Samuel Bacote

Role: Chairperson of the Board
Appointed by: City of Atlanta in 2007

Mr. Bacote received a Masters degree in Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.  He also holds a Masters of Business Administration degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Bachelors degree in Economics from Morehouse College. Mr. Bacote is active on a host of community and civic board engagements.  Mr. Bacote has extensive executive experience and strong familiarity with various governmental entities. Mr. Bacote currently manages a U.S. Department of Education Federal Contract for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) within the Capital Funding Program of the Atlanta Office of Commerce Capital Markets and Commerce Capital Access Program, a subsidiary of Toronto Dominion Bank Financial Group. Prior to his work with the U.S. Department of Education, Mr. Bacote worked as a Senior Vice President at Jackson Securities and in the field of Federal Marketing with the IBM Corporation.

Paul E. Vranicar, Esq

Paul Vranicar is an attorney at Holland & Knight LLP, where his practice includes commercial litigation and government affairs.   Mr. Vranicar represents a variety of Fortune 500 companies, commercial lenders, non-profits, and governmental entities in complex negotiations and litigation.  His experience includes representing Grady Hospital in Medicare and Medicaid funding disputes with the state and federal governments, representing the Atlanta Public Schools in taxpayer challenges to the funding mechanism for the Atlanta BeltLine, assisting a major healthcare company to obtain gubernatorial support for an agreement to provide greater public access to flu shots, and representing municipalities to ensure compliance with Tax Allocation District bonds and various contractual obligations.  In addition to serving on the Board of the AFCRA, Mr. Vranicar also serves as the Secretary of the Atlanta Fulton County Recreation Authority.  Mr. Vranicar received his J.D. from the Emory University School of Law and a B.A. from Bard College.

Melanie Cook, Esq

Role: Secretary
Appointed by: Fulton County in 2011

Melanie B. Cook is a corporate attorney and management consultant.  She is a native of Milledgeville, Georgia and a graduate of Harvard Law School and a cum laude graduate of Spelman College.  Ms. Cook’s career includes a five-year tenure at the Securities and Exchange Commission, an appointment by President Bill Clinton as a Senior Policy Advisor to Secretary of Commerce William Daley, and a Consultant to Blaylock and Partners, a New York-based investment bank.   Melanie is licensed to practice law in Georgia and New York. During her career, Ms. Cook has advised on a wide range of complex issues involving economic and community development, access to capital, technology, health care, and government procurement. Currently, Ms. Cook serves as the Manager of Business Development for the Atlanta region of DB Consulting Group, Inc.  Her contributions to affordable housing include consulting to the Community Development Division of the Ford Foundation and the Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership.  In addition to serving on the Board of Directors for the Fulton County City of Atlanta Land Bank Authority, she is also on the Board of Directors of Community Health Charities of Georgia and was formerly on the boards of Spelman College, Georgia College and State University, and Cancer Care, Inc.  Ms. Cook’s hobbies include motivational speaking, volunteering as an usher at Impact Church, and with various children’s charities, serving on the programs committee of the Harvard Club of Georgia, and playing golf.

Derrick Duckworth

Role: Treasurer
Appointed by: Fulton County in 2011

Mr. Derrick Duckworth is the owner of The Beltline Team of Morris & Raper Real Estate Consultants.  He founded The Beltline Team Inc., a residential & commercial real estate company with an emphasis on sustainable, walkable lifestyles centered around the Atlanta, and more specifically the Atlanta BeltLine project. Mr. Duckworth also founded a semi-annual event titled Committed to Communities to help stabilize foreclosure-impacted neighborhoods, increase quality of life, and to raise awareness around affordable housing opportunities. Mr. Duckworth helped develop a master plan to stabilize the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Atlanta, one of the hardest hit zip codes in the country by mortgage fraud, that included negotiating over 100 contracts for sold homes. Mr. Duckworth spearheaded the creation of The Atlanta Beltline Chamber of Commerce to consolidate commercial voices to represent commerce, growth and job creation along the Atlanta BeltLine.  Recently contracted by The Atlanta BeltLine, The BeltLine Team created www.livealongthebeltline.com, and housing events with local employers to educate home buyers, home sellers, and real estate agents about their down payment assistance program and to promote affordable housing.  Mr. Duckworth is currently working to create a new real estate consulting company, TREU Urban Markets (Transitional Real Estate in Underserved Urban Markets).

Mr. Duckworth participates on a number of boards in Atlanta, including: the BeltLine Affordable Housing Advisory Board (BAHAB) – ex-member, and current Board member on The Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership (ANDP), the Fulton County / City of Atlanta Land Bank Authority - Treasurer, and the Atlanta Land Trust Collaborative.  Other involvements include: working with the Partnership for the Preservation of Pittsburgh, and serving as the REALTOR® for Sustainable Neighborhood Development Strategies Inc., Pittsburgh Community Improvement Association, and 3 terms as president of his local neighborhood association, Adair Park Today. As a result, he has experience in affordable housing, sustainable development, mixed-use development, real estate financing, policy research, advocacy, and housing equality throughout Atlanta.

Mr. Norman, Executive Director for the Fulton County/City of Atlanta Land Bank Authority (LBA), has served in various leadership roles with the LBA over the past six years. Having previously served as the Chair and Vice Chair of the Board, Mr. Norman was named the Executive Director in August 2010. Prior to the appointment, Mr. Norman was a co-founder and Managing Partner of Dunwoody Asset Management, LLC, which is a boutique investment banking firm. He has worked with such prestigious entities as: Wachovia Corporation, KBC Bank, N.V., Finova Capital Corporation and Swartz Institutional Finance.
An Atlanta native, Mr. Norman holds a Bachelors degree in Mathematics from Emory University and a Master of Management degree in Finance, Strategy, Operations and Decision Sciences from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He serves on the Board of the Atlanta Land Trust Collaborative, Eta Omega Foundation, as Co-Executive Director of the Omega Manhood Leadership Institute as well as a host of other civic and professional organizations. One of the strategic objectives of the LBA, as stated by Mr. Norman, is to “continue to rapidly evolve into a customer focused agency with high standards and operational transparency that implements its goals with innovation and tangible results.”

Program Manager/NSP

Telephone Number: (404) 585 - 3398

Email Address:
rrandolph@fccalandbank.org

In his time as a real estate consultant and broker, Royal has been involved in numerous residential and commercial real estate transactions representing buyers, sellers, landlords, and tenants.  Despite the downturn in the economy, his real estate business has more than doubled each year since 2008.  Royal is a Certified Investor Agent Specialist (CIAS) and Certified REO Expert which, along with his experience, has helped him to become a trusted advisor to real estate buyers/investors of various sizes and types, helping them to evaluate, structure, coordinate and close real estate transactions.  Also, as a Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE), Royal has extensive knowledge of foreclosure mitigation strategies to the extent that he has assisted multiple distressed Atlanta home owners avoid foreclosure by helping them negotiate over $1,000,000 in mortgage debt forgiveness.  Lastly, Royal is the team lead for his real estate office of over 100 agents in which he is responsible for setting the training and development agenda for his colleagues.

Royal is a former information technology consulting manager with Accenture (formerly known as Andersen Consulting).  He has over seventeen years of consulting experience where he emphasizes a participatory and developmental style.  Royal’s broad experience in consulting has given him exposure to many types of work environments and people from all over the world; he has learned how to relate to diverse working styles and how to leverage people’s individual strengths as a leader and a coach.  Now, as a real estate consultant and principal of Royal Randolph & Company LLC, Royal is applying this experience to help individuals, families, and small business owners achieve their dreams and improve the Greater Atlanta Community.

Ms. Corporal has invaluable on-the-job training and has faithfully served the LBA.  She demonstrates an unwavering commitment to quality and excellence. Ms. Corporal’s future goals are to make the Land Bank Authority a “needed organization that operates with intent and clear direction while serving as a valuable resource to the community it serves.”