Byr Presents "2015 Legislative Update" (Feb Meeting)

Join the Buckhead Young Republicans on Tuesday February 17 for a lively discussion about the 2015 Legislative Session in Georgia. We will be reaching the approximate mid-point of the 40 days and there are literally hundreds of issues at stake. We plan to cover several of them with our All-Star panel of guests... Our panel will include: Benita Dodd, VP of Georgia Public Policy Foundation James Touchton, Director of Policy and Government Affairs for Council for Quality Growth Jessica Szilagyi, The Perspicacious Conservative About Benita Dodd: Benita Dodd is a journalism graduate of Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa, who immigrated to the United States in 1986. The Cobb County resident was an editorial writer and columnist for The Atlanta Journal Editorial Board and an editorial writer for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Editorial Board before joining the Georgia Public Policy Foundation as vice president in March 2003. A member of the 2007 class of Leadership Georgia and a faculty member of the Leadership Institute of Virginia, she leads the Foundation’s Environmental Initiative and is responsible for the Foundation’s communications. She served on the board of Common Cause Georgia and is a member of the Board of Advisors for America’s Future Foundation Georgia. She addresses civic and leadership groups across Georgia on current issues and free-market solutions. She is a frequent contributor to newspapers and radio programs around the state and provides free-market perspectives as a commentator on a weekly radio program. E-mail: benitadodd [at] georgiapolicy.org www.facebook.com/benitacd https://twitter.com/Benitadodd About James Touchton: James Touchton joined the Council in 2012,l after spending 4 and ½ years in the Georgia Senate. In the Senate, James served in the Senate Research Office as a Senior Policy Analyst and Advisor, where he focused in Education & Youth, Higher Education, State & Local Government Operations, Science & Technology and State Institutions and Properties. In addition to serving as a Senior Policy Advisor, James was named a Senior Fellow to the National Conference of State Legislature’s Early Learning Program and the state contact for “Project Democracy.” James received his Bachelors of Political Science in 2006 from Kennesaw State University and his Masters of Public Administration in 2009, where he served as Student Government President and graduated Summa Cum Laude.. Currently, James is in Leadership Cobb Class of 2015, serves as a Chapter Advisory to his fraternity, Delta Tau Delta and serves the 5th grade children in Sunday school at Buckhead Church. About Jessica Szilagyi Jessica Szilagyi is a policy analyst for several House Representatives at the Georgia Capitol and a Front Page contributor for one of Georgia's top political websites, Peach Pundit. She also has her own blog and writes political pieces for AllOnNews.com. Jessica has a Bachelors in Political Science from Georgia State University and a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Georgia where she focused on local government and public policy. She has managed several Republican campaigns in Georgia from Alpharetta mayor to Congress in the 12th district. She's also a graduate of Republican Leadership for Georgia. .