Meet Russell

Service and accountability are at the foundation of Russell Hopson’s nearly twenty years as a homeowner and community leader, mentor and advocate for City Council District 1. Hopson chaired Neighborhood Planning Unit Y for four years, and also served as neighborhood president of South Atlanta Civic League. In both roles, he united neighbors behind connectivity, beautification, sustainability, public safety and civic engagement while advocating for neighborhood solidarity. As the next Councilmember for District 1, he is focused on establishing true equity across District 1 communities through scalable growth, greater connectivity between neighborhoods, more consciously applied public safety, improved educational opportunities and safe and affordable living for a variety of income levels.

Russell worked closely with Councilmember Carla Smith and APS Board Member Leslie Grant, Commissioner Marvin Arrington, and other leaders on initiatives to improve District 1 neighborhoods. He is a founding Member of Carver Neighborhood Market, Advisory Board Member of Focused Community Strategies (FCS) served on the Fulton County District 5 Constituent Services task force. He is an alumni of Project Understanding (sponsored by American Jewish Committee) and mentored youth for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta, Parks Middle School and Raising Expectations.

Raised with a love for service and scholarship, Russell attended Florida A&M University where he founded a mentoring program. He also served as an early childhood development instructor, taught Math and Science to Upward Bound students and was Community Service Chair for his fraternity. Hopson organized voter registration drives and student protests challenging questionable polling practices of Florida elections. Russell graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering.

Hopson works for Amedisys Home Health and serves on his company’s National DEI Council. He also serves on the Morehouse School of Medicine Prevention Research Center – Community Coalition Board, which works to identify the underlying causes of health inequities in underserved communities. Russell was selected to be the community liaison member of the Morehouse School of Medicine / Morehouse Healthcare Board of Trustees. In that role he gives critical perspective on steering strategies as well as equitable and accessible community health engagement.