Keith Parker

To remain influential as the President and CEO of Goodwill of North Georgia, Keith T. Parker said it’s essential to be aggressive in the pursuit of learning and continue to be humble. “I’ve had the opportunity to work with Fortune 500 CEOs, politicians and leaders from all walks, but have always been able to maintain effective communication and relationships with those that don’t have big titles and not a lot of wealth,” said Parker. “I find it important to be able to work with people of all walks of life.”

Staying humble and hungry for more opportunities has helped Parker to lead a forward-thinking organization. Goodwill of North Georgia has a primary mission of putting people to work by generating sales at 68 stories and using the revenue to support 13 free-to-the-public career centers and several job training programs.

Parker joined Goodwill of North Georgia in 2017 to lead the agency in executing its 5-year plan to increase revenue to $255 million, connect 130,000 job seekers and earn top employer designation by 2023. Parker not only focused on the financial success of Goodwill leading the agency to achieving its highest revenues, but more importantly achieved the goal to connect 130,000 people to work in the local community.

Since taking the reign as President and CEO, Parker has been instrumental in opening seven new stores while Goodwill of North Georgia became the No. 1 Goodwill agency in the U.S. in terms of connecting people to jobs. He pulled from his tools and skills learned in transit as the former CEO of MARTA and applied them to the nonprofit industry.

“Keith deserves to be recognized as a Titan because his dedication to creating a diverse workplace, increasing revenue to fulfill the mission and putting money back into the economy through workforce development is unmatched,” said his staff. “Upon Keith’s arrival at Goodwill, he recognized the unique experience and expertise the organization had in workforce development and insisted on participating, more broadly, in conversations in the metro area about issues with the workforce.”

Parker is also known for putting a spotlight on all employees and has implemented a number of changes and improvements to make Goodwill a great place to work. “Additionally, he has made a concerted effort to tell the Goodwill story and help shoppers and donors understand how their support makes the mission work possible,” said his staff.