Mr. Adassa is a real-estate investor, owner of both locally produced AHi! Hot Pepper Sauce and the West End Community Center. He has lived in West End for 15 years and is a former District 4 City Council candidate. He would like to see the West End remain a diverse cultural hub where opportunity abounds for all of its current and future residents.

Jocelyn Dorsey is the award-winning and former anchor and director of editorials/public affairs for Channel 2 WSB-TV, where she was the first African American news anchor in Atlanta. She has lived in West End for longer than 30 years and wants to help citizens gain as much unbiased information they need to make the best decisions about their lives, their community, their government and their society.

Jocelin Drake Houston is an experienced IT professional, Howard University alum, and resident of West End for nearly 20 years. She wants to see the neighborhood improve and to preserve its rich history and diversity as development happens. She joined the West End CAB so that the concerns of longtime residents do not get overlooked.

Cecilia Houston-Torrence is a retired Community Involvement Banking Officer for the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta and a current chair of the Atlanta Citizen Review Board and member of the Fulton County Election Task Force. She has been a West End community member for more than 30 years and wants to make the West End a safe place to live, work and play.

Terry Ross is a grantwriter and nonprofit consultant who sits on the executive board of the West End Merchants Coalition and is a parliamentarian for the West End Neighborhood Development Corporation (WEND) and Neighborhood Planning Unit (NPU) T. He has lived in West End for 12 years and wants to see equitable growth and development in the neighborhood.

Robert Thompson is a neighborhood historian who runs Insight Cultural Tourism, a tour company based in West End that focuses on gentrification and revitalization in the area. He is a former media specialist and documentary producer, and he has lived in the neighborhood for nearly 25 years. He wants Canopy to create news that’s truly useful to the West End community.

Nichole James Vickers is a partner at a law firm and has lived in West End since 2006—a return from her days as a student at Spelman College. She wants to contribute to how the story of West End gets told and make sure the interests of all West End residents are being addressed.

Photos: Growing pains

Eric Cash is a freelance photographer from Decatur. A graduate of Morehouse College and a lover of all things OutKast, there’s nothing he loves more than his adopted hometown of Atlanta.

Stories & Photos: West End’s school daze

Dustin Chambers is a photojournalist and filmmaker born, raised, and living in Atlanta. He’s held staff positions at Creative Loafing Atlanta and CNN and has freelanced for 10 years, regularly working for the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Getty Images, and Atlanta magazine, among others, documenting underrepresented communities and the American condition.

Stories: Growing pains

Adjoa D. Danso is a writer, editor, and social media coordinator based in Atlanta. Born and raised in the metro area, Adjoa completed her undergraduate and graduate education at Georgia State University. Adjoa has previously written about food and culture at Creative Loafing and coproduced local podcast About South.

Illustrations: West End Arts Map

Sean Fahie (pronounced FOY) is a contract graphic designer, illustrator, creative consultant, and author based out of Atlanta. He specializes in print-based media with extensive experience in design, illustration, branding, marketing, and apparel. Fahie also has published three books, written one short film, and coproduced one full-length feature.

Art: The West End Issue Cover

George Galbreath is an artist, teacher, and nonprofit cofounder living in Castleberry Hill. His award-winning work has been featured throughout Atlanta, as well as in Kansas City and Louisville. He currently serves as Art Department Chair at Westlake High School and has taught with Fulton County Schools for 15 years.

Stories: The water boy’s hustle

Gavin Godfrey is a professional storyteller born, raised, and living in Atlanta. His work has appeared in CNN, NPR, Rolling Stone, Vice, Atlanta Magazine, and Creative Loafing. He currently lives in East Lake with his wife, two dogs, and a turtle named Lowery, aka Turtle Baskin.

Stories: West End Arts, West End Mall

Kamille is a Canopy Atlanta cofounder and currently serves as the Editorial and Training Director where she oversees the Fellowship and Residency programs. She is a collaborative journalist and editor with more than a decade of experience researching, reporting and managing editorial operations all along the media spectrum, including for Atlanta Magazine as managing editor, Atlanta Tribune and the Atlanta Daily World. She also teaches writing at Mercer University and journalism at the University of Georgia.

Born and raised in Atlanta, DeMarco got his bachelor’s degree in journalism from Georgia State University in 1999. Upon graduation, he did some freelance writing for outlets like Vibe, SLAM and AOL. Though full-time editor opportunities with ESPN and Bleacher Report were also rewarding, nothing has been quite as enjoyable (or as good for his passport) as the past eight years as Forbes Travel Guide’s managing editor.