Meet Councilmember Bakhtiari and their staff.

 

COUNCILMEMBER
LILIANA BAKHTIARI

THEY/SHE

Liliana Bakhtiari (BAK – tee – R – ee) was born and raised in Atlanta and is serving their first term as a member of the Atlanta City Council, representing the residents of District 5.  Liliana currently serves on the Finance/Executive, City Utilities, and Community Development/Human Services Committees for City Council.

Liliana is the first queer Muslim person to be elected in the state of Georgia, and the first nonbinary person elected in the city of Atlanta. She identifies as gender fluid and uses “they/them” or “she/her” pronouns.

A longtime resident of Southeast Atlanta and the daughter of Iranian immigrants, Liliana grew up working at her father’s pharmacy in the historic Sweet Auburn neighborhood where she learned the value of hard work and what it takes to run a small business. She began organizing in the community from a young age, and by college, began investing her time in student-led coalitions at Georgia State University and causes such as affordable education and the Georgia Dreamers program.

Liliana followed their passion for people abroad, spending their early adulthood fighting for affordable housing, women’s and children’s health, and environmental justice across 26 countries around the world. Back at home in Atlanta, Liliana has tackled initiatives locally, including suburban and rural voter engagement during critical elections, direct services for unsheltered populations, blood drives, senior partnerships, public art initiatives, and more.

Professionally, Liliana served as the public affairs manager of Planned Parenthood Southeast and lobbied for voting rights with ProGeorgia. They served as a consultant for Echo Market Research helping to build out their Social Justice Division. She also collaborated with Partners for Home to establish a hotel program housing Atlanta’s  at-risk unsheltered population during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Liliana continues to invest her time in the causes that mean the most to her at the local level on a volunteer basis. She previously served on the boards of Lost-N-Found Youth, Victory Fund, PEDS, and gloATL. Liliana currently serves as the strategic director for the Blue Neighbors Project and as a curator of Black Futures Matter Collective, while also serving on the board of Georgia Equality.

  • Nic Cappon (he/him)

    CHIEF OF STAFF

    A native of Upstate NY, Nic came to the City of Atlanta with over decade of experience serving in the highest levels of New York's state and local government. Nic brings strong coalition building, communication strategy, and public policy development skills to the District 5 team. Nic holds a Bachelor of Political Science from New York’s public university system and a Master of Public Administration from Cornell University.

    When he’s not serving our constituents, Nic enjoys cooking elaborate casseroles and asking for the manager at Applebees.

  • Patrick Husbands (he/him)

    POLICY DIRECTOR

    Patrick has spent the last decade working on political and issue-based campaigns, handling direct constituent service work, and serving the Democratic Party in a variety of roles. He is a graduate of Augusta University, where he received his B.A. in History.

    Patrick served as Councilmember Bakhtiari’s Field Director and Volunteer Coordinator in 2021, helping to direct over 20,000 door knocks and 3,000 phone calls. Prior to this, Patrick served on Congressman David Scott’s staff for over 5 years.

    Patrick lives in the West End with his best bud Hercules, a brilliant 4 year old European Shorthair. He looks forward to serving District 5 and hopes to help make government more equitable, forward-thinking, and responsive.