Speakers

PAIGE ALEXANDER
CEO, The Carter Center
 
Paige Alexander joined The Carter Center as chief executive officer in June 2020, succeeding Ambassador (ret.) Mary Ann Peters.

Alexander has had a distinguished global development career, with over two decades of experience spanning the government and nonprofit sectors. She has held senior leadership positions at two regional bureaus of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), covering missions and development programs in 25 countries.

Between 1993 and 2001, Alexander was USAID’s deputy for the Europe region with a focus on immediate post-conflict reconstruction in the Balkans. She held several roles in the Bureau for Europe and the Newly Independent States Task Force, including chief of staff, acting director for the Democracy and Governance Office, deputy director of the Bosnia Task Force, and country desk officer. After leaving for 10 years to work in a leadership role in the nonprofit sector, Alexander returned to USAID in 2011 in the Senate-confirmed position of assistant administrator for Europe and Eurasia; in 2015, she was again confirmed to lead the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Bureau, overseeing 1,000 employees, programs in 12 countries, and more than $1.4 billion in annual funding.

Between her assignments with USAID, Alexander was senior vice president and European founder/president of IREX (2001-2010), an international civil society, democracy, and education nonprofit organization. From 2017 until her appointment to The Carter Center, she served as executive director of the European Cooperative for Rural Development (EUCORD) in Brussels and Amsterdam, working to bring market-led solutions to marginalized farmers in Africa to sustainably improve the livelihoods of families and communities.

Earlier, Alexander was associate director of Project Liberty at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government (1992-1993) and a consultant to institutions including the C.S. Mott Foundation, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and the Open Society Institute in Prague. She has served on many global boards and committees, currently including the Romanian-American Foundation and advisory boards for World Learning and IREX, as well as human rights organizations.

​Alexander earned a bachelor’s degree in organizational communication and social psychology from Tulane University Newcomb College in 1988

Molly Burke
Former General Counsel, GE Energy Services
Civic and political activist
 
Molly was the General Counsel of GE Energy Services, a $17B global business.  She was a member of the business leadership team responsible for business strategy, global legal compliance and talent identification and development.
 
Since retiring from GE, Molly has devoted her time to improving her communities with a focus on democracy including insuring that all persons who are entitled to vote are able to do so.  She is also an advocate for the environment focusing on decreasing climate change by encouraging citizens to use resources responsibly.

Taifa Smith Butler
President and CEO, ​Georgia Budget and Policy Institute

Taifa Smith Butler is president and CEO of the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, where she leads and inspires the GBPI team to accomplish the organization’s mission and vision to improve economic opportunity for all Georgians. She is a problem solver, tireless champion for equity, working families and investing early in children — Georgia’s greatest asset.

Taifa brings more than 20 years of experience in strategic communications, public policy research and data analysis in the public, nonprofit and private sectors. Prior to joining the GBPI team as deputy director in 2011, she served as the policy and communications director for Georgia Family Connection Partnership where she co-managed the Georgia KIDS COUNT project and monitored public policy and its impact on children, families and communities.

Taifa has served on various local, state and national committees and boards. She is member of Leadership Georgia Class of 2016 and is a Rockwood Leadership Institute Leading from the Inside Out Fellow, Class of 2017.

Taifa graduated from Mount Holyoke College and holds a master’s in public management and policy from the Heinz School of Public Policy and Management at Carnegie Mellon University, with a concentration in economic development and financial management.

Pearl Cleage
Acclaimed playwright, essayist, New York Times bestselling author, and columnist 

Pearl Cleage is an Atlanta-based writer whose works include three novels, What Looks Like Crazy On An Ordinary Day (Avon Books, 1997), I Wish I Had A Red Dress (Morrow/Avon, 2001), and Some Things I Never Thought I’d Do, (Ballantine/One World, August, 2003); a dozen plays, including Flyin’ West, Blues for an Alabama Sky, Hospice and Bourbon at the Border; two books of essays, Mad at Miles: A Blackwoman’s Guide to Truth and Deals With the Devil and Other Reasons to Riot; and a book of short fiction, The Brass Bed and Other Stories (Third World Press).  She is also a performance artist, collaborating frequently with her husband, Zaron W. Burnett, Jr., under the title Live at Club Zebra.  The two have performed sold out shows at both the National Black Theatre Festival in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and The National Black Arts Festival in  Atlanta, Georgia.

She is a frequent contributor to anthologies and has been featured recently in Proverbs for the People, Contemporary African American Fiction , edited by Tracy Price-Thompson and TaRessa Stovall and in Mending theWorld, Stories of Family by Contemporary Black Writers, edited by Rosemarie Robotham.
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She is a Contributing Writer to ESSENCE Magazine, and in 1998, her novel, What Looks Like Crazy On An Ordinary Day was an Oprah Book Club pick and spent nine weeks on The New York Times bestseller list.

Dr. Angela Coaxum-Young
Principal 
Booker T. Washington High School 

Dr. Angela Coaxumyoung has been Principal of the Historic Booker T. Washington High School in Atlanta, since Fall 2019. 

She began her educational studies at Bethune-Cookman University, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. She moved on to earn a Master’s in Education with a concentration in Management of Educational Programs from Nova Southeastern University. She went on to receive her Specialist credential in Educational Leadership from Georgia College and State University and her Doctorate of Education from Georgia Southern University.

During her tenure in the field of education, Dr. Coaxumyoung has served in various roles in education to include, Middle School social studies teacher, high school exceptional education instructor, director of student support, academy coordinator, assistant principal and principal.  The majority of her career is marked by her intentional and passion driven focus for serving under resourced communities and ensuring high quality educational programs for students with academic deficits.  Dr. Coaxumyoung has led or contributed to national discussions around the topic of ensuring quality education and access to academic programs for vulnerable populations. Dr. Coaxumyoung remains committed to closing the achievement gap.  Her hope and unshakeable belief in the academic potential of ALL students, motivates her to champion causes that raise levels of consciousness around educational equity.

Erica L. Green
Education Reporter
​The New York Times

Erica L. Green is a correspondent in the Washington Bureau of The New York Times covering federal education policy, with a focus on the Education Department and civil rights enforcement in the nation’s schools. 

Erica joined The Times in March 2017 from The Baltimore Sun where she covered the Baltimore City Public School System for seven years. In that role, she covered the district's day-to-day news, and produced award-winning investigations on topics such as school funding, special education, school discipline, the juvenile justice system and school segregation. At The Sun, Erica was named a finalist for the Livingston Awards for Young Journalists, first place in the investigative reporting category from the Education Writer’s Association and was part of the Sun team named a 2016 Pulitzer Prize finalist for breaking news coverage of the death of Freddie Gray and the unrest that followed. 

At The Times, Erica has covered the tenure of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, and the impact that the Trump administration’s policies have had on both K-12 schools and institutions of higher education. Her coverage earned her a 2018 beat reporting prize from the Education Writers Association. 

Charito Kruvant
Founder and Chairperson of the Board
Creative Associates International
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M. Charito Kruvant is Founder and Chairperson of the Board of Creative Associates International. Under Charito’s four decades of leadership, Creative has grown to become a leading implementer to international agencies including the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. Department of State, European governments and The World Bank, among others.
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Charito’s vision has led to providing children, youth and adults with accelerated learning and non-formal education; supporting communities and ministries with school reform and development; teacher training, capacity building, school health and nutrition, and enabling equity and access to education in conflict and post-conflict environments. Creative also supports communities transitioning from conflict through participatory programs that help instill democratic values and processes and enable communities to direct their own development.

Charito was inducted into the Greater Washington Government Contractor Awards Hall of Fame by the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce and the Professional Services Council on Nov. 5, 2020. The awards honor the exceptional work of the leaders and businesses in the region’s government contracting sector, with the Hall of Fame as the top honor.
The United Nations Association of the National Capital Area awarded its 2012 Perdita Huston Human Rights Award to Charito for her exemplary role in educational and technical development, especially with women and girls, and for leading a life of public service.

Charito has served on numerous Boards, including: The Donors of Color Network, a philanthropic and political outlet for high-net worth donors committed to building power for people of color; the Acacia Federal Savings Bank; the Calvert Funds for socially responsible investing; the Summit Fund of Washington; and on the executive and grants committees of the Venture Philanthropy Partners, an organization that invests in change-makers to find holistic solutions for the 580,000 vulnerable children and youth in Greater Washington, D.C.
Charito is also a member of the Economic Club of Washington, D.C. and the Executive Committee of the Federal City Council. She is a former chair of the Advisory Council of the U.S. Small Business Administration Washington, D.C. office. She is also a former chair of the Board of Trustees of The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region.

Kristin Lord
President and CEO
IREX

Kristin Lord is President and CEO of IREX, an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to building a more just, prosperous, and inclusive world by empowering youth, cultivating leaders, strengthening institutions, and extending access to quality education and information.
Prior to joining IREX in 2014, Dr. Lord served as Acting President and Executive Vice President of the United States Institute of Peace, a Congressionally created organization that prevents, mitigates, and resolves violent conflict worldwide. While at USIP, Lord oversaw the launch of an online education initiative, the creation of the PeaceTech Lab, the expansion of programs on Africa and South/Central Asia, and the development of a five-year strategic plan.

From 2009 to 2013, Lord was Executive Vice President and Director of Studies at the Center for a New American Security, where she oversaw the Center’s research and served as one of three members of the Center’s leadership team. She served as editor-in-chief of 110 CNAS publications during that period and authored significant studies on diplomacy and development, cyber security, U.S. global engagement, and violent extremism. Prior to joining CNAS, Lord was a fellow at the Brookings Institution, where she directed the science and technology initiative of the Project on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World and authored studies on human development in the Arab world and U.S. public diplomacy.

From 1995 to 2008, Lord held leadership roles at the George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs, including Associate Dean for Strategy, Research, and External Relations and Associate Dean for Management and Planning. During her tenure, she launched three master's programs, ten certificate programs, a global network of university partnerships, the school's skills curriculum, and numerous educational programs for students, diplomats, and midcareer professionals from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. A member of the faculty, she taught courses on US public diplomacy, U.S. foreign policy, and the causes of war. Dr. Lord received an International Affairs Fellowship from the Council on Foreign Relations, enabling her to serve as special advisor to the Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs from 2005 to 2006.
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Dr. Lord is the author of Perils and Promise of Global Transparency: Why the Information Revolution May Not Lead to Security Democracy or Peace (SUNY Press, 2006), Power and Conflict in an Age of Transparency, edited with Bernard I. Finel (Palgrave Macmillan, 2000), and numerous book chapters, policy papers, and articles. In 2019, she co-authored (with George Ingram) a widely read Brookings Institution study on the changing global development landscape: "Global Development Disrupted: Findings from a Survey of 93 Leaders." Her articles have appeared in Foreign Policy, The National Interest, International Studies Quarterly, Washington Quarterly, World Politics Review, CNN.com, Columbia Journal of International Affairs, USA Today, Defense News, Joint Force Quarterly, Roll Call, The Hill, Science, Foreign Service Journal, Christian Science Monitor, Politico, Reuters.com, and Huffington Post. She has appeared on NPR, BBC Radio, VOA, PBS, and MSNBC and provided expert commentary to the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and other news outlets.
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Dr. Lord is a member of the Board of Directors for the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition and the American University in Cairo, and a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She served as cochair of the Alliance for International Youth Development from 2015 to 2017. Dr. Lord received her MA and PhD in government from Georgetown University and her BA in international studies from American University.

Dr. Bettina L. Love  
Award-winning author 
and Athletic Association Endowed Professor  University of Georgia

Dr. Bettina L. Love is an award-winning author and the Athletic Association Endowed Professor at the University of Georgia. Her writing, research, teaching, and educational advocacy work meet at the intersection of education, abolition, and Black joy. In 2020, Dr. Love co-founded the Abolitionist Teaching Network (ATN). ATN’s mission is simple: develop and support teachers and parents to fight injustice within their schools and communities. In 2020, Dr. Love was also named a member of the Old 4th Ward Economic Security Task Force with the Atlanta City Council. In 2018, Georgia’s House of Representatives presented Dr. Love with a resolution for her impact on the field of education. She has also provided commentary for various news outlets including NPR, Ed Week, The Guardian, and the Atlanta Journal Constitution. She is the author of the book We Want to Do More Than Survive: Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Educational Freedom (2019).

Dr. Monique Morris, Ed.D
Executive Director, 
​Grantmakers for Girls of Color

​Monique W. Morris, Ed.D. is an award-winning author and social justice scholar with three decades of experience in the areas of education, civil rights, juvenile and criminal justice. In April 2020, Dr. Morris became the inaugural Executive Director of Grantmakers for Girls of Color, a philanthropic collaborative that supports a world in which all girls and young women of color are healthy, safe, thriving, and fully empowered to dream and shape their desired reality on their terms, while dismantling structural barriers created by racism, sexism and ageism and other forms of oppression that prevent their full participation in our country’s future. In May 2020, she launched the Love is Healing COVID-19 Response Fund and in September 2020, she co-founded the Black Girl Freedom Fund as part of the #1Billion4BlackGirls campaign calling for a $1Billion investment in Black girls over the next 10 years.

Dr. Morris is an Executive Producer and co-writer of the documentary film, PUSHOUT: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools, which is based upon two of her books, Sing A Rhythm, Dance A Blues: Education for the Liberation of Black and Brown Girls (The New Press, 2019) and Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools (The New Press, 2016). She is also the author of Black Stats: African Americans by the Numbers in the Twenty-First Century (The New Press, 2014), Too Beautiful for Words (MWM Books, 2012), and she worked with Kemba Smith on her book, Poster Child: The Kemba Smith Story (IBJ Book Publishing, 2011). Dr. Morris has written dozens of articles, book chapters, and other publications on social justice issues and lectured widely on research, policies, and practices associated with improving juvenile/criminal justice, educational, and socioeconomic conditions for girls and women of color. Her 2018 TED talk on how to stop the criminalization of Black girls in schools has received more than 1.8 million views and been translated into 18 languages.

Dr. Morris is the Founder of the National Black Women’s Justice Institute (NBWJI), an organization that works to interrupt school-to-confinement pathways for girls, reduce the barriers to employment for formerly incarcerated women, and increase the capacity of organizations working to reduce sexual assault and domestic violence in African American communities. She served as an adjunct associate professor for Saint Mary’s College of California between 2013-2018 and has taught at the University of San Francisco and California State University, Sacramento. Dr. Morris is a 2012 Soros Justice Fellow, the former Vice President for Economic Programs, Advocacy and Research at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the former Director of Research for the Thelton E. Henderson Center for Social Justice at the UC Berkeley Law School. She has also worked in partnership with and served as a consultant for federal, state and county agencies, national academic and research institutions, and communities throughout the nation to develop research, comprehensive approaches and training curricula to eliminate racial/ethnic and gender disparities in justice and educational systems. Her work in this area has informed the development and implementation of improved culturally competent and gender-responsive continua of services for youth.
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Dr. Morris’ work has been profiled by MSNBC, CSPAN2, The Washington Post, The New York Times, NPR, and PBS, among other national and local print, radio, and television media.

Michelle Nunn
​President and CEO
CARE USA
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​As the President and CEO of CARE USA, Michelle Nunn leads a global team of 7,000 people working in more than 100 countries to save lives, defeat poverty, and achieve social justice. During her tenure CARE has taken its fundraising and impact to new levels, including FY21 revenue that was the highest in the organization’s history and programs that reached more than 90 million people. CARE is one of the world’s largest humanitarian organizations with a holistic approach to work in crisis response, food and water, health, education and work, climate change and all centered in gender equality. CARE’s work over the decades has demonstrated that poverty cannot be overcome until all people have equal rights.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, CARE marked its 75th Anniversary and Nunn led a $100M Crisis Response Campaign that met its target early and was expanded to $150M given the urgency of needs around the world. Included in CARE’s response is a re-launch of the CARE Package, an iconic symbol of American generosity, and the organization’s first-ever programming in the United States. Nunn’s championing of the CARE Package is a rooted in her belief in human solidarity and that the most powerful tools are also often the simplest.

Nunn built a career of service as a social entrepreneur and nonprofit CEO. In 1989 she co-founded the volunteer-mobilization organization Hands On Atlanta, which under her leadership, grew from a group of friends working on six projects a month to one of the nation’s largest civic action and volunteer hubs. In 2007, she led the merger between Hands On and President George H.W. Bush’s Points of Light – the world’s largest volunteer-service organization. Nunn’s experience with Hands On and Points of Light further reinforced her belief that lasting impact comes from people advocating for change at the community level. Nunn served as Points of Light CEO from 2007 to 2013.

Nunn entered into the political arena in 2014 and was nominated as the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate from Georgia. After her campaign, she took the reins of CARE USA in 2015, where her work continues to be informed by the imperative of government, civil society, and the private sector collaborating with citizens to create stronger, more resilient communities.

A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Virginia, Nunn majored in history with a minor in religion and earned her master’s degree in Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. She also received a Kellogg Fellowship to study faith and social justice in more than a dozen countries, from Peru to Namibia to Jordan.
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Nunn lives in Atlanta with her husband, Ron Martin, and their two children, Vinson and Elizabeth.

Natosha Reid Rice 
Associate General Counsel for Real Estate and Finance at Habitat for Humanity International

Natosha Reid Rice has recently transitioned into the role as Habitat for Humanity International’s first Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer. Natosha, who has served as the Associate General Counsel, Real Estate and Finance with Habitat since 2011, will now join the nonprofit’s senior leadership team and will lead the development and the execution of Habitat’s global strategy for diversity, equity and inclusion.
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In her previous role as Associate General Counsel, Natosha initiated and managed financing programs and strategies to generate sources of capital that enable Habitat affiliates to build affordable housing with families throughout the U.S. In addition to her work at Habitat, Natosha served as an Associate Pastor at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, GA for 11 years before accepting her new role as Minister for Public Life at All Saints’ Episcopal Church.  
 
Prior to joining Habitat, she practiced law in the commercial real estate practices of Alston & Bird LLP, in Atlanta, Georgia and at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton and Garrison in New York City.  While at these firms, her practice focused on commercial real estate development transactions, acquisitions, dispositions and leasing.  
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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.