Meet the Team

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ｜ she/her

Hope is the founding Executive Director of the Georgia Resilience & Opportunity Fund. Prior to her current role she served as a senior strategist at the Economic Security Project and led the Old Fourth Ward Economic Security Task Force, a community-driven initiative to examine the root causes of economic insecurity in Atlanta and beyond. Hope was a founding Policy and Advocacy Lead at Fair Fight Action and also served on the political team with the Abrams for Governor Campaign in 2018.

As a former teacher and assistant principal in New Orleans, Hope has experience in organizing young people, educators, and the faith community. She earned her Master of Public Affairs from Princeton's School of International and Public Affairs as well as a Bachelor of Arts degree from Tufts University, where she helped found the Africana Studies program.

DEPUTY DIRECTOR | she/her

Renee serves as the Deputy Director for the Georgia Resilience & Opportunity Fund, where she assists in the development and management of the In Her Hands Guaranteed Income program. Renee contributes to the GRO Fund’s stakeholder and partner organization relations, community engagement, research, and strategic communications.

A veteran of the US Navy, Renee has experience in project management, community outreach, policy research, and federal safety net program management.

Hailing from Florida, Renee is a veteran of the US Navy, earned her BA in Political Science at Spelman College and holds a Master of Public Affairs from Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs, where she focused on the impact of identity and power in policy making.

NARRATIVE & CULTURAL STRATEGIST | they/them

Eshe Shukura is the Narrative & Cultural Strategist with the Georgia Resilience & Opportunity Fund; where they co-architect the story of our movement through storytelling, art activations, community centered events, and building authentic relationships. Eshe most recently was the Cultural Strategist at the Economic Security Project, where they developed the Radical Storytelling initiative, a project they will continue at GRO.

Eshe spent five years working in the field of Reproductive Justice furthering the vision of its Black Feminist foremothers. As the Georgia State Organizer with URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity. In this position, they managed eight college and community URGE chapters. They were a lead organizer in the fight to end the Georgia Abortion Ban, advancing the battle through deep community building and creative activations. In 2019, Eshe was awarded the Vanguard for Change Award from SPARK Reproductive Justice Now and the Reproductive Justice Warrior Award from SisterSong at their annual, Let’s Talk About Sex conference. Eshe has planned several cultural activations, from coordinating the 2016 All Access: Abortion Rights concert in Atlanta to hosting an Abortion Positive Party at the historic Cascade Skating Rink! New to economic justice, Eshe is embracing their reality, learning new concepts and trusting the wisdom of their own economic experiences.

BOARD CHAIR ｜ he/him
Atlanta City Councilmember, District 2

Amir is an Atlanta City Councilmember and Director of the Corporate Council at CARE. On the City Council, he represents District 2, which includes Downtown, Midtown, Old Fourth Ward, Inman Park, Poncey-Highland, and Candler Park. In late 2019, Amir convened the Old Fourth Ward Economic Security Task Force to explore approaches to increasing economic security for his District's most vulnerable residents. This work led to the launch of the GRO Fund.

From 2011-2013 and in 2018, Amir was named among the Most Influential Georgians by Georgia Trend Magazine. He is a 2011 Marshall Memorial Fellow, a current Civil Society Fellow with the Aspen Institute and ADL, and graduate of LEAD Atlanta (2006) and Leadership Atlanta (2013).

Amir is a graduate of Duke University and Duke University School of Law and was the first Iranian-American elected official in the American South.

BOARD MEMBER ｜ she/her
CEO, Springboard to Opportunities

Aisha is the founding CEO of Springboard to Opportunities, a Jackson, MS nonprofit that uses a “radically resident-driven” approach to end generational poverty. In 2018, she created the Magnolia Mother’s Trust – now the country’s longest-running guaranteed income program, and the first one in the world to focus on Black women.

Aisha’s expertise on economic, racial and gender justice issues is regularly featured in outlets including The Washington Post, Amanpour & Company, Essence Magazine, NBC Nightly News and CNN. She is a TEDx speaker and a fellow of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation Community Leadership Network and Ascend at the Aspen Institute. She holds a B.A. from Tennessee State University, and an M.A. and Ph.D. from Michigan State University.

BOARD MEMBER ｜ he/him
Executive Director, LISC Atlanta

As Executive Director of the LISC Atlanta office, Dale is responsible for directing all of LISC’s community development investments and partnerships in the Metro Atlanta area. He brings over 30 years of experience and has facilitated over $1 billion in transactions to develop transit, affordable housing, commercial buildings and small businesses. Dale holds degrees from Duke University and University of California at Irvine.

A native of Los Angeles, Dale has called Atlanta home for over 12 years. Prior to joining LISC in 2019, he served for ten years at Invest Atlanta, the city’s economic development agency, to oversee the agency’s New Markets Tax Credit program and other public-private partnerships.

BOARD MEMBER ｜ he/him
President and CEO, MDC

John is President and CEO of MDC, an organization working on behalf of racial equity and economic mobility in the South. Previously, he served as VP Aspen Global Leadership Network at the Aspen Institute. Prior to that, he was an executive with Prisma Health, where he led collaborative, evidence-based efforts to promote health innovation, access, and equity. He also is a Senior Lecturer at Duke Law School.

John was appointed to the Senior Executive Service in the Obama Administration where he served as general counsel for the U.S. Agency for International Development and deputy general counsel for the White House Office of Management and Budget.

BOARD MEMBER ｜ she/her
Director of Guaranteed Income, Economic Security Project

Madeline is the Director of Guaranteed Income at the Economic Security Project and Co-Chair of the Guaranteed Income Community of Practice. Prior to joining ESP, she was a Director of Advocacy and Policy at the Roosevelt Institute where she focused on corporate power issues.

Madeline previously served as a Senior Policy Advisor on criminal records at the Council of State Governments Justice Center, where she developed the Clean Slate Clearinghouse, as an attorney at Columbia Legal Services representing prisoners, and as a staff attorney at the National Employment Law Project working to expand fair employment opportunities for people with criminal records. Madeline has a JD from the University of California, Berkeley Law.

BOARD MEMBER ｜ she/her
Research Director, Southern Economic Advancement Project

As Research Director for the Roosevelt Institute’s Southern Economic Advancement Project (SEAP), Sarah Beth works to broaden economic power in the American South through policy research and network-building across the region. Prior to joining SEAP, she served as policy director for a gubernatorial campaign, deputy director for the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, and founder of Gehl Consulting to provide consulting services to maximize the policy and advocacy impacts of national and Georgia-based nonprofits.

Sarah Beth has taught at the University of Georgia, Georgia State University, and Agnes Scott College. She received a PhD in public policy through a joint program at Georgia Institute of Technology and Georgia State University, a Master’s in urban planning and policy from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and a BA from Birmingham Southern College.