Elevate Douglas Economic Partnership

10/22/2026

Four experts. Four very different views of the same industry.

While in Boston last month with the Metro Atlanta Chamber, Rachel Ash, our Sr. Project Manager for BRE & Workforce, joined a Life Sciences Ecosystem Educational Discussion over lunch. The panel covered the industry from every side: a developer of lab and manufacturing space, a site selection consultant, a pharmaceutical company’s real estate manager, and a research and development executive.

Life sciences and healthcare is one of the industries Elevate is working to bring to Douglas County. Sessions like this help us understand what these companies look for long before they make a call.
Know someone who works in pharmaceuticals, medical devices, or healthcare? Share this with them.

10/13/2026

Last month, Douglas County went to Boston as part of the Metro Atlanta team. Rachel Ash, our Sr. Project Manager for BRE & Workforce, joined the Metro Atlanta Chamber’s Boston Marketing Trip to share why our region is a strong place to do business. The focus was life sciences, one of the industries Elevate Douglas works to attract.

The group toured Jamestown’s Innovation and Design Building in the Seaport. It started out as a 1918 Army storehouse and now holds more than 200 businesses, and Jamestown is the same company that redeveloped Atlanta’s Ponce City Market. That evening, Rachel met Boston-based companies, investors, and site location consultants at a cocktail reception.

Thank you to the Metro Atlanta Chamber for bringing the region together and making sure Douglas County was part of the conversation.
Future jobs and investment often start with a trip like this one. Share this with a neighbor who’s watching Douglas County grow.

10/12/2026

Congratulations to our Elevate Douglas investor, Gable Land Co., and Kyle Gable on his appointment to the Board of Directors of the Georgia Residential Land Development Council!

We’re proud to see our investors taking on leadership roles within their industry associations, sharing their expertise, and helping shape the future of their industries. These contributions strengthen not only their professions but also the business community across Georgia.

Congratulations, Kyle, on this well-deserved recognition!

Gable Land Co. is proud to share that Kyle Gable, Broker, has joined the Board of Directors of the Georgia Residential Land Development Council (GRLDC).

Kyle sees the housing pipeline from the start, from a landowner's decision to sell through a builder or developer acquiring the land and beginning the work to deliver homes. Because most of Gable Land Co.'s business is selling land to homebuilders, he has watched municipal approvals, moratoriums, and zoning restrictions stretch timelines and affect affordability across metro Atlanta. His seat on the GRLDC board puts that perspective toward practical reforms that shorten development timelines and expand attainable housing across Georgia.

Since 2013, Gable Land Co. has helped landowners market and sell more than 22,500 acres, representing over $500 million in land sales.

Congratulations to Kyle, and thank you to GRLDC for the appointment.

For more information, contact Gable Land Co.
Learn more at https://gableland.com

10/09/2026

Thank you to CareerRise for including Elevate Douglas among this year’s nominees for the Cinda Herndon-King Award for Excellence in Workforce Partnerships.

The award was presented last week at CareerRise’s 5th Annual Workforce Excellence Summit at Zoo Atlanta. Rachel Ash represented Elevate Douglas for the day, joined by community partner Taylor Van Pelt of Georgia Power.

Named for CareerRise’s founder, the award honors employer-driven career training that leads to family-sustaining wages. For us, that work looks like our CareerReady workforce training initiatives, and it only happens because Douglas County’s schools, employers, and training partners show up for it.

Here’s to 15 years of CareerRise opening doors across metro Atlanta.
Know someone helping Douglas County residents land good careers? Tag them below.

10/02/2026

🎉 Congratulations to Douglasville's own Mariana Ortiz-Padilla, named to Georgia Trend's 2026 40 Under 40! 🎉

Georgia Trend chose 40 rising stars from hundreds of nominations statewide, and we're proud to see one of them calling Douglas County home. Mariana, thank you for opening doors for families across our community and our state!

Follow the link in the first comment to view Mariana's bio in this month's Georgia Trend article.

09/28/2026

Tomorrow's the day, and there's still room.

Elevate Douglas is hosting an informational session on the next Douglas County Ecosystem Collaborative cohort for local contractors. If your business wants to compete for the contracting and subcontracting work that comes with Douglas County's growth, this is the place to start.

The cohort helps established businesses strengthen their operations, understand contractor prequalification requirements, and identify gaps before the bigger opportunities arrive.

📅 Tuesday, September 29 | 11a - 12:30p (lunch provided)
📍 8512 Bowden Street, Douglasville, GA 30134

Not sure if your business is ready? Reserve your spot in the first comment and join us for this info session to find out!

09/22/2026

Meet Ezra Brown — Douglasville resident, longtime construction pro, and proof of what Douglas County's talent pipeline can do.

Ezra spent over a decade in civil construction — sewer lines, storm drainage, site prep — before joining the Elevate Douglas Construction Ready cohort earlier this year. The program built on what he already knew and gave him something new: the confidence and credentialed skills to hold his own on any job site, structural work included.

That confidence paid off fast. A connection made at Construction Ready's CareerEXPO led to a role with T5 Data Centers on a major data center project in North Carolina. Today, Ezra is a Project Manager with Integra Construction in Atlanta — and he's still out there recruiting the next generation of tradespeople everywhere he goes.

This is exactly what Douglas County's workforce pipeline is built to do: turn real training into real careers.

09/10/2026

Douglas County Businesses: Are You Ready for the Next Level?

The Douglas County Ecosystem Collaborative is recruiting businesses for our next cohort!

As investment continues across Douglas County, we want local businesses prepared to compete for the contracting and subcontracting opportunities that come with that growth.

The cohort helps established businesses strengthen their operations, understand contractor prequalification requirements, identify gaps, and prepare to compete for larger opportunities.

If your business is ready to grow, build relationships, and position itself for future opportunities, we want to hear from you.

Sign up for the next cohort:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PNHB8VD

Learn more about the Collaborative:
https://dccollab.elevatedouglas.com/local-businesses/

Local investment should create local opportunity.

Take this survey powered by surveymonkey.com. Create your own surveys for free.

09/08/2026

When -TV Channel 2 first covered a CareerEXPO earlier this year, they had no idea it would change two lives in one household.

Kimberly Conney saw that story on the news one morning — and it stuck. She enrolled in Construction Ready's 20-day training right here in Douglas County. So did her daughter, Miriama Sumbundu, who spotted the same opportunity the exact same way.

On Tuesday, Channel 2 came back to see it come full circle: trainees meeting face-to-face with local contractors who are ready to hire. Kimberly summed up the moment best: "I am Construction Ready! I want to learn more about construction."

This is what a real talent pipeline looks like: a news story, a decision to show up, 20 days of training, and a job on the other side.

09/02/2026

Our most recent Construction Ready class made the news!

Huge thanks to WSB-TV for coming back to Douglas County to spotlight our Construction Ready graduates meeting face-to-face with local contractors who are ready to hire.

Watch the full story: https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/douglas-county/channel-2-story-changed-their-lives-now-theyre-ready-construction-jobs/DTGJSFAHFVHOZPYXM5HTX5DJMM/

As a growing number of skilled tradespersons retire, training new talent is vital.