CURRENT CLARKSTON FESTIVAL COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Kim Ault, CFC Co-Chair, is one of the original members of the group that would form the first Clarkston Community Festival. Stemming back to 2011 (3 years before the first official Clarkston Community Festival), Kim was involved in the Clarkston Common Place USA project when she first applied for a grant for community building. Over the next years, she built valuable ties between community organizations and individuals who would eventually mold and shape the common dream of a community festival for the amazingly diverse city of Clarkston, Georgia. She teamed with the Clarkston Development Foundation, youth teams at the Clarkston Community Center, Angela Moore who was part of a community transformation project around that time, and city leaders to form the early conception. Youth rallies to end bullying, a Clarkston Youth Initiative panel discussion about “how to make our community better”, connections with the deaf community through the Atlanta School for the Deaf, and her own research case study with community leaders in various cultural groups led to a common theme of forming a powerful community through cultural differences and human similarities. All of this eventually led to the festival theme of “Educate, Appreciate, Celebrate”. Her aim in this development over the years was to arrive at HOW we can sit together as individuals with all of our differences in culture (education, religion, food, art, etc.) and backgrounds. It is an idea that continues to grow in Kim’s mind to this day.
Kim Ault, CFC Co-Chair
Dr. Adam J Nykamp, CFC Co-Chair, has been an educator at Indian Creek Elementary School since 2000. He has taught in the classroom as a 2nd and 5th grade teacher, operated the computer lab (utilizing math and reading online curriculum), and currently serves as an Academic Coach in the areas of literacy and math. As an education enthusiast with advanced degrees in ED Instruction and ED Leadership, Adam sees the need to connect with community, leading to his additional roles as school PTA president for 3 years, as a collaborator with numerous Clarkston groups/individuals/committees discussing community improvement / engagement / education / partnerships, and as a member of Clarkston International Bible Church, currently serving as the Mission & Outreach chairperson. He is passionate about community sustainability, growth, and overall well-being, which led him to take part in the planning of the Clarkston Culture Fest since 2014. He has served as the "Activities" (Fun Zone) chair since 2014.
Dr. Adam Nykamp, CFC Co-Chair
Ms. Harris, Founder of Great Day Connections, developed the 5K race component of the Clarkson Community 5K Festival initially as a fundraiser to benefit families with Deaf/Hard of Hearing children. As a member of the Clarkson Community Festival Committee Ms. Harris broaden the scope of the fundraiser to be an opportunity for extensive community connections and engagement. She added a component for organizations joining the event to have an opportunity to raise money to meet their individual goals.
Ms. Harris is currently the founder of Great Day Connections, Inc. a Pre-natal to Pre-K educational enrichment organization working with pre-natal families who are either low-income. teenagers or have high-risk pregnancies
Dona Harris, Founder of Great Day Connections
Marcia Coward is from the DeKalb County School District Office of Parent and Family Engagement
Marcia Coward, DeKalb County School District Office of Parent and Family Engagement
Brian Khang Le, Webmaster, comes from Los Angeles, where he obtained his BS in Biochemistry from UCLA. He moved to Atlanta for his Master's of Public Health - Policy and Management at Emory University. He has been working and doing community work in Clarkston since he moved to Atlanta, where he had been putting on the annual Clarkston 5K race/walk. He works in substance abuse prevention, focusing on the areas of mental health promotion, substance abuse prevention, and suicide prevention. Currently he oversees substance abuse grants over all of Northern Georgia.
Brian Khang Le, Webmaster
PAST CLARKSTON FESTIVAL COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Josh Davis, Executive Director of Proskuneo Ministries
Angela Moore, Community Relations Director for K.D. Moore Community Development Inc.
Denise Quigley
Jenna Quigley