Raymond C. Pierce serves as the president and CEO of the Southern Education Foundation, where he leads the organization’s historic mission of advancing educational opportunities for African American and low-income students in the southern states. Since joining SEF in January 2018, Mr. Pierce has focused the organization on policy research, education legislation, and leadership development.

Prior to joining SEF, Mr. Pierce was dean of the School of Law at North Carolina Central University. Earlier, Mr. Pierce served as deputy assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights as a political appointee in the administration of President Bill Clinton. During that time, Mr. Pierce also served on the White House Domestic Policy Council working group in the development of the Empowerment Zone and related economic and workforce development policies.

Mr. Pierce has also been a partner in the business practices at the law firms of Baker Hostetler and Nelson Mullins, where he represented clients in the steel, energy, transportation, and defense contracting industries. He also represented clients in higher education.

Mr. Pierce is a visiting professor of Public Policy and Political Theology at the Duke University Divinity School. He is also a member of the National Math and Science Initiative board of directors. He has served on the Council of Legal Education of the American Bar Association and is a past vice president of the North Carolina Bar Association. He is a permanent member of the Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference and has served as an appointed member of the North Carolina State Banking Commission.

Mr. Pierce earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Syracuse University, where he also received an officer’s commission in the U.S. Air Force Reserves. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Case Western Reserve University School of Law in Cleveland, and a master’s from the Duke University Divinity School.

Leighton O’Sullivan, CPA, joined the Southern Education Foundation as chief financial officer in April 2020. He has more than 25 years of experience in accounting operations in non-profit organizations and for-profit companies. His leadership style promotes a culture of accountability and a commitment to high-quality work, customer service and increased internal controls.

Leighton previously served as the chief financial officer at IFS Group, a securities firm. Prior to that, he held positions at Clark Atlanta University as the associate vice president and controller, the controller, and the director of profit clients. His experience includes oversight and responsibility for the direct management of accounting operations, financial reporting, financial audits including A-133, entity compliance, treasury, acquisitions, project management, risk management, business valuations, Sarbanes Oxley, and system implementations.

Leighton received his Bachelor of Business Administration degree, cum laude, in Accounting from Baruch College in New York. He moved to Atlanta more than 20 years ago and maintains an active Georgia-issued CPA license.

As the director of research and policy for the Southern Education Foundation, Max designs and implements SEF’s research agenda and manages the development of its research-informed policy positions and advocacy initiatives.

He previously served as a managing researcher and Task 5 (Training, Coaching, and Technical Support) lead for the Pacific Regional Educational Laboratory at McREL International in Honolulu. In this role, he designed and facilitated ongoing technical support projects to meet the needs of educational leaders and key stakeholders in Pacific jurisdictions, including Hawaiʻi, the U.S. territories of American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands, and the independent nations of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Palau. His work emphasized the implementation of culturally responsive policies that support local student success through alignment among college, K-12, and workforce systems.

Max has also worked as a professional developer and curriculum writer. His research interests lie in the creation of K-12 educational policy that reflects and supports social justice initiatives, and in how the contexts in which teachers and students operate shape their own conceptions of equity and social justice. A former high school math teacher, Max also taught teacher education and mathematics courses at the University of Michigan.

Max earned bachelor’s in Mathematics and Secondary Education from Vanderbilt University and a doctorate in administration and policy from the University of Michigan.

Tonya Gentry, J.D., serves as director of the Equity Assistance Center-South at SEF. Her background in civil rights enforcement has prepared her to assist educational institutions, organizations, and professional groups as they coordinate successful compliance efforts, creating both educational and workplace environments free from unlawful discrimination and retaliation.

With a career in civil rights and EEO enforcement spanning almost two decades, Tonya previously worked as a senior attorney for the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR). Subsequent to OCR, she established a boutique civil rights consulting practice and served as a contract attorney advisor for Windsor Group, LLC, counseling on various diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) initiatives.

Tonya received a bachelor’s in biology and chemistry from Virginia Union University in Richmond, Virginia, and a Juris Doctor from the University of North Carolina School of Law in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She is licensed to practice in Georgia.

Sarah Glover is the program lead for Outcomes Based Contracting. In her role, she uses her expertise to coach cohort districts as they develop their contracts.

Sarah has led improvement efforts in K-12 public education for nearly 30 years. Previously as the vice president of client success at Panorama Education, she led a 45-person team to improve student outcomes through social-and-emotional research and analysis for more than 600 clients and nearly nine million students. Prior to her time at Panorama, Sarah served as executive director of strategic partnerships at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and was the founding executive director of SDP, a national effort to transform the use of data in education.

As a founding member of the Center for Reform of School Systems, Sarah partnered in the development of the Broad Institute for School Boards and led the development of the Texas Institute for School Boards. She also served as an elected member of the Bozeman Public Schools Board of Trustees in Montana.

Sarah holds a master’s degree in public affairs, an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin, and a bachelor’s in political science from Tufts University.

Danielle Harris is the manager of development and donor relations at the Southern Education Foundation, overseeing SEF’s donor-relations program and manages fundraising initiatives.

Prior to this role, Danielle was the operations and strategy program associate at SEF, assisting with key strategic initiatives and new pathways for impact, partner engagement, and the development and management of organizational strategy and operations.

With more than a decade of experience in education with Atlanta Public Schools, Danielle previously served as a site director, revamping an out-of-school enrichment curriculum to  align with the development needs of the students. Her work also led to three out-of-school programs becoming nationally accredited through the Council on Accreditation.

Danielle holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Georgia Southern University.

Asley Gulaid is the senior leadership development program associate at the Southern Education Foundation, supporting SEF’s comprehensive and proactive leadership-development strategy, including program design and implementation.

Prior to joining SEF, Asley served as a Policy and Advocacy Fellow at Education Forward DC, creating a landscape analysis and implementation report to strengthen equity and amplify teacher-voice in support of Washington, DC, students.

Asley is a Teach for America alumna and previously taught third-grade math in Memphis, Tennessee. In her time as an educator, she planned community events and organized efforts to expand access to quality educational opportunities for the greater Memphis community.

Asley received bachelor’s degrees in psychology and business administration from the University of Florida.

Chandra Halstead is the executive assistant/office manager for the Office of the President of the Southern Education Foundation. Chandra currently provides executive and logistical support for the Office of the President & Corporate Development.

Prior to joining SEF, Chandra worked for the Ford Foundation’s Office of Management Services, where she provided support as a grants assistant/liaison for the overseas offices and the Office of Legal Services, financial services, IT, and other grant-related matters.  Chandra has over 17 years of experience working in the philanthropic sector and over 12 years of experience working with non-profit organizations.

Chandra earned an Associate’s Degree in Executive Secretarial Science from the New York City College of Technology, CUNY.

Harry Chiu is the inaugural Lynn Walker Huntley Social Justice Fellow at the Southern Education Foundation and the Southern Poverty Law Center. He began his fellowship in September 2022. He is developing strategies to advance education equity through legislative advocacy and litigation on behalf of marginalized students across the South.

Harry is an alumna of the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme and previously taught English to elementary and middle school students in Kagawa Prefecture. He coached students in national-level English speech tournaments and participated in numerous cultural exchange events.

As a law student, Harry was extensively involved with Lambda, the LGBTQ+ student society, founding the Public Interest Careers Chair by conducting extensive peer mentorship and planning dozens of networking and community events. He interned at GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders, contributing research on the Establishment Clause for an amicus brief in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Fulton v. City of Philadelphia on anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination by government contractors. Harry was the student speaker at the 2022 Harvard Lavender Graduation for LGBTQ+ students.

Born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, Harry holds a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School and a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of British Columbia.