The Atlanta Community Leaders Institute (CLI) held a conference on February 8 and 9 at Morehouse School of Medicine, in Atlanta, Georgia. The conference was sponsored by the Medical University of South Carolina, U.S. Department of Energy, Southeastern Virtual Institute for Health and Wellness, U.S. Department of Defense, DeKalb County, Morehouse School of Medicine, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Georgia Women for a Change, Urban League of Greater Atlanta, and Atlanta Community Food Bank. The CLI continues to build on the theme Building and Sustaining Healthy Communities. A critical factor in the success of community development programs is a well-informed community. Action occurs when those with authority assume an informed and active leadership role.

The purpose of the CLI is to help these leaders know how to access and obtain information necessary for making good decisions and communicating that information to the citizenry. The focus of the CLI is on the unique relationship between environmental protection, human health, environmental justice, and economic development. Sessions for this CLI included the role of government, focusing on the intergovernmental relationship between federal, state, and local governments; issues and challenges experienced by youth in the community and the development of resources needed to meet these challenges; economic development; housing; and health disparities and health issues, especially the combined effects of diabetes, hypertension, and obesity known as metabolic syndrome. Dr. David Satcher, former U.S. surgeon general and current president of the David Satcher Institute at Morehouse College of Medicine, provided the keynote address. The Atlanta CLI was one of the largest ever held, with approximately 300 participants and attendees.