2018-2019 Advisory Board

Senior advisor

Ann W. Cramer

Coxe Curry & Associates
Senior Consultant

Ann Wilson Cramer is a Senior Consultant with Coxe Curry & Associates. In this role, she provides strategic consultation to nonprofit clients to strengthen their capacity in the critical areas of board development, volunteer engagement, corporate relations and fundraising. She will also be available to the business community to provide guidance on the issues of corporate citizenship and social responsibility.

Prior to joining Coxe Curry, Ann served as Director for IBM Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Affairs for the Americas. In that position, she was a member of the senior management staff overseeing the company’s approach to corporate citizenship, strategic philanthropy and overall social responsibility.

Ann serves on numerous local nonprofit boards, including the Alliance Theatre Company, Community Foundation of Greater Atlanta, Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education, Governor’s Office of Workforce Development, Woodruff Arts Center, Council on Foundations, and currently chairs Public Broadcasting Atlanta, Georgia Foundation for Public Education and the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Educated Workforce Committee, and served as chair of the Search Committee for the Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent. Nationally, Ann has chaired the Council on Foundations Public Policy and Corporate Committees, the Conference Board’s Business Education Council, the Executive Committee of both the U.S. Chamber’s Business Civic Leadership Center and the Institute for a Competitive Workforce and the United Way of America’s National Corporate Leaders Council. In 2012, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce presented her with its first Business Civic Leadership Achievement Award.

The Women’s College Coalition honored Ann and Marian Wright Edelman with the first WCC Women Creating Change Award and Ann was one of 5 Georgia women to receive the first STEM Gems recognition. Recently, Ann was recognized with Ann Curry and Ann Stallard as the YWCA Women of Achievement, and with the first Lifetime Achievement Award by the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Women Who Mean Business and listed among Georgia Trend’s 30 Years of Influence, received an Honorary Doctorate in Public Service at Clayton State University and was honored with the inaugural ARC Harry West Visionary Leadership Award, the Metro Atlanta Chamber’s Leadership Award and Voices for Georgia’s Children Big Voice. She has received the prestigious Dan Sweat Award from Central Atlanta Progress, Public Broadcasting Atlanta’s Sullivan Award and was honored with The United Way of Greater Atlanta Women’s Leadership Award. She has participated in Leadership Atlanta, Leadership Georgia, Regional Leadership Institute, is a member of Outstanding Atlanta and is past president of the Junior League of Atlanta.

Ann is a graduate of Salem College with a degree in mathematics. In 1991, she received Salem College’s Alumnae Leadership Award in recognition of her commitment and service to community service. Ann and her husband, Jeff, are long-time residents of Inman Park and are active members of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. They are the proud parents of two adult children. 

Danny Shoy

East Lake Foundation
President & CEO

Daniel Shoy, Jr. serves as President & CEO of the East Lake Foundation.  He is responsible for its strategic plan and goal setting focused on its mission on its mission to provide tools for families in The Villages of East Lake and students in the Charles R. Drew Charter School pipeline to build better lives for themselves and future generations through a holistic approach to community revitalization that incorporates mixed-income housing, cradle-to-college education and community wellness. With overall responsibility for the Foundation’s operations and external relations, he is also charged with sustaining strong relationships with the Foundation’s partners. Since joining the Foundation as Program Director in 2010, he has also served as Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer.

Daniel has 20 years of experience in the nonprofit sector with organizations focused on youth and community development. Prior to joining the East Lake Foundation, Daniel worked for The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation for 10 years and was responsible for awarding $28M in grants.

Since 2002, Daniel has completed several leadership programs through the United Way of Greater Atlanta, Southeast Council of Foundations, LEAD Atlanta, Association of Black Foundation Executives, the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education, and Leadership Atlanta .

Daniel currently serves on the boards of the East Lake Foundation, East Lake Housing Corporation, Charles R. Drew Charter School, the University of Georgia Board of Visitors, Hands on Atlanta. He previously served on Emory University’s Board of Governors and the Atlanta Public Schools’ Affordable Housing Taskforce (2017).  Daniel has been recognized by Atlanta Tribune as a Man of Distinction (2016) and as one of Georgia Trend Magazine’s Notable Georgians (2017 and 2018). He’s been a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. since 1994 and is currently active with its Nu Mu Lambda Chapter.

Daniel is a first generation American from New York City, speaks two other languages and enjoys international travel, sports and photography. He earned a B.A. in History from Emory University in 1995 and in 2013 was named an Emory College Distinguished Alumni.

Natosha Reid Rice

Habitat for Humanity International
Associate General Counsel

Natosha Reid Rice is a mother, a wife, an ordained minister, inspirational speaker, life coach and attorney. She serves as the Associate General Counsel for Real Estate and Finance at Habitat for Humanity International managing financing programs and strategies to generate sources of capital that enable Habitat affiliates provide decent, affordable housing to families throughout the country. In addition, Natosha also serves as an Associate Pastor, Women’s Ministries at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia and founder of Fresh Rain for Life Ministries, a non-denominational ministry that provides a “sanctuary for women in the midst of life” through worship services, retreats, bible studies, workshops, and mission outreach.

Natosha is passionate about providing a voice to the voiceless and opportunities to communities that have been historically disadvantaged. She is a frequent speaker and facilitator for community/civic organizations, churches, colleges and corporate events on topics such as the intersection of faith and justice, race and gender justice, leadership development and community empowerment. She has been actively involved in efforts to pass legislation and policy to protect victims of human sex trafficking in Georgia and provide for a fair workplace for women.

Natosha has received recognition and several awards for her work and leadership in the community. Recent honors include the YWCA Academy of Women Achievers, the Circle of Friends Pearl Award and the Church Women United (Atlanta Unit) Outstanding Young Woman. Natosha was also a member of the Leadership Atlanta Class of 2014.

Natosha received her J.D. from Harvard Law School and her B.A. in Government with honors from Harvard/Radcliffe College where she was a Harvard/Radcliffe Class Marshall and awarded the Captain Jonathan Fay Prize (Radcliffe’s Highest Honor) and the E.P. Saltonstall Prize. Natosha lives in Atlanta with her husband Corey Rice and their children, Kayla, Malachi and Caleb.

James “Jay” Bailey

Russell Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship
President & CEO

Committed to living by his personal motto, “Build As We Climb”, change agent, thought leader and emerging philanthropist, James M. Bailey has dedicated his life to serving others.

Recently named President and CEO of the Russell Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. James will lead the development of a world class 45,000-square foot business facility, creating the epicenter of economic advancement and entrepreneurship for under-represented communities across the country, honoring the legacy of the great American entrepreneur Herman J. Russell.

He is also the co-founder and Chairman of the Phoenix Leadership Foundation, a social impact organization supporting programs that reignite passion and aspiration in our young people, providing role models and road maps that will give them every opportunity to succeed.

An Atlanta native and die-hard Georgia Bulldog, James has a proven track record of success, recognized by 3 U.S. Presidents for his leadership and community efforts, in 2012, James was one of eight Americans honored at the White House as a “Champion of Change: Following in the Footsteps of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” He was also named to both the Atlanta Business Chronicle and Georgia Trend Magazine’s “40 Under 40 Best and Brightest Leaders of the Future”. 

He is a recipient of the coveted Whitney M. Young National Community Service Medallion and the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drum Major for Service Award. He is also a graduate of Leadership Atlanta, Leadership Georgia and the ARC Regional Leadership Institute

A dedicated community servant and committed mentor to many, James serves an advisor for Youth Entrepreneurs of Georgia, the APS R.E.A.L. Men Read Program, Sheltering Arms, and most notably serves as Scoutmaster of the Mighty Troop 100 located on Atlanta’s Westside, the largest inner-city Boy Scout unit in the United States.

James and his wife, NBC News Channel correspondent Blayne Alexander live between Atlanta, Georgia and Washington D.C. 

Clark Dean

Executive Managing Director, Partner, and Board Member
Transwestern

As a partner in the Southeast, Clark Dean directs Transwestern's Tenant Advisory Services (TAS) and is the founder of the firm's Transaction Sciences platform. In addition, Clark is a member of Transwestern's Board of Directors and the firm's National Tenant Advisory Steering Committee.

With a background in biomedical engineering, management consulting, and financial structuring, Clark is known for being a disruptive innovator in the brokerage industry - bringing a unique Transaction Sciences approach to the field.  Prior to joining Transwestern, Clark was a founding principal of Studley's Corporate Services Group where he spent over a decade working on some of the firm's largest and most complex assignments. Before that, Clark was a management consultant and later chief operating officer for a management consulting firm specializing in strategic and operational consulting for insurance and financial service companies. He began his real estate career with Studley as a financial analyst in Washington, DC. In addition to his work with corporate and professional service clients, Clark has extensive experience working with non-profit and government entities, including managing all General Services Administration transactions for his former firm within the southeast.

Clark is an active member of the Rotary Club of Atlanta and the Harvard Clubs of Georgia and New York City. He is an elected Deacon in the Baptist Church, a coach for youth football (PeeWee Coach of the Year 2008), and a frequent contributor to the Atlanta Business Chronicle. He serves on several boards including The Rotary Club of Atlanta (President-Elect), Shepherd Center, YMCA of Metro Atlanta (Executive Committee), Covenant House GA (Secretary), the Honduras Agalta Valley Education Foundation (Chairman) and Central Atlanta Progress. He also serves on the Board of Councilors for The Carter Center and the Advisory Boards for the Harvard Real Estate Academic Initiative and the Chick-fil-A Foundation. He is a member of the 2012 Class of Leadership Atlanta and was recognized by the Atlanta Business Chronicle in its annual "40 Under 40" list in 2005.

Clark graduated cum laude with an A.B. in Engineering and Biological Sciences from Harvard University, where he played varsity football, served as a class officer, and delivered the Harvard College oration as a graduating senior. He furthered his professional development through executive education at Harvard Business School, where he completed the Real Estate Management Program: Developing Future Leaders and Distressed Real Estate: Examining Debt and Equity Structures to Mitigate Losses and Identify Opportunities.

M. Gasby Brown

The Gasby Group, Inc.
CEO & Executive Consultant

M. Gasby Brown is CEO & Executive Consultant of The Gasby Group, Inc. (TGG). As Consultants to Philanthropy, TGG is a full service strategic fundraising, communications, and organizational effectiveness firm located in Metropolitan Washington DC. Founded in 2001, the firm's client list represents a cross section of organizations and corporations nationwide.  Brown is a faculty member of the prestigious The Fund Raising School (TFRS) at Indiana University’s Center on Philanthropy where she teaches Principles & Techniques of Fundraising, Managing the Capital Campaign, Developing Major Gifts, Power Boards/Powerful Fundraising, and Faith & Fundraising, sharing her expertise with fundraising professionals, executives, and board members nationwide. She is also an adjunct faculty member at Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College of Public Policy, and serves as a trainer on Capital Campaigns for Partners for Sacred Places.

In 2008 she launched “Non-Profit Thursdays”™, a lunch seminar series for invited nonprofit leaders in the Washington DC Metropolitan area.  The series, underwritten by Merrill Lynch/ Bank of America, has received rave reviews from the non- profit community. Brown has authored 3 books: Art of Praise©, 7 Fatal Flaws of Non-Profit Boards and How To Fix Them© and The Seven Qualities of Capital Campaign Success©. She is also completing The Business of A Spiritual Matter©, specifically written for faith based organizations.

Ms. Brown has made her mark as an executive at national organizations such as Greenpeace, National Urban League and the Washington National Opera, bringing innovative and strategic programs that have remained in place. During her tenure at the opera, Brown proposed and developed an innovative national fundraising program to leverage the opera’s specific advantages: location in the nation’s capital, connections to the international community and Placido Domingo as Artistic Director.  At the National Urban League she was instrumental in reconstituting the board of directors and revived the Development Committee which in turn led the successful effort raise $50 million for a comprehensive campaign, increased Board personal financial participation to 100%, initiated and implemented the "Circle of Excellence" for high net worth African Americans which  raised $1.2 million in six months, increased special event revenue by 300% and revived  the premiere publication, "Opportunity" Magazine after a 46 year hiatus. Gasby has been the New York Correspondent for BET, a reporter for Fox Television’s WNYW in New York City, where she was a Financial Correspondent for "The McCreary Report", host of WNYC-TV’s “Black Viewpoint” and host of “Starz Talk!,“ a syndicated radio show distributed to 250 stations across the country. Today she serves as the announcer for the “Developing Dynamic Disciples” radio and television broadcast ministry of the First Baptist Church of Glenarden. Gasby Brown holds an MPA from Harvard University where she specialized in Communications Management. She conducted advanced research in New Communications Technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and participated in its renowned Media Lab. Brown has served as an adjunct professor at City College in New York, where her highly popular courses in Black Rhetoric, Argumentation and Debate, and Communications enlightened students from a myriad of nationalities and cultures. In addition, Brown is a noted visual artist.

Duriya Farooqui

Atlanta Committee for Progress
Executive Director

Duriya is Executive Director of Atlanta Committee for Progress (ACP), a coalition of CEOs (including Coca-Cola, Delta Air Lines, Home Depot, and UPS), community leaders and the Mayor, focused on the most critical investments for Atlanta’s future. She is a Board Director of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. and the New York Stock Exchange. Duriya also serves as an Advisor to Engage Ventures.

Before joining ACP, Duriya was a principal at Bain & Company and has consulting experience in transformation, customer analytics, divestitures and growth strategy. Prior to joining Bain, Duriya served as Chief Operating Officer for the City of Atlanta. She managed all city operations with a budget of $2 billion and over 7,000 employees. She is credited with restructuring city services, embedding data analytics in operations, negotiating an agreement with Delta Air Lines to open the international terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, and securing a 30-year agreement with AMB Group for the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Duriya has an M.P.A. in International Development from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and a B.A. in Economics and Mathematics from Hampshire College. Actively engaged in civic leadership, Duriya is a Trustee of the Woodruff Arts Center, Trustee of Agnes Scott College and was named among Atlanta’s 100 Most Influential People by the Atlanta Business Chronicle. She lives in Atlanta with her husband and two sons, and enjoys traveling with a camera.

Nathaniel Smith

Partnership for Southern Equity
Chief Equity Officer

Nathaniel Smith serves as Founder and Chief Equity Officer (CEqO)/CEO of the Partnership for Southern Equity. Empowered by the unified vision and voices realized through its regional engagement efforts, PSE pushes for policies and actions that promote balanced growth and inclusive prosperity in metropolitan Atlanta and beyond. Among PSE’s notable accomplishments where the creation the American South’s first equity mapping and framing tool the Metro Atlanta Equity Atlas (MAEA); The Atlanta Regional Commission’s Equitable Target Areas (ETA) mapping index to promote and measure equitable land-use planning efforts; supporting the creation of the nation’s first “Equitable Development Plan” for a large scale neighborhood transformation project – The Atlanta Beltline; convening the inaugural Equity Atlanta Forum on the equitable utilization of Federal Stimulus Funding in metro Atlanta as well as its supporting document, co-written by PolicyLink, “Recovering Stronger: Building an Inclusive Metro Atlanta Economy. Mr. Smith is also the co-author of PSE’s report, “Moving to Opportunity: The Case for Transportation Equity in Metropolitan Atlanta and PSE’s 2016 report “Growing the Future: The Case for Economic Inclusion in Metropolitan Atlanta. In 2014 Partnership for Southern Equity led a coalition of diverse stakeholders and organizations to support the initiation and passage of a $13 million transit referendum that expands Atlanta’s metropolitan transit system (MARTA) into a new County (Clayton) for the first time in 45 years.

 Before taking on the founding role of PSE’s Chief Equity Officer/CEO Mr. Smith served as Director of Partnerships and Research for Equitable Development at Emory University’s Center for Community Partnerships (CFCP). In this capacity Nathaniel facilitated engaged scholarship opportunities with external and community organizations to achieve balanced, sustainable and inclusive growth throughout the metropolitan Atlanta region. Nathaniel also served as Public Policy Manager at the Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership (ANDP). His advocacy, research and coalition building activities supported the creation of many innovative policies that encouraged the equitable distribution of mixed income communities throughout the metropolitan Atlanta Region. Among them were Georgia’s first anti-predatory lending (DeKalb County), inclusionary zoning (Fulton County) and local housing trust fund (City of Atlanta) ordinances in metropolitan Atlanta. Mr. Smith’s research and advocacy activities where also instrumental in the ratification of a 15% set aside of Atlanta Beltline Tax Allocation District (TAD) dollars for the development and maintenance of affordable workforce housing within the Atlanta BeltLine Planning Area. Because of this policy $250 million dollars will be allocated to this effort over the 25 year lifespan of the Atlanta BeltLine TAD. A native of Atlanta Georgia, Mr. Smith holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Urban Studies from Morehouse College. Nathaniel received his Masters of Science degree from the Robert J. Milano School for Management and Urban Policy at the New School for Social Research. While attending Morehouse, Nathaniel received the prestigious Woodrow Wilson Fellowship for Public Policy and International Affairs. During his matriculation through the Milano School Mr. Smith received the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fellowship.

Clyde Mize

Morris, Manning, and Martin LLP
Partner

Clyde Mize is Partner in the firm’s Residential Real Estate Practice at the Northside (North Atlanta) Office.  Mr. Mize practices in the areas of residential and commercial real estate, finance and government guaranteed lending. He represents clients in all phases of real estate including acquisitions, developments, financing and sales. He is an active member of the Atlanta real estate community and often speaks on a variety of issues of interest concerning the financial and real estate industries.  Mr. Mize is currently Chair of the firm’s Diversity Committee.

Prior to joining Morris, Manning & Martin, Mr. Mize practiced in Chicago in the areas of real estate and commercial litigation.  While in Chicago, Mr. Mize counseled individual and corporate clients regarding commercial and residential real estate, zoning and construction matters.

Emerson Girardeau III

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP
Associate

Emerson is an attorney in the Corporate & Financial Services Department at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP. Emerson advises private equity sponsors, their portfolio companies, and management teams on the execution and successful completion of key corporate transactions. He also represents energy clients in a variety of commercial arrangements.

 Emerson has an extensive pro bono practice in which he advises on landlord tenant issues. He previously volunteered with the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation’s Standing with Our Neighbors initiative, receiving the Atlanta Bar Association Safe and Stable Homes Volunteer of the Year Award and the Charles T. Lester, Jr. Pro Bono Award for his work.

Emerson received his B.A. in Philosophy from Morehouse College and his J.D. with honors from the University of Michigan Law School where he was the recipient of the Alden “Butch” Carpenter award. While in Atlanta, Emerson served as a member of the City of Atlanta Elected Officials Compensation Commission, the Emerging 100 of Atlanta Executive Board, and on the board of the Metro Atlanta Chapter of the Morehouse College Alumni Association.  Emerson and his greyhound, Enzo, currently reside in Houston, Texas.

Constance Barkley-Lewis

CBL Ventures
Owner