Rodney K. Strong

Rodney K. Strong is the CEO and Co-Founder of Griffin & Strong, PC. Mr. Strong is currently the project principal for public policy consulting engagements with several state and local governmental entities.

A member of the State Bar of Georgia, Attorney Strong represents a range of public entity and corporate clients, specializing in public contract, community development and real estate law.

In addition to his law practice, Mr. Strong also serves as the general counsel for the Fulton County/City of Atlanta Land Bank Authority, and as a supplier diversity consultant on numerous projects including the newly built Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA.

Mr. Strong is widely considered one of the foremost national experts in the area of procurement disparity research and supplier diversity program development. His experience in these areas began in 1985 when then Mayor Andrew Young appointed him Director of Contract Compliance for the City of Atlanta, a position he held until 1992.

Attorney Strong is a board member of the American Contract Compliance Association, the Atlanta Business League, the Judson Lyons Society, and H.E.A.L. (Helping Ethiopia Achieve Longevity).

Mr. Strong is a graduate of the University of Memphis, Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, where he was a Herbert Herff Presidential Law Scholar. He received his undergraduate degree in Political Science from Morehouse College.

Delmarie A. Griffin

Delmarie A. Griffin is President, Shareholder and Co-Founder of Griffin & Strong, P.C. During her 25-year tenure with the firm, she has provided her expertise in contract law, business restructuring, and disparity studies to mobilize expansion and viable growth for the firm and its clients.

Attorney Griffin has extensive experience in both the public and private sector, and frequently draws on both in her contributions to various contract engagements and disparity studies. As an attorney, Ms. Griffin has represented clients in a wide range of cases involving Federal, State and Local issues.

Ms. Griffin has developed an extensive skill set through the negotiation of major contracts and complex business transactions between diverse groups of private clients and government entities.

She served as Senior Contract Administrator, Compliance Director and Interim Director of Resourcing for the City of Atlanta Department of Procurement for almost 10 years. Ms. Griffin also previously served as Contract Compliance Hearing Officer for Fulton County, Georgia for ten years (1989-1999). She currently serves as Procurement Appeals Hearing Officer for the City of Atlanta.

In 2007, Attorney Griffin led the GSPC team on the New World of Coca-Cola Supplier Diversity initiative. As the lead consultant on this project, she developed and implemented a successful minority and female business participation program for the construction of the new facility. The firm earned the Partners in the Promise Award from The Coca-Cola Company’s Chief Executive Officer for its efforts in this groundbreaking initiative.

Attorney Griffin earned her law degree from the University of Georgia School of Law and her undergraduate degree in Business Administration and Political Science from Morris Brown College.

Dr. Imani Strong

chief operating officer

Imani Strong is the Chief Operating Officer at Griffin & Strong. She has served previously as Deputy Project Manager and Qualitative Research Coordinator on six major disparity studies, and as a data analyst on two studies. Imani currently oversees operations for the firm, providing strategic guidance and support to G&S's staff and managing the allocation of resources to ensure the team's efficiency.

An anthropologist by training, Dr. Strong also provides input on the qualitative evidence gathering process and stakeholder engagement, as well as the production of the anecdotal analysis for the firm’s studies. Her PhD research, “Contracting change: An ethnographic study of affirmative action, entrepreneurship, and bureaucracy in Atlanta, Georgia,” relied on a year of fieldwork with business owners and contract compliance professionals and was funded by the Leverhulme Trust through the LSE’s International Inequalities Institute.

Dr. Strong is currently a visiting fellow at the London School of Economics and Political Science, where she has taught legal anthropology and has designed and taught a course on race in anthropological perspective.

PhD, Anthropology, London School of Economics and Political Science

MRes, Anthropology, London School of Economics and Political Science

MSc, Social Anthropology, University of Oxford, Hertford College

BA, Anthropology, Mount Holyoke College

David Maher

David J. Maher is a Partner in the Legal Division at Griffin & Strong, P.C. Mr. Maher’s extensive background in civil and appellate litigation, with more than 20 years practicing law makes him an ideal lead to represent the Firm’s clients on legal matters.

He has served as a Staff Attorney with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Mr. Maher is knowledgeable in employment, insurance, commercial, and civil rights law, and has worked on both civil and criminal appeals. He has presented argument as lead appellate counsel before the Supreme Courts of Florida and Georgia, as well as the United States Circuit Courts of Appeals for the Eleventh and Seventh Circuits. He also served as a Staff Attorney with the Eleventh Circuit prior to opening his own civil appellate firm in Marietta

J.D., Florida State University College of Law

BA, Social Welfare – Criminal Justice, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Susan Johnson

Susan Johnson is the Director of Project Development for Griffin & Strong, P.C. A former contract compliance administrator for the City of Atlanta, Ms. Johnson continues to use her background to handle contracts and compliance efforts for many of GSPC’s clients. She also maintains the firm’s certifications and vendor registrations, and has assisted clients in their certification efforts. Ms. Johnson has led seven disparity studies for GSPC as a Deputy Project Manager.

Ms. Johnson is the contract administrator for the firm’s projects, serving as a liaison between the project teams and GSPC’s clients and ensuring that all aspects and stages of each project run smoothly. She was formerly certified as a Professional in Human Resources (PHR) by the Society for Human Resource Management and served as a human resources professional with several organizations.

MSc., Human Resource Management, Georgia State University

MSc., Urban Government and Administration, Georgia State University

BA, Political Science, Spelman College.

Hema Dass-Narinesingh

Hema Dass-Narinesingh is the Senior Manager of Consulting at Griffin & Strong, PC. Hema previously worked with the Trinidad & Tobago Civil Aviation Authority (TTCAA), an organisation responsible for discharging the government’s international aviation safety obligations under the Chicago Convention. As an adaptable results-oriented aviation professional with a proactive approach, Hema leveraged her creativity and innovation to implement process reengineering to maximize efficiency and cost effectiveness. Her efforts contributed to sustainable financial self-sufficiency in the TTCAA’s operations.

Hema establishes performance standards and encourages teamwork across divisions to drive organisational improvements. She employs advanced methods to enhance business processes, and adeptly navigates the framework of regulations, policies and procedures to align goals and objectives with GSPC’s vision and mission.

Through global networking, effective communication and strategic initiatives, Hema led several successful aviation projects including projects funded by the International Civil Aviation Organization and the European Union. Hema spearheaded the implementation of measures to reduce CO2 Emissions from international aviation in Trinidad & Tobago and the Caribbean. This project served as a catalyst to propel the first ever solar powered park at Trinidad & Tobago’s main international airport..

She holds a Certificate in Aviation Safety and Security from the University of Southern California and is a certified Project Management Professional.

Outside of her professional commitments, she is passionate about giving back by volunteering her time to non-profits like the Atlanta Community Food Bank and Food Well Alliance. She also enjoys participating in 5K walk/run charity events, contributing to various causes while having fun.

MBA, Heriot Watt University, Scotland

BSc, Management and Leadership (Public Sector Management), University of the West Indies, St. Augustine

Project Management Professional, PMI

Michele Clark Jenkins

Michele+press+photo+(1).jpg — senior director

Michele Clark Jenkins is the Director of Research and Methodology for Griffin & Strong, P.C. She has previously been the Senior Director of Consulting and has performed as the project manager on GSPC disparity studies, consulting engagements and goal-setting assignments since 2008. Ms. Jenkins’ background is in contracts, litigation support, business development intellectual property and entertainment.

Previously she was Vice-President of Programming for the Black Family Channel, President and C.O.O of the BET/Tim Reid Production Company, United Image Entertainment, and Director of Business Affairs at Home Box Office. As an independent consultant, she handled all licensing, planning and litigation matters for the Estate of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Ms. Jenkins also is a published author and editor. In addition to her law degree, she holds a certificate in Negotiations from Harvard University, and a certificate in Project Management from Kennesaw State University.

J.D., New York Law School

BA, Anthropology, Princeton University

Dr. Gregory Price

Dr. Gregory N. Price is the Senior Economist for Disparity Studies practices at Griffin & Strong, P.C. He is currently a professor of economics at the University of New Orleans and has been a professor of economics and Chair of Department at Morehouse College, Director of the Mississippi Urban Research Center, President of the National Economic Association, and Economics Program Director at the National Science Foundation.

His research in Labor-Economic Growth and Development, Slavery, Race and the Intergenerational Transmission of Disadvantage contribute to his findings in GSPC’s disparity studies. Dr. Price has published articles in Applied Economics, the Journal of Public Transportation and the Transportation Research Record.

Ph.D., Economics, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee

MSc. Economics, University of Wisconsin,Milwaukee

BA, Economics, Morehouse College.

Dr. Vincent Eagan

photo+ACCA+(002).jpg — technical advisor

Dr. J. Vincent Eagan is a Technical Advisor on Disparity Studies for Griffin & Strong, P.C. He is an authority in the law and economics of small and minority business, and has served as an expert witness in six cases involving minority business programs. In two instances, Dr. Eagan’s testimony supported disparity studies upheld at the federal circuit court level. One case in particular was Rowe v. Tippett, which governs disparity studies in the Fourth Circuit.

He previously served as an external consultant to the U.S. Minority Business Development Agency. Dr. Eagan has published more than 100 articles, monographs and conference papers on a variety of topics, with a particular focus on government policy towards small and minority business and public procurement.

J.D., Harvard Law School

PhD, Economics, Georgia State University

BA, Economics, Georgia State University.