About Athens Achieves

Our Mission

Athens Achieves is a collaborative initiative that unites business, education, local government, and community to build a strong workforce pipeline, ensuring a skilled talent pool for current and future employers in Athens-Clarke County. Continuous engagements with our stakeholders will promote a thriving Athens-Clarke County with a sustainable workforce infrastructure that attracts, develops, and retains top talent and quality employers.

Our Vision

We envision an Athens where:

Local talent can access clear pathways to quality employment
Employers can find and retain engaged, prepared workers
Hiring strengthens not just businesses—but the whole community

AthensAchieves.com is one step toward making that vision real.

Athens Achieves has launched an ambitious strategic plan to strengthen workforce development through several key goals:

Job Portal Development

Creating a comprehensive platform to connect employers with job seekers, and the hiring of job navigators to assist with securing employment and connecting individuals with wrap-around services provided by our community partners.

Education & Training

Developing essential life and leadership skills, career pathway alignment (secondary/post-secondary), and second-chance employment opportunities for individuals looking to re-enter the workforce. This also includes developing apprenticeship opportunities that allow individuals to receive related technical industrial in conjunction with on-the-job training ultimately preparing them for skilled trades and high demand careers within the Athens-Clarke County Community.

Improving Third Grade Reading Proficiency

According to Science for Georgia, “Students who cannot read proficiently at their grade level by the end of 3rd grade are four times more likely than their proficient counterparts to drop out of high school and are more likely to experience long-term behavioral and mental health issues.” Literacy skills are foundational for career readiness, especially in a workforce that increasingly values critical thinking and communication.

About the Job Portal

A Local Career Connection Built for Athens–Clarke County

AthensAchieves.com is a community-based career connection portal designed to strengthen the local workforce by connecting Athens–Clarke County job seekers with local employers who are committed to hiring local talent.

Unlike national job boards, Athens Achieves was built with and for our community—in partnership with local employers, educators, workforce organizations, and community leaders—to create a more personal, supportive, and effective hiring experience.

Search Jobs

Our goal is simple:

Help local residents find meaningful work, and help local employers build a strong, reliable workforce—right here in Athens.

What Makes Athens Achieves Different

Local by Design

Athens Achieves focuses exclusively on jobs, employers, and talent in the Athens area. That means less noise, more relevance, and better matches.

More than a Job Board

This is not just a place to post or apply for jobs. Athens Achieves connects job seekers and employers to career navigation support, local hiring events, and workforce resources that help people succeed beyond the application.

Community-Centered Hiring

The platform was created to support inclusive hiring and long-term workforce stability, not just quick placements. We center people, relationships, and local opportunities.

Free to Use

There is no cost for job seekers to register or for employers to create an account and post jobs.

For Job Seekers

Athens Achieves helps you move beyond endless applications by offering:

Access to local job opportunities from Athens-based employers
A simple profile that highlights your skills, experience, and goals
Optional support from Athens Achieves Career Navigators
Connections to training programs, hiring events, and career resources
A platform designed to support your growth, not just your next job

Whether you’re entering the workforce, changing careers, or seeking better opportunities, Athens Achieves is here to help you move forward.

Candidate Sign-Up

For Employers

Athens Achieves helps employers recruit more effectively by offering:

Access to a pipeline of local talent actively seeking work
A hiring platform focused on quality matches, not volume
Tools to post jobs, manage applicants, and promote opportunities
Opportunities to engage with the community through hiring events and partnerships
Support from the Athens Achieves team to help navigate hiring needs

Employers using Athens Achieves are investing in the long-term strength of the local workforce—and in the future of Athens.

Employer Sign-Up

Built Through Partnership

Athens Achieves is a collaborative effort supported by local partners who care deeply about economic opportunity, workforce development, and community prosperity. The platform continues to grow and evolve based on feedback from job seekers, employers, and community stakeholders.

Meet the Navigators

Billy Michael Honor

Billy Michael Honor is a public scholar, speaker, and community development leader whose work focuses on helping individuals and communities build the intellectual skills, resilience, and alignment needed to access opportunity and thrive. His career spans community organizing, workforce development, and systems-level change, with a strong emphasis on connecting historically disenfranchised communities to education, employment, and pathways to economic mobility.

Previously, Billy served as Organizing Director of the New Georgia Project, where he led statewide initiatives advancing opportunity and justice for historically disenfranchised communities. He has been recognized by Atlanta Magazine as one of the 500 Most Powerful People in Atlanta and named a “Faith Leader to Watch” by the Center for American Progress. He is a graduate of Emory University, a husband, father of two, and lover of Caribbean food and hot wings.

Jim Doherty

Originally born in New Jersey and raised in Connecticut, Jim went on to earn his bachelor’s degree from Villanova University and his MBA from Drexel University. He spent his early career and adult life in the Employment domain in Philadelphia while also serving as a Naval Officer, retiring as a Captain in the U.S. Naval Reserve before relocating to Athens nine years ago.

Since arriving in Athens, Jim has been deeply engaged in the community, becoming a Charter Member of the SilverDawgs as a volunteer with the UGA Athletic Association. Before joining Athens Achieves at the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce as a Career Navigator, he served as a Career Coach and Program Director with ACTION, Inc., helping launch employment and technical skills training programs that led participants to full-time jobs. Jim describes himself as a coach who partners with individuals and employers to help them reach their amazing potential, and he invites you to join the journey of strengthening and elevating the Athens community.

Contact the Navigators