Erika S. Williams, Managing Partner
From organizational assessment to fund development, and organizational improvement strategies, Erika is a seasoned expert across the corporate, government, philanthropic, and nonprofit sectors. She fuses discipline with creativity to deliver innovative solutions and continuous learning experiences. Her background in corporate philanthropy sits Erika in a prime position to accept significant responsibilities. Over the years, she has managed an annual budget of $4M in Arts & Culture and Diversity in Education grant portfolios for the Morgan Stanley Foundation. Erika has headed strategy development and performance measurement for a growing list of neighborhood-scale programs, policies, and activities. Her clients include the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Atlanta Civic Site, and the Fulton County Government’s Office of Strategic Planning and Performance Excellence. Erika is passionate about community development, going above and beyond to advance her clients’ missions.
Meghna Mukherjee, Albireo Group Social Impact Fellow
Meghna Mukherjee is a doctoral candidate at University of California Berkeley. Her main research interests revolve around the social inequalities arising alongside emerging fertility and genetic technologies. Prior to her PhD, Meghna worked in the non-profit grants and development field New York City, in addition to working as a consultant on several social impact-oriented projects. The organizations she has worked with include The Door, University Settlement, the King Hussein Foundation, and Human Rights Watch. She also brings vast experience of living and working with an array of non-profits around the world, including in Mumbai, India and Amman, Jordan. Be it through her academic or professional engagements, Meghna remains passionate about working toward sustainable social change. In all her work, she is committed to harnessing data and research to better understand and develop strategic solutions to alleviate social inequality. Accordingly, as an Albireo Group Fellow, Meghna is enthusiastic about applying her skills to support organizations that seek to drive such positive impact. Meghna graduated from Columbia University with a BA in Sociology (honors) and Human Rights (2015) and holds an MA in Sociology from UC Berkeley (2019).
Akilah Favors, Consultant
This Atlanta native is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Sociology at U.C Berkeley. Akilah is passionate about topics including racial empowerment, urbanization, and activism. During her time at Spelman College, Akilah was chosen to participate in the UNCF Mellon Mays Fellowship Program. As a Mellon fellow completing her senior thesis, Akilah chose to tackle the concept of the youth challenging systematic invisibility and structural racism in Argentina’s Afro-descendent movement. Akilah won the Outstanding Thesis award in the sociology department, and was awarded first place at Spelman’s research day. Akilah graduated Magna Cum Laude from Spelman College and was just one of three sociology students accepted into the prestigious Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society. Akilah is Albireo Group’s grant writer and researcher. She is passionate about moving society forward and working to help advance marginalized communities.
Lanisha Thomas, Education Subject Matter Expert
Lanisha is our resident education consultant, passionate about helping students enjoy adequate academic preparation. She has over two decades of experience in the education sector, from public school teaching to community college teaching and administration, and higher education administration. Lanisha is a key part of our team, bringing broad knowledge, wisdom, and insight to the Albireo table. Ms. Thomas supports students by developing and executing sophisticated strategies designed to stimulate learning, development, and sustainable growth. Her focus is on academic preparation for students and strategic development for organizations.
Alexandria Holt, communications
Holt has worked in the sports world since 2013 and has since worked for two NFL teams including the Atlanta Falcons and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Her role is to manage a segmented group of Falcons season ticket members accounts with year around engagement. This includes all forms of communication as well as Falcons home games, Falcons member events, and Mercedes-Benz Stadium Events.
Conrhonda Baker, advisor
Conrhonda’s passion for the performing arts is grounded in her dance background, sparked by taking after-school classes at a county-wide recreational facility in rural northeast Georgia. Having grown up with limited access to the arts, she understands the importance of exposing children to creative outlets and creating opportunities for artistic expression. Before joining the Howard Gilman Foundation, she gained fundraising, government affairs, and program development experience through working with South Arts, Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, Alabama Dance Council, Vulcan Park and Museum, Birmingham Museum of Art, and Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation. Her philanthropic commitments include serving with the Junior League of Montclair-Newark. She holds a Master of Arts Management from Carnegie Mellon University and Bachelor of Arts in African American Studies with a minor in Dance Education from The University of Georgia.
Amber mason, Evaluation Partner
Dr. Mason received her Ph.D. in Educational Policy Studies with a concentration in Research, Measurement, and Statistics from Georgia State University, a Post-Master’s Certification in Program Evaluation from Georgia State University, a Master’s of Science in Education from Quincy University, and a Bachelor’s of Arts in Economics from Spelman College. Prior to her doctorate studies, Dr. Mason taught high school mathematics for seven years in the Chicago area.
Dr. Shadonna Davis, Advisor
Dr. Davis received a Ph.D. in Educational Policy Studies with a concentration in Social Foundations of Education from Georgia State University and an Advanced Qualitative Research Certificate. She received her Master of Social Work Degree and a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from Georgia State University. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker.