Thread by @antiracistsouth

THREAD 🧵🪡

Exposing corporate & political conflicts of interest in the “South River Forest and Public Safety Training Center Community Task Force”

— PART 3: “Parks & Environmental NGO’s”

In this edition, we examine the NPIC’s role in manufacturing consent.

#StopCopCity

#1 Greta G. deMayo, @PATHFoundation

As Executive Director of the Path Foundation & regular collaborator w/ metro Atlanta city planning bodies, deMayo’s role on this taskforce is two-fold: provide professional capacity for “park/trail” planning for Cop City & lend legitimacy.

Now this thread is less about deMayo and more about the true power players— the @CityofAtlanta & the @PATHFoundation Board of Directors/ major donors. Ultimately an NGO ED serves at the behest of the Board & they have the power to fire deMayo, meaning their influence is HUGE.

Let’s start with the @PATHFoundation Board, which includes deep ties corporate funders of Cop City, including: @CoxEnterprises, @TruistNews (formerly SunTrust), @MerrillLynch @GeorgiaPower, @AlstonBirdLLP, @BlackRock, @CocaCola & more… #StopCopCity

Many of these Board Members also have ties to major civic orgs and NGOs who are extremely influential in the Cop City campaign, such as @CarterCenter (thus far complicit in anti-democratic ATL gov practices), @TreesAtlanta, @AtlantaBeltLine, AND importantly— @wabenews.

The @PATHFoundation Board Member @JRDorian is the CEO of @wabenews, previously worked for @CocaCola is her father, Claude Easterly was a top @CoxEnterprises exec. Dorian’s hiring was overseen by @BWCSearch who are a #CopCity & APF funder.

Following MASSIVE public outcry following the murder of #Tortuguita, Atlanta leaders hoped to divide the #StopCopCity movement by trying to split off those with primarily environmental/quality of life concerns from those opposed to the expansion of policing. In comes @wabenews…

To quell the growing opposition to Cop City, @andreforatlanta & APF seemingly enlist the support of @AtlantaRegional & partner NGOs to quickly produce a revised proposal of the preservation/beautification of the South River Forest that had been previously scrapped for Cop City.

The report was largely produced by the @AtlantaRegional w/ input & collaboration from all the Cop City CSAC members as well as the @nature_ga and Dekalb/Atlanta City officials. The purpose was to attempt to form a “compromise” that would diffuse opposition to Cop City…

The @PATHFoundation Board Chair is Charles Shufeldt (also on @TreesAtlanta board)— a long time employee of SunTrust (now @TruistNews). PATH’s 2019-2021 Mile 300 campaign included major Cop City donors; @CoxEnterprises, Rollins Inc., @BlankFoundation, @RNDC_USA, SunTrust & more.

Another connection of note on PATH’s Board: Steven S. Lanier.

“Ex-CIA” (😉) who produced intelligence reports for the Bush admin & the National Counter Terrorism Center as recently as 2007– former @MerrillLynch, most recently worked for @GeorgiaPower (Cop City funder).

WOW 👀

The PATH Foundation’s own history is tied to @CoxEnterprises family— particularly @AlexTaylor_Cox & James Kennedy, who saw PATH as a key step in preparing for the 1996 Olympics. Bill Fowler’s wife Cindy was on the planning committee.

While @PATHFoundation looks like an innocuous “politically neutral” NGO to the public (& YES I’m sure they do good work!) its much deeper in terms of the role they play in actualizing the agenda of the ruling class. Such is the Non-Profit Industrial Complex.

It’s LUCRATIVE work!

With a salary of $238,000 a year with $110,999 as bonus & incentive compensation— would YOU push back against your organization’s biggest funders and donors???

There are deep financial incentives- both personal & organizational- to play along with their agenda. #StopCopCity

I almost forgot— while I am unsure if this is still the case, the relationship between @PATHFoundation & @CoxEnterprises was SO close that Cox even gave them office space in their own building. Currently the only address listed on PATH’s website is a P.O. Box. 👀

#StopCopCity

#2 Michelle Blackmon, Grant Park Conservancy

@gpconservancy is an NGO that supports maintenance, fundraising & park operations— another pseudo-public partnership (see: end around) that allows Atlanta to get massive private philanthropic support for its parks.

#StopCopCity

Michelle Blackmon is the Executive Director of @gpconservancy, but again, the power to hire & fire ED’s is with the Board of Directors… so let’s see whose power & money is on the GPC Board & try to see how Blackmon ended up on the Cop City community taskforce! First up… OOP 👀

When your NGO acts as a private arm of @ATLParksandRec you need plenty of City officials to coordinate with. But to serve your function, you also need to bring in plenty of (tax-deductible) philanthropic support.

Note Cop City funders: @BankofAmerica, @Delta & Cox-owned @ajc 👀

To be honest, I was underwhelmed. So I dug some more. In 2021, the GPC Board also included reps with ties to Cop City funders @GeorgiaPower, @TruistNews… AND some of the seemingly “neutral” directors actually have some potentially concerning personal & professional connections.

At first glance Matt Friesen looked like a boring landscape architect— turns out his company @JacobsConnects does major contracting work for DoD, cybersecurity, & other carceral infrastructure projects… projects similar to Cop City, for example.
jacobs.com/newsroom/press…

Another Member who slipped by me at first is Christine Primmer, who very recently worked for @GeorgiaPower on their “Smart Cities” partnership w/ Atlanta that worked closely w/ APF’s “Operation Shield” to install surveillance cameras, license-plate readers & more.

#StopCopCity

When navigating the “grey area” of public-private work it helps to have a city attorney like Lauren Clayton as your Board Secretary. From 2017-2021 she worked for a private law firm that reps corporate clients w/ Cop City ties like @CocaCola @synovus @CarterUSA & @Empire_Living

These corporations love having access to highly visible, politically powerful (even while appearing politically neutral) orgs like @gpconservancy. For banks & real estate entities, parks also serve a critical role in supporting their investments by increasing property values…

If, like me, u were confused about why Atlanta’s ruling class loves supporting parks & trails NGOs: they tend to be drivers of real estate & development profits (see: gentrification). They also serve as great outlets to approximate “environmental stewardship” for urban audiences.

One interesting thing I’ve been noticing is the presence of “power couples”— both Michelle & Doug Blackmon sit on the taskforce while @JasonHWinston & his wife Shalya Forte sit on the board for GPC. All 4 of them did a panel together for @parkpride’s annual conference in March.

Despite the conference theme— “the Healing Power of Parks”— and lots of “equity” & “environmental justice” themed sessions, not a single speaker talked about #StopCopCity. A look at the sponsors makes it clear why; @CoxEnterprises @GeorgiaPower @HGOR_ATL @ChickfilA @AlstonBirdLLP

Lastly, when I started looking into GPC board member @shannonajc1 I realized that the former (@CoxEnterprises-owned) @ajc “Enterprise News” Senior Editor & Reporter likely has ALL the corporate ties to Cop City you could imagine, from sources & connections to advertisers & more.

This was already a concerning conflict re: #StopCopCity but then when I saw @micahinATL post a thread that he was being harassed via email by @ajccourts bc of a thread in which he called out AJC’s @CoxEnterprises connections, I realized @shannonajc1 is in the same Courts unit.

None of this is concrete evidence of wrongdoing— it’s context about the political & corporate landscape of the South River/ Cop City Taskforce pointing to the appearance of “legitimacy” to outside observers, while the power dynamics driving these NGOs are largely obscured. #ATL

#3: Dr. Yomi Noibi, Eco-Action

@ECOaction_ga seems like a truly grassroots organization that does critical environmental justice work. We dug & dug, yet found little to no corporate ties with any Cop City corporate funders, unlike many of the other enviro orgs on the taskforce.

On the contrary, @ECOaction_ga has a long history of speaking truth to power when it comes to environmental justice— including publicly calling out @GeorgiaPower, one of the biggest funders and collaborators with Atlanta Police Foundation.

Perhaps it’s because Dr. Noibi & the @ECOaction_ga team truly practice what they preach and listen to the community. Perhaps they are truly mission-driven & understand that big dollars doesn’t always translate to big impacts. People power is at the heart of their work.

Dr. Noibi & @ECOaction_ga also fought back against @CarterUSA & @GeorgiaStateU (both now fervent Cop City supporters) back in 2015 by forming the “Turner Field Community Benefits Coalition” to resist gentrification & make sure residents had a voice.
eco-act.org/the-turner-fie…

Sadly, their efforts were co-opted by 2 Neighborhood Associations (one being Organized Neighbors of Summerhill) who inked deals with the developers separately, undermining the solidarity of poorer working class neighborhoods & community members for their own benefit.

A longtime leader of the Organized Neighbors of Summerville, Suzanne Mitchell, led the betrayal to ink a deal. In perfect “small world” fashion, @gpconservancy announced Mitchell would be returning to GPC as a Board member in 2021. It’s unclear whether she is still involved.

All of this drama— the betrayal of @ECOaction_ga & the broader TFCBC, the role of the @AtlantaRegional, @InvestAtlanta, the AFCRA (also repped on GPC’s board) and @andreforatlanta gives hints of a potential playbook the APF is trying to use to split communities w/ concessions.

Note: one of the key community groups in the #StopCopCity struggle, @CommunityMvt, is also supporting anti-gentrification organizing in the Pittsburg neighborhood, one of the communities betrayed by Suzanne Mitchell’s group. APF is funding free cop homes to speed up displacement.

This point matters bc Pittsburg & other Black working class community members regularly warned that the Turner Field deal would accelerate gentrification. In an interview Mitchell denied this & claimed the opposite could be true, instead trusting @GeorgiaStateU’s “study” on it…

#4 Michael Halicki (@HalickiM), Park Pride (@parkpride)

While previous profiles focused less on the specific NGO leaders, Halicki is unique as a trained public affairs/comms professional (read: propagandist) whose particular skillset makes him valuable to the ruling class…

Before we get into Halicki’s role, it’s important to look at @parkpride’s function in #Atlanta & why they are so valued by the ruling corporate elites and the City. One source with inside knowledge of the NGO described the relationship like this:

Once again, no surprise— @parkpride is controlled by the same corporate interests funding Cop City.

I found it accurate that their website lists these corporations as “Overseers” for their vision. That’s exactly what they are. Funding fuels everything in NGO-land. #StopCopCity

And it’s not just @parkpride’s Board of Directors showing financial conflicts of interest around Cop City funders, it’s their sponsors as well.

Like be ffr about who you are accountable to @parkpride, because it’s clearly NOT the communities that you claim to be serving. #ATL

On the contrary, what @parkpride does is not “help” poor communities access parks but rather they use their grant-making process to control these neighborhood orgs and buy their loyalty. This makes @parkpride a “king maker” among this segment of the NGO/friends of parks world.

Take Park Pride’s role in the Kathryn Johnson Memorial Park in 2018. APD’s 2006 murder of Ms. Johnson is the epitome of anti-Black police violence in Atlanta. Look at how corporations got to publicly launder their reputations off the legacy of Ms. Johnson.
parkpride.org/groundbreaking…

LOOK AT THE FRAMING:

“Parks can lead to healing & transcendence of a tragedy that has implications for the city as a whole.”

“ensure that Atlantans not only remember her contributions to her community, but continue to work towards the prevention of future tragedies together.”

The missing context is that this park was part of a lead-up to the opening of the new Mercedes-Benz dome, a precursor to ATL hosting the super bowl. A 2019 expose named the process for what it is: “quintessential American gentrification.”

atlanta.curbed.com/atlanta-photo-…

Now here is where @HalickiM’s training in PR/spin comes in handy.

1: @parkpride KNOWS these parks boost real estate values & cause displacement.

2: in a Jan ‘23 interview Halicki attempted to neutralize criticisms of @parkpride’s role in gentrification by “using the jargon.”

Keep in mind that @HalickiM is VERY aware of branding, building trust, and the role NGO’s play in creating a trusted brand for donors, corporations & politicians to “affiliate” with (ie to capitalize off the benefits of association). See excerpts below:

creativeouthouse.com/michael-halick…

Now, @CityofAtlanta wants to talk about #StopCopCity “Financial conspiracy”? OK, well…

@parkpride has pushed for more city funding for park maintenance for almost 5 years. $2 million to be specific. They claim @ATLParksandRec need the funds to sustain @parkpride’s work.

Park Pride is CO-LOCATED with the @ATLParksandRec dept, meaning they almost share an office. NOT SHADY. Totally normal independent NGO stuff.

Park Pride’s brand requires their projects to be maintained.

So to get the funds they need to give @andreforatlanta what he wants…

1. A whole “parks conference” sponsored by Cop City funders, on the “healing power of parks” where #StopCopCity is all but named from conversation.

2. Silence on Cop City.

3. Lending @parkpride’s LEGITIMACY to the South River Forest task force to help manufacture consent…

In June ‘21, @parkpride joined a coalition of similarly positioned parks/enviro orgs calling themselves the next Atlanta mayor’s “Green Cabinet”— @andreforatlanta took full advantage of them to “greenwash” the Cop City project.

Look how many serve on the South River taskforce👀

This “Parks & Greenspace” sub-group on the Cop City task force is dominated by members of this “Green Cabinet” as well as their partners & grant/services recipients.

From ‘21-‘22 the Woodruff Foundation— the single biggest funder of Cop City— awarded $7.8 MILLION to these orgs.

#5 Stacy Funderburke, @ConservationFnd (Georgia)

Stacy was recently promoted to Director of the Georgia Conservation Fund. Ironically, Stacy was formerly a lawyer with @TSS_ATLANTA, a funder of Cop City with representation on the Atlanta Police Foundation board.

#StopCopCity

Coincidentally, @ConservationFnd helped @andreforatlanta set up the purchase of 46 acres of sections of the South River Forest by @CityofAtlanta in an attempt to “offset” the devastation of destroying 85+ acres of forest for Cop City. Also helps keep ATL’s “parks” rankings high.

The @ConservationFnd is a national org w/ state chapters, so their Board of Directors is far less “dense” with Cop City funders, EXCEPT:

1. Kevyn D. Orr of @JonesDay and
2. Jim Whitehurst of Silver Lake (yes THAT Silver Lake⬇️) #StopTheSwap

deadline.com/2022/06/silver…

Funderburke fits the mold of highly educated & connected NGO leaders who can “fudge” equity well enough to position himself as a “champion” to communities, while palatable to investors & gov officials. This ONLY leads to change when there is *interest convergence* w/ the elites.

If @ConservationFnd actually cared about protecting “critical lands and waters” to enhance climate resiliency they wouldn’t be tacitly endorsing the Cop City destruction of 85+ acres (upwards of 400 acres long term) of critical forest habitat in predominantly Black neighborhoods.

If @ConservationFnd cared abt protecting “critical lands and waters” they wouldn’t stay silent as local, state & federal gov agencies flout environmental laws & regulations so that APF can continue clear-cutting forest & spilling damaging sediment into protected waterways. #GApol

The @ConservationFnd casts themselves as “champions” equity & historic preservation while simultaneously running cover for CURRENT injustices & state repression. This fits w/ the Atlanta model: monetizing Civil Rights legacies (via tourism) while violating actual civil rights.

How can they champion a “Freedom Riders” memorial project while just yesterday the GA Governor cheered on the arrest of @ATLSolFund organizers calling them “Outside Agitators”? Who did the same exact thing as the @NAACP & others who bailed out Dr. King??? Only SILENCE😡 #Atlanta

They managed to preserve the history of the Chattahoochee Brick Company’s injustices without destroying 85+acres of forest & polluting waterways— why can’t they support the preservation of the Old Atlanta Prison Farm without agreeing to greenwash the harmful Cop City project?? 👀

#6 Linda DiSantis, @nature_ga

Once again, since @nature_org is a national org with a Georgia Chapter, the bulk of this profile will focus on DiSantis’ political and business connections to Cop City & the power structure in Atlanta.

DiSantis is on the Board of @nature_ga

First off— I can’t say this loud enough but as a trans person fighting climate change & fascism on multiple fronts FUCK @nature_org & @nature_ga for using a #Pride logo while staying silent on the murder of queer forest defender, #Tortuguita who was murdered by the state.

Especially as @nature_ga Board Chair, Nancy Clair McInaney, dismissed the #StopCopCity mvmt saying her organization “abhors violence”…

They must make an exception for state violence bc they are working w/ the same ppl who killed Tort to bulldoze a forest for a cop playground.

Secondly— on the topic of the @nature_ga Board of Trustees— look at all the Cop City corporate funders and collaborators on their Board… NOT TO MENTION: for an organization that “abhors violence” why do they have so many ex-military & intelligence officers on their board??? 👀

Back to DiSantis, a long-time power player in Atlanta politics and business. Before lawyering for @UPS she also did a stint at another high powered #CopCity funder, @AlstonBirdLLP. She served as City Attorney for Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin from 2002-2006.

While DiSantis built her career as a high powered lawyer straddling corporate, government and non-profit practice, she also became a powerhouse in Georgia Democratic politics. She was the former boss of @staceyabrams 👀

NOT FOR NOTHING- now DiSantis’ son, Jeff DiSantis serves as the spokesperson for the Fulton County District Attorney’s office under DA Fani Willis who launched multiple spurious prosecutions against forest defenders using the “Domestic Terrorism” state enhancement charge. #ATL

Jeff DiSantis was widely criticized & derided as the infamous “pollster” behind a serious of supposed surveys that showed majorities of residents supporting Cop City. When @andreforatlanta was pressed on where to see the polls, it was confirmed that they didn’t actually exist.

It’s an odd series of connections that:

1. Jeff DiSantis is a spokesperson DA Fani Willis currently prosecuting #StopCopCity protestors w/ spurious domestic terror & RICO charges

2. Jeff is simultaneously leading the (shady) polling efforts for @andreforatlanta

3. His mom…

…is serving on the supposed “community engagement” Taskforce for Cop City and not openly disclosing these conflicts of interest. It’s especially interesting for a supposed “ethics” specialist…

If all THIS *waves hands* is ethical than I clearly don’t know what ethics even mean