DeKalb County CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson has appointed Devon Hudson to the MARTA Board of Directors. Hudson is the owner of Devon Hudson State Farm Agency and principal of Hudson Holding Company, a real estate construction and management firm in South DeKalb.
“I am pleased to appoint an exceptionally qualified leader who shares my commitment to strengthening and expanding transit,” said CEO Cochran-Johnson. “In the upcoming year, DeKalb will take significant steps to advance mass transit as we prepare for the region’s future. This appointee brings both technical expertise and dedication to public service that will help drive that progress.”
Hudson has a long history in business and civic leadership within DeKalb County. His company has developed several retail and commercial properties, including Trinity Office Park, which addressed a shortage of professional office space in South DeKalb. He is currently leading a mixed-use development project aimed at revitalizing the area’s economic landscape.
Hudson holds a BS in Finance and Computer Science from Illinois State University and is an alumnus of Leadership DeKalb (Class of 1993). He has held leadership roles with organizations such as ROOTS Adoption Agency, Boy Scouts of America’s Soapstone Ridge District, and 100 Black Men of Atlanta. His achievements have been recognized by awards like the Outstanding Minority Business Award from the Georgia Association of Minority Entrepreneurs and the Outstanding Young People of Atlanta Award.
The appointment comes as DeKalb County updates its Master Transit Plan (MTP), last completed in 2018. The Atlanta Regional Commission has contributed $500,000 toward this update to ensure it aligns with current priorities. This effort coincides with major transportation projects such as the Georgia Department of Transportation’s $900 million I-285/I-20 Interchange Project and the $11 billion Top-End Express Lanes Project.
“DeKalb is at the forefront of regional mobility,” said Cochran-Johnson. “By updating our Master Transit Plan and ensuring strong representation on the MARTA Board, we’re taking deliberate steps to build a connected, equitable transit network that moves both people and opportunity forward.”
Meanwhile, recent data shows changes within other sectors in DeKalb County: school enrollment dropped by 2.2% during the 2022-23 school year compared to the previous year according to https://www.gadoe.org/. In total, county schools enrolled 98,287 students for that period (https://www.gadoe.org/), with white students making up 14%—the third largest ethnic group among students (https://www.gadoe.org/).
