Our Team

Leena Akhtar
She/her
Director of Programs & Consultant
Lawrence Alexander
He/him
Associate Director, Impact Development
Amy Baker
She/her
Director of Operations
Valerie A. Batts
She/her
VP Consulting (Founding Director)
Elika Dadsetan
She/her
Executive Director
Nikki Glass
She/her
VP of Admin
Clarissa Holmes
She/her
Office Manager
John Maudlin
He/him
Consultant / Communication and Marketing Consultant
Austyn Ellese Mayfield
She/her
Communication and Marketing Consultant
Stella Panzarella
She/her
Consultant & Programs Assistant
Rick Pinderhughes
He/him
Deputy VP of Consulting
Maria Fernanda (Mafer) Reyes
Contracts Assistant
Kaitlin Robinson
She/her
Contracts Manager
Erika Sheldon
She/her
Contracts Administrator
Haley Sparks
She/her
Mental Health Program Director
Nakayla Templeman
She/her
Social Media Intern

Our Board

Board of Directors
Louise Weeks Coggins, LCSW
​Stephanie Blount, MBA
Pierce J. Brooks
​Shannon Chapman
Patricia Davis-Penn
Vincent O. Johnson
Melissa Lukin, MBA
Elisa Lurkis
Gwendalynn L Morris
Wadye Morton
Prabha Sankaranaray, MS

Advisory Board of Directors
Aaron Amado
John Capitman, Ph.D.
​Meg Coward Baesmith
James W. Crow, PhD
Ida Dew Hickerson
Vlada Georgieva
Susan E. Gravely
Rev. Robert Griffin
The Rev. Geoffrey Hoare
Sheryl Howard, Esq.
Jovonna Jones
Carlene Larsson
Howard Lee, M.S.W.
Harriet W. Martin
​Viet Thanh Nguyen, PhD
The Rev. Haywood Parker
Gail Perry
Susan M. Perry Cole, Esq
Frank Phoenix
Bereket Habte Selassie, Ph.D.
Linnea Smith, M.D.
Joseph Steele, M.B.A.
​Gloria Steinem ​
Ann B. Sye, Ed.S
Fredrica H. Thompsett, Ph.D.
Timothy Tyson, Ph.D.
Lamont Wiggins, Esq.