Our Staff

Executive Leadership

Raymond C. Pierce President and CEO President and CEO

Raymond C. Pierce serves as the President and CEO of the Southern Education Foundation, where he leads the organization’s historic…

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Kenita T. Williams Chief Operating Officer Chief Operating Officer

Dr. Kenita T. Williams joined the Southern Education Foundation in 2017 and serves as the chief operating officer. Kenita is…

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Leighton O’Sullivan Chief Financial Officer Chief Financial Officer

Leighton O’Sullivan, CPA, joined the Southern Education Foundation as chief financial officer in April 2020. He has more than 25…

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Brittany Miller Chief Innovation Officer & Executive Director of… Chief Innovation Officer & Executive Director of the Center for OBC

Brittany Miller serves as the managing director for the Center for Outcomes Based Contracting at the Southern Education Foundation. In…

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Kathleen Rivera Chief Development Officer Chief Development Officer

Kathleen Rivera (she/her) is the Chief Development Officer at SEF. A seasoned fund development expert with over 20 years of…

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Max Altman Director of Research and Policy Director of Research and Policy

As SEF’s director of research and policy, Max Altman, Ph.D., designs and manages SEF’s research agenda and development of research-informed…

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Eshé P. Collins Director, Equity Assistance Center-South Director, Equity Assistance Center-South

Eshé P. Collins is director of the Equity Assistance Center-South (EAC-South) at the Southern Education Foundation. She oversees the center’s…

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Amber C. Davis Director of Leadership Development Director of Leadership Development

Amber C. Davis serves as the director of leadership development at the Southern Education Foundation. She oversees SEF’s fellowships that…

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Fred A. Jones, Jr. Senior Director of Public Policy & Advocacy Senior Director of Public Policy & Advocacy

Fred A. Jones Jr. serves as the senior director of public policy and advocacy for the Southern Education Foundation. His…

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Elise Lenthe Program Director, Insights and Analytics, The Center… Program Director, Insights and Analytics, The Center for Outcomes Based Contracting

Elise is the Program Director, Insights and Analytics at the Center for Outcomes Based Contracting. She has 15 years of…

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Jasmine Walker Director, District Engagement of The Center for… Director, District Engagement of The Center for Outcomes Based Contracting

Jasmine Walker serves as the Director of District Engagement. In her role, she is responsible for overseeing and executing the…

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Tawheedah Abdullah Technical Assistance Lead, EAC-South Technical Assistance Lead, EAC-South

Dr. Tawheedah Abdullah is the technical assistance (TA) lead for EAC-South. In this role, she develops and implements strategic TA…

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Lee Johnson,III Early Childhood Education Senior Fellow Early Childhood Education Senior Fellow

Lee Johnson III serves as a senior fellow for early childhood education at the Southern Education Foundation (SEF) and directs…

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Camille Pendley Hau Lynn Walker Huntley Social Justice Fellow Lynn Walker Huntley Social Justice Fellow

Camille Pendley Hau is a senior fellow with the Lynn Walker Huntley Social Justice Fellowship in education and civil rights…

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Genevieve Sapp Controller Controller

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Hannah Curry Program Manager, The Center for Outcomes Based… Program Manager, The Center for Outcomes Based Contracting

Hannah Curry oversees the operations of The Center for OBC, ensuring the center can achieve its goals and effectively implement…

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Daphine Jackson Accounting Manager Accounting Manager

Daphine Jackson serves as accounting manager at Southern Education Foundation, supporting the CFO with day-to-day financial operations for the agency.…

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Brittany Johnson Professional Development Manager, The Center for Outcomes… Professional Development Manager, The Center for Outcomes Based Contracting

Brittany Johnson is the Professional Development Manager for the Center for Outcomes Based Contracting at the Southern Education Foundation. In…

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Nacarid Silva Program Manager, The Center for Outcomes Based… Program Manager, The Center for Outcomes Based Contracting

Nacarid Silva is the program manager for the Center for Outcomes Based Contracting at the Southern Education Foundation. Alongside her…

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Hedreich Nichols Senior Communications Specialist Senior Communications Specialist

Hedreich Nichols serves as Senior Communications Specialist and facilitator at the Center for Outcomes Based Contracting, where she champions transformative…

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Danielle Smith Communications Manager Communications Manager

Danielle Smith joined the Southern Education Foundation in February 2024 as a Communications Manager. A seasoned marketing and communications specialist,…

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Darian Burns Legislative and Public Policy Analyst Legislative and Public Policy Analyst

Darian Burns joined the Southern Education Foundation in August 2022 as a legislative and public policy analyst on the government…

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Tabitha Hoang Research and Policy Analyst Research and Policy Analyst

Tabitha Reynolds Hoang is the research and policy analyst at the Southern Education Foundation. Tabitha supports SEF’s partnerships, publications, dissemination…

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Lupita Quezada-Orosco Program Coordinator, The Center for Outcomes Based… Program Coordinator, The Center for Outcomes Based Contracting

Lupita Quezada serves as the Program Coordinator for the Center for Outcomes Based Contracting (OBC) at the Southern Education Foundation.…

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Sherrell Glenn Program Coordinator, The Center for Outcomes Based… Program Coordinator, The Center for Outcomes Based Contracting

Sherrell Glenn is the program coordinator supporting the Center for Outcomes Based Contracting through district relationship management, data collection, resource…

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Allison Boyle Research and Policy Specialist Research and Policy Specialist

Allison Boyle is research and policy specialist at the Southern Education Foundation, joining SEF full time after serving as early…

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Jariel Davis Leadership Development Program Associate Leadership Development Program Associate

Jariel Davis is a program associate in Leadership Development at the Southern Education Foundation, where she plays a key role…

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Lauren Mead Senior Operations Program Associate Senior Operations Program Associate

Lauren Mead is the senior operations program associate for the Southern Education Foundation, supporting a range of important functions and…

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Rhonda Parker Program Associate, Equity Assistance Center-South Program Associate, Equity Assistance Center-South

Rhonda Parker is the Program Associate for the Equity Assistance Center-South at the Southern Education Foundation, where she supports the…

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Chandra Halstead Executive Assistant/Office Manager Executive Assistant/Office Manager

Chandra Halstead is the executive assistant/office manager for the president. Chandra currently provides executive and logistical support to the president…

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Brown's Promise

Priyanka Mukhara Intern, Brown's Promise Intern, Brown's Promise

Priyanka Mukhara is a junior at Harvard College studying Social Studies, with a concentration in education policy and race. On…

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Ary Amerikaner Co-Founder and Executive Director, Brown’s Promise Co-Founder and Executive Director, Brown’s Promise

Ary Amerikaner is an education policy leader with experience spanning federal and state government, advocacy, and the law. Ary served…

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Saba Bireda Co-Founder and Chief Legal Counsel, Brown’s Promise Co-Founder and Chief Legal Counsel, Brown’s Promise

Saba is an attorney with almost twenty years of experience in the education field. She grew up in Hillsborough County,…

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Stephen Owens Director of Policy and Advocacy, Brown's Promise Director of Policy and Advocacy, Brown's Promise

Stephen began in education policy as a graduate assistant, chronicling the spread and use of research in shaping legislation. Upon…

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Fatema Jaffer Legal Fellow, Brown's Promise Legal Fellow, Brown's Promise

Fatema began her career in education as a mathematics educator and community organizer in her parents’ home region, East Africa,…

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Olivia Roark Intern, Brown's Promise Intern, Brown's Promise

Olivia Roark is a senior at Rice University studying Social Policy Analysis and Cognitive Sciences. She grew up in Montgomery…

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