Doug in the news

Young Democrats of Emory hosted Democratic candidate for Atlanta City Council President Doug Shipman (95C) on Tuesday night, Sept. 28. Shipman spoke about his life experiences, including attending Emory University as an undergraduate, and the upcoming Nov. 2 election. About 20 Emory students gathered in White Hall 205, the same classroom as Shipman’s undergraduate international politics course. 

Doug Shipman, the former CEO of the Woodruff Arts Center and the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, says Atlanta is at political crossroads while experiencing economic growth amid the pandemic.

Doug Shipman, the former president and CEO of the Woodruff Arts Center, filed the necessary paperwork this week to fundraise for a campaign to become the next council president.

When Doug Shipman announced his plan to run for Atlanta City Council president a week ago, his life leapt into hyperdrive after several months of quiet sabbatical that followed his departure as leader of the Woodruff Arts Center.

“It’s been hectic,” Shipman says. “I’ve had a lot of people reaching out to me wanting to help. I’ve been reaching out to people. I’ve connected with some very old friends; a friend from high school I haven’t talked to in years got in touch.”

Three years ago, I came to the role of CEO at the Woodruff Arts Center to continue the diversification of audiences and offerings that was already happening across the campus. I vowed to work in collaborative ways that would lift the entire arts community across Atlanta. As I move forward in this time of demands for systemic change and deep communal uncertainty, I want to outline a handful of thoughts on how the arts can build a more inclusive and just future.

The leading City Council president candidates gave some revelatory answers at a Sept. 11 forum focused on housing affordability. Revelatory not because they or Atlanta are likely to magically solve the nationally intractable affordability problem, but exactly because they’re not.