Maddox – Retired Atlanta City Council
Roger Naik, Pharm. D.  – Former Owner, Market Pharmacy
James M. Ney, Esq. – Retired Holt, Ney, Zatcoff, Wasserman
Richard P. Shuey, Esq. – Law Office of Richard P. Shuey
Anno Hardage – CEO Girls Inc.
John Watson – Retired DBHDD
Donna Williams Lewis – Media Consultant