Lavar Edwards, URWorthIt! Advisory Council

LeVar Edwards

Lavar also started off as a parent participant in U Can Do It!® LEAP and has since joined the advisory council of URWorthIt!®, where he primarily works with all aspects of parent interaction for the program along with his wife Treena. Lavar has more than 10 years of experience in various social care and youth programs, including work for The Haven program in Florida, security experience for Greynolds Park Elementary School, and work for the Department of Family & Children Services in Georgia.

Susan Conley, URWorthIt! Advisory Council

Susan Conley

Susan is President of ROCKbiz, Inc, and a member of URWorthIt!®’s Advisory Council. She has a significant history of volunteering experience for both church and community and especially her experiences with Atlanta’s The Boys & Girls Club – West End where she served over a decade as Board Member and Board Chair.

Professionally, Susan is considered a guru in developing Client Relationships. She brings her passion, excitement and enthusiasm to help businesses focus on strategies to attract, protect and expand their client base while attaining measurable business bottom line results. Throughout her career she has held positions with two different global professional services firms — Arthur Andersen, as their Southeast Area Marketing Director and Ernst & Young, as their Client Relations Executive. She launched ROCKbiz in January 2010 to help people cultivate ROCKsolid client relationships to create growth.

Susan has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism with a concentration in Marketing from Marquette University. She is the mother of two children, Sean and Lauren. She is known for her enthusiasm and contributions to her community, church, and children’s activities.

Joan O’Connor Rowe

Joan is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who has been in private practice for 25 years. She developed a program of Feminine Empowerment for Adolescent girls for Jane Fonda. She has appeared on the ABC nightly news and CNN. Joan has conducted workshops for the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Cigna, and Siemans. She has taught workshops at Ackerman Institute for Family Therapy and has presented at the national conference of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. Joan is a dynamic presenter who uses storytelling, drama, and humor to bring her workshops to life.

Cathy Lee

In the course of Cathy’s 30+ years as an advertising copywriter and public affairs professional, she was priviledged to work with a number of outstanding nonprofits, including Grady Health System and Spelman College. She earned numerous creative awards and served a range of business and financial entities from healthcare to banking.

Cathy was drawn to UR Worthit! in part, from personal experience. She believes her late brother had Asperger’s, though he was never clinically diagnosed. She just knew he was different. Older than her by just 13 months, he had to repeat the first grade and from then on, they were virtual twins.

During the late 1950’s and 60’s, very little was known about disabilities such as Asperger’s, Autism and Dyslexia. But what Cathy knew, was that he endured a life of rejection, mocking and loneliness. She’s now donating her expertise to this cause in his memory.