Fearless Fundraising for Small Businesses - Gainesville

Moderator
Donna Lowry is an award-winning journalist who combines a passion for storytelling and a desire to empower others with communication and critical thinking skills surrounding political, educational, and financial  issues.

Through her firm, Donna Lowry Communications, she provides consulting, writing, and producing services for educational, media, professional, and business outlets.

Donna serves as host/producer for several programs, including Lawmakers on Georgia Public Broadcasting. 

Donna is an eight-time Emmy award winner, a three-time national Gabriel Award recipient, and has garnered honors from countless organizations, including the National Association of Black Journalists, Atlanta Association of Black Journalists, Georgia Associated Press, Society of Professional Journalists, Georgia Association of Educators (GAE), and the Professional Association of Georgia Educators (PAGE). 

Her media peers inducted Donna into the prestigious NATAS Southeast Silver Circle to recognize her lasting contributions to the broadcast industry.  

Donna has a master's in Journalism from Northwestern University and a Bachelor's in Mass Communications and Administration and Management from Chatham University. 

Her professional affiliations include the Atlanta Press Club, the Atlanta Association of Black Journalists, the National Association of Black Journalists, and the Southeastern Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS SE).    

In her 15th year as a Girl Scout Leader, Donna has led girls ranging in age from kindergarten through 12th grade. Her community service affiliations also include Magnolia (GA) Chapter of Links, Inc., and Nu Lambda Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.     

Donna and her husband, Army Major (Ret) Bennet W. Reid, Jr., are the parents of three daughters. 

Commercial Lender, Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs (ACE)

April Berry is a Commercial Lender at Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs (ACE). She has 30 plus years in business development and finance focused on small business lending, commercial lending and community development.

One of April’s passions is helping communities be successful and supported by helping them build on personal development, business development and investing time to those in need.

April attended Gainesville College and The University of Hawaii. She enjoys hiking, camping and just about anything outdoors!

Founder & CEO, Finance Savvy CEO™ and creator of Your Profit Playbook™

Marguerite, a former Wall Street financial analyst, business strategist, and top ranked business money expert, was named Atlanta’s 40 Under 40 by Atlanta Business Chronicle, co-authored “Girl Power Uncensored” with her chapter “From Wall Street To Helping Main Street”, is an accredited angel investor, host of the podcast “Finance Savvy CEO”, the creator of Your Profit Playbook® - the leading business financial planning training program for small business owners, and Founder & CEO of financesavvyceo.com.  Marguerite spent the early stages of her career as a senior analyst at Goldman Sachs, controlling an over $2 billion portfolio of private equity, alternative energy, and commercial real estate investments. She transitioned after business school at the NYU Stern School of Business into a successful career in Mergers & Acquisitions as a Manager at Deloitte Consulting, advising Fortune 500 companies through the full deal cycle from target screening, deal structuring, valuations, and due diligence, all the way through day 1 readiness and post-merger implementations. Marguerite continued to push the ceiling when she sought to make wedding planning less stressful and more fun for brides by creating Tulle la la, a global retail technology company that combines technology with a project management-based approach to wedding planning. In 2018, Tulle la la won the modern luxury diamond award for Best Wedding Technology. Marguerite had a successful exit from the company within 5 years, and today, Tulle la la continues to serve thousands of brides across the globe each year. Marguerite now focuses her attention on her EdTech FinTech platform, Finance Savvy CEO, created to help close the gender & racial wealth gap by focusing on profitable entrepreneurship. Finance Savvy CEO supports business owners on an ongoing basis, through programming and members-only access, to increase the financial health of their business and intentionally create long-term organic financial sustainability. Marguerite is passionate about building generational wealth through entrepreneurship and is always excited to help entrepreneurs navigate their pathway to profitability.

Engineer, Founder CEO, Nead Werx, Inc.

Nickolas (Nick) Downey is founder and CEO of MerchLogix, Inc., an Atlanta-based software company. Nick graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2002 with a BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering. Nick is a former member of the Atlanta Technology Angels and sits on the Board of Directors of several Atlanta organizations. Nick has served as a coach for the Georgia Tech Business Plan competition, and the Startup Runway Foundation.

Chief Engagement Officer, Forum Communications

Born in Gainesville, Matt is a 1999 graduate of Lakeview Academy and received his Bachelor of Science in management with a minor in information technology from Georgia Institute of Technology in 2003. Dubnik was first elected in 2016 to serve the people of Gainesville and other portions of Hall County in the Georgia House of Representatives, a seat he still holds today. 

After working as an information security specialist for a Fortune 100 company, Dubnik transitioned his career to nonprofit fundraising, serving as a regional director for Ducks Unlimited, where he was responsible for leading volunteers statewide in their efforts to raise millions of dollars annually for wetlands conservation. Following his stint in fundraising, he entered the marketing industry. Currently, he serves as the chief engagement officer of Forum Communications, a full-service strategic marketing agency he founded with his wife in 2012.

Dubnik is a small business owner, father, husband, son, and community leader. He is a member of the Gainesville Rotary Club and serves on the board of Junior Achievement of Northeast Georgia. He is also a Trustee for Georgia Tech Alumni Association, serves on Georgia Tech President’s Scholarship selection committee, is a member of Lakeview Academy’s development committee, and chairs the Lakeview Athletic Club. He is a former deacon at his church and serves in numerous local, state, and national volunteer leadership positions with Ducks Unlimited including Georgia Public Policy Chair, past Georgia State Chairman, and national board member. He is a 2012 Leadership Hall graduate and a member of the Leadership Georgia Class of 2018. He is a member of First Baptist Church Gainesville and resides in Gainesville with his wife, Katie, their two sons, James and Davis, and the family’s chocolate lab, Burton.

President and CEO, Allied Financial

Steven has been in the commercial finance industry for almost 30 years. He is the President and CEO of Allied Financial which he founded in 2003.

Prior to Allied Financial, he was a Senior Vice President of a national commercial finance company where he was a top producer and co-managed the largest portfolio of the company. He began his career with Kaye Insurance Associates in New York City before moving to Atlanta.

Steven is an active member of the Secured Finance Network and has served as a member of the Executive Committee since 2005 as well as serving as a Board of Director since 2004.  Steven also currently serves on the Secured Finance Network Foundation Board.

He has Chaired many committees for the Secured Finance Network as well as served on many committees. He is also the longest tenured Board member of the Secured Finance Network Atlanta Chapter and is currently serving in his 25^th year, including the position of President for 3 years.

In addition, he is also an active member of the Turnaround Management Association and the Georgia Bankers Association. Steven graduated from the University of Maryland.

Senior Vice President, Peach State Bank & Trust

Mike began working for Peach State Bank & Trust in 2017 as Senior Vice President, Commercial Lending.

He is responsible for soliciting, negotiating, underwriting and coordinating the closing of major and complex business, equipment, SBA, commercial building and residential loans in compliance with the bank's lending policy and procedures.

Mike began his banking career in 1981 with the First National Bank of Gainesville. He helped start a bank, Foothills Community Bank, in 2006 as the Executive Vice President and Senior Lender that opened for business in 2007 located in Dawsonville. The Bank sold to in Coastal States Bank in 2017.

Mike is currently the chairman of the Good News at Noon Homeless Shelter in Gainesville since 2020 and helped lead the effort to build the new $3.6 million new building for the shelter without any debt. In addition, he is a member of the South Hall Rotary Club. Mike is a graduate of the University of North Georgia, School of Bank Management at the University of Virginia, and School of Bank Investments and Financial Management at University of South Carolina.

He is married to Karen of 42 years and has three sons and six grandchildren.

CEO & Founder of Southern Baked Pie

Although she grew up in an Appalachian family where recipes were traded like heirloom plant cuttings, Amanda Wilbanks never envisioned herself as the CEO of one of America’s premier pie companies. Her legacy of delicious Southern baking became a career in 2011, when her mother-in-law taught her how to make an incomparable, melt-in-your-mouth, all-butter pie crust.

Within a few months, baking turned from a hobby into an obsession, and Amanda’s husband - whose waistline was rapidly expanding - demanded she either stop baking or start selling her delicious creations.

As a result, Amanda launched Southern Baked Pie Company in 2012 with nothing but $400, a knockout pie crust recipe, and a dream to share the joy of fresh-baked pie with the world. Today, that dream is a reality with four retail locations across North Georgia and Metro Atlanta and thousands of pies shipped nationwide every day. Together with her dedicated team of bakers, Amanda has created a gourmet selection of sweet and savory pies, and the world has taken notice. Since the doors opened ten years ago, Southern Baked Pie has garnered features on Oprah’s Favorite Things, The Today Show, Southern Living Magazine, Food Network, and more! Named one of the best pie shops in America by Thrillist and Mashed, Southern Baked proudly ships elegant, handmade pies nationwide so that everyone can celebrate life’s special occasions, big and small, with pie.

Amanda approaches every role in her life with passion and joy. She is also a wife, mother to three young children, a cookbook author, and a guest lecturer.

Accomplishments

• Georgia Small Business Rockstar – 2020
• Bulldawg 100 - 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
• University of Georgia 40 under 40 – 2020
• Greater North Fulton Chamber Women in Business - Jen Lan Rising Star Award – 2018
• Buckhead Business Association Business of the Year 2018
• Greater North Fulton Chamber Business Person of Excellence Recipient – 2017
• Caramel Pecan Pie Named the Official Pie of Gainesville, Georgia
• Caramel Pecan Pie Won the Flavor of Georgia Competition out of 132 specialty food producers, taking the Overall Grand Prize.

Special Appearances

• Cookbook and pies have been featured in O Magazine, Southern Living, Garden & Gun
• Magazine, Taste of the South Magazine, Country Living Magazine, The Local Palate,
• Cooking with Paula, and various other national publications.
• Pies have been featured on The Today Show and also on the Hoda and Jenna Show
• Pies are regularly eaten by celebrities such as Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, Jenna
• Bush, Oprah Winfrey, Gayle King, Erin Napier, and Todd Starnes
• Formed alliances with Reese Witherspoon’s company Draper James (book tour) at all her
• stores.
• Appearances on the Hallmark channel - made recipes from her cookbook