Atlanta Falcons great Tommy Nobis never made it into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, much to his fans’ dismay. But through the center that bears his name, people with disabilities are achieving something even greater than touchdowns and trophies — steady work and a sense of self-worth.
Credit: Phil Skinner
Credit: Phil Skinner
Before the Tommy Nobis Center grew into a workforce engine serving thousands, it was simply an idea — one sparked by a schoolteacher.
Credit: Photo courtesy of the Tommy Nobis Center
Credit: Photo courtesy of the Tommy Nobis Center
Nearly half a century ago, Northside High School teacher Bobbie Knopf, now in her 90s, noticed that her special education students were approaching graduation with dread rather than anticipation. Their peers were buzzing about majors, résumés, and job possibilities. The students with disabilities weren’t — because few options existed for them.
The timing was right for change. In 1975, President Gerald Ford signed into law a bill guaranteeing all children — including those with disabilities — a free appropriate education.
With backing from some influential businesspeople determined to see their own children thrive, Knopf won approval to create a job-training center for high school graduates with physical and mental disabilities.
Credit: Manny Rubio, US Presswire
Credit: Manny Rubio, US Presswire
She knew it was important to build excitement for the center and thought: What better way than to name it after the talk of the town, Tommy Nobis, the Atlanta Falcons’ first-ever draft pick?
In what she now sees as a “gutsy” move, she cornered Nobis at a local event. She stopped him as he passed her table and told him her short- and long-term visions for the center. She pleaded for his help and asked him to meet with her board of directors. A day after that meeting, he gave his OK, and the Tommy Nobis Center was born.
Parents embraced it immediately. Some even transferred their children from their schools to Northside High.
What began with six students has since grown dramatically. Decades later, its reach has expanded into 50 metro Atlanta schools, helping 2,000 students this year imagine a future they didn’t picture before.
“Tommy took a very active role in the center,” Knopf said.
Nobis served on the center’s board as long as his health allowed.
Credit: Phil Skinner
Credit: Phil Skinner
“He wasn’t just the name behind it,” Dave Ward, the center’s CEO and president, said. “He really connected well with the people he served.’
Northside students with disabilities also were excited to have a path forward after high school, Knopf said.
“They would go around saying, ‘Guess where I’m going next year?’” she said.
Julia’s turning point
That sense of possibility still defines the center. Julia Washington is one of the many young adults whose lives were changed because of it.
Credit: Photo courtesy of the Tommy Nobis Center
Credit: Photo courtesy of the Tommy Nobis Center
Julia, who has autism and ADD, graduated from Kell High School in Marietta in 2022 and has been attending Chattahoochee Technical College, studying early child care and education.
But she also wanted a job, something that was a challenge.
“All Julia had was a long job search — all interviews and no jobs,” her mother, Valeria Washington, said.
At a 2023 birthday party, Julia noticed something: The honoree and some of his friends had jobs. They also had been through the Nobis Center.
Last year, she decided to give it a try — going through the Nobis Center’s six-month academy program.
Today, she is still going to school but has that long-desired job, working at Whataburger in Roswell, earning a paycheck and building confidence with each shift.
“The Nobis Center changed my life by making me feel independent,” Julia, 21, said.
Her mother put it more vividly: “In 14 years in Cobb County Schools, her teachers helped me build Julia’s life like a Lego town. Tommy Nobis Center was the little engine that made the town light up and move.”
How the center works — and why it matters
For CEO Ward, the center’s mission is personal. He has spent his life working for nonprofits and joined the Tommy Nobis Center as only its second leader since the center’s opening in 1977.
“We’re a nonprofit, but we are very much a business,” Ward said. “We just happen to be in the business of changing lives.”
He credits the philosophy to Nobis himself.
“Even though Tommy was a linebacker and played defense, his work ethic was all offense,” he said. “We’ve carried that into the center.”
The center’s core work
• Early Youth Employment Services — career exploration and soft skills inside 50-plus schools, starting in ninth grade through age 22.
• The Academy — a six-month, high-touch training program for young adults 18–27, followed by internships or direct placement and six months of support post-graduation. It started two years ago and has an 85% success rate.
• Traditional Adult Services — individualized assessments, job matching, and employer partnerships built around each participant’s goals.
• Federal Contracting Division — providing administrative support roles for people with disabilities in 24 states, offering competitive wages and benefits.
• Vehicle Donation Program — donated vehicles help sustain its services.
Ward is proud of the metrics, but one matters most: “When someone gets a job they love, and a paycheck hits their hand — mission accomplished.”
The legacy of ‘Mr. Falcon’
Nobis was a San Antonio native who starred at the University of Texas, became the Falcons’ first draft pick in 1966, and earned five Pro Bowls, two All-Pro selections and an NFL Rookie of the Year title.
His number 60 is retired by both the Falcons and UT Austin.
After 11 seasons, he spent nearly 40 years in the Falcons’ front office, known as “Mr. Falcon” — fierce on the field, gentle off it.
Nobis died in 2017 at age 74.
Today, a display at the center’s new location near Truist Park speaks to the love that still exists for him there. It includes a larger-than-life mural of “Mr. Falcon” in his team uniform. His LEGEND jacket is framed alongside photographs, and three trophy cases filled with additional memorabilia.
Ward believes Nobis would be proud of the center that carries his name.
“More than anything, he would love seeing the services we’re providing now,” Ward said. “His legacy is service — giving people a path to independence.”
A path forward
That path is clear for its program participants, including one referenced by Ward only as Destiny.
The center helped her get a job at Publix; her confidence and skills grew. Today, she works in administrative support for an office in Cobb County government. She has her own apartment, her own life — one she built herself, Ward said.
“That sense of purpose that comes from having a job — that’s everything,” Ward said. “Everyone deserves a chance to meet their goals.”
Founder Bobbie Knopf said data shows the center has helped more than 25,000 people with disabilities find jobs.
“I had a dream, and it has come to fruition,” Knopf said. “I am thrilled.”
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