City of Atlanta names Rickey Bevington to Women of Atlanta Steering Committee

ATLANTA – Mayor Andre Dickens has invited Rickey Bevington to serve on the Women of Atlanta Steering Committee, a new initiative celebrating and supporting the city’s women. This effort will honor women’s unique and vital contributions to Atlanta, as well as highlight the brilliance of the many women leading the ever-evolving city now.

Bevington is president of the World Affairs Council of Atlanta, a nonpartisan membership organization affiliated with Georgia State University. The council’s vision is to inspire Atlanta to lead globally. Bevington also is an expert in residence with the university’s J. Mack Robinson College of Business.

“The women of my family have been civic and business leaders of Atlanta since the 1950s. It’s my honor to follow in their footsteps by joining this generation of women executives in shaping the lives of women and girls,” Bevington said.

The Women of Atlanta Steering Committee will help shape the year-long campaign to memorialize the women who have shaped Atlanta, direct funding to activities and organizations that support women, capture narratives on the power and partnership of women serving Atlanta, and develop recommendations and policies that advance the lives of women.

“For the past year, the team in the mayor’s Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion has been meeting with unique constituent groups and asking, how can the city be of greater service? How can we understand your unique needs? And the Women of Atlanta Steering Committee continues this critical work of listening and responding with equitable action that we can operationalize,” said Candace Stanciel, Chief Equity Officer for the City of Atlanta.

Bevington has been president of The World Affairs Council of Atlanta since January 2022. The International Women's Forum also named her among their 2022-2023 Fellows. She was previously a senior correspondent with Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB).

During her 15 years at GPB, Bevington held leadership positions on and off the airwaves. As host and executive producer of multiple television and radio programs, her work was recognized with two Emmy Awards. She hosted “Ask the Mayor” with Atlanta’s Keisha Lance Bottoms and interviewed numerous public figures including former President Jimmy Carter, former United Nations Ambassador Andrew Young, and Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams.

Under her tenure as news director, GPB won the organization’s first national Edward R. Murrow Award for journalism excellence. Bevington also led GPB’s newsroom transformation into a multi-bureau, all-platform operation. She moderated candidate debates for the Atlanta Press Club and World Affairs Council International Women’s Day events between 2016 and 2020. She holds a B.A. in comparative literature from Barnard College of Columbia University.