Hiewet Senghor
Founder and CEO
Hiewet Senghor is a visionary leader who believes education is a critical vehicle for the advancement and self-determination of the African-American community. Specializing in nonprofit organizational development, Hiewet’s professional journey exemplifies her deep commitment to supporting the leadership of Black children and pioneering programs that serve those leaders. Hiewet is the Founder and CEO of the Black Teacher Collaborative (BTC), a nonprofit organization that believes in the genius and beauty of Black children and the unique role of Black teachers in cultivating those gifts. As the founder of BTC, Hiewet casts a bold vision for a Black-led education focused social entrepreneurship venture that works to build the mindsets, skills, and knowledge of Black teachers specific to the relationship between positive racial identity and learning and the development of Black children.
Hiewet is uniquely positioned to bring the important and innovative work of BTC to life. Her decision to start BTC leveraged her years of work of advancing the political and social conditions of Black people through traditional civil right organizations like the NAACP and the Children’s Defense Fund along with her solid grounding in the power and perils of education reform gained through six years in leadership at Teach for America. Hiewet is a proud graduate of Hampton University where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History. She also completed graduate level work in Public Administration at the University of Georgia. Hiewet is a native of Atlanta, GA where she currently resides.
STAFF
AhMED LOGAN
Director of Strategy,
Analysis & Evaluation
Ahmed Logan is an experienced educator who seeks to positively impact the lives of young people through education. Ahmed has over eleven years of classroom teaching and non-profit experience. He began his career as a middle school English/Language Arts teacher in Charlotte, North Carolina. Ahmed’s non-profit experience includes service with Teach For America and OneGoal prior to joining the staff of Black Teacher Collaborative in November 2018. Ahmed received a Bachelor’s degree in African American Studies and a Master’s degree in Urban Education both from Eastern Michigan University.
WALLACE GRACE
Director of Innovation
Wallace brings over a decade of experience in education as an educator, practitioner, and researcher having worked in education non-profits, schools and districts across the nation. In his current role as Director of Innovation, Wallace contributes five years of experience using academic, applied and practitioner-based research in the design, implementation and innovation of school-based programs, as well as experience overseeing partnerships with schools to ensure high-quality program implementation that results in desired programmatic and student outcomes. In addition to serving as the Director of Innovation at BTC, Wallace is completing his doctoral studies in the Education Policy Studies program at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Wallace currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia.
DR. AYANNA Taylor, Ed.D.
Vice President of Program
and Innovation
Ayanna Taylor, Ed.D. has spent over 27 years as an educator and advocate for both Black teachers and Black students. Dr. Taylor joined the Black Teacher Collaborative in August of 2021 as the Vice President of Program & Innovation, where her primary focus will be on implementing programs that are designed to support and uplift Black teachers.
In previous roles, Dr. Taylor has been an in class instructor, guidance counselor, and consultant, working with schools and education focused nonprofit organizations to assess organizational needs and find innovative ways to improve student outcomes.
Dr. Taylor received her Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from the University of Pennsylvania, her Masters in Public Administration from Rutgers University, and her Doctorate of Education from New York University.
PARTNERS
Mashona Council
For over 15 years, Mashona Council has been fortunate to work in her passion and impact the lives of teens, families and communities through her work with youth development nonprofit organizations around the country and abroad. Beginning as a college volunteer within a national nonprofit and ending her professional career as the Director of Operations for a youth development nonprofit organization, she has seen and experienced a wide range of organizational efficiencies and inefficiencies. Recognizing that most youth serving nonprofit organizations do not fail because of a lack of passion and commitment, but rather a lack of sustainable and capacity-building practices in the areas of staff training, program and curriculum development and evaluation; Mashona launched Council Consulting, LLC. Mashona has facilitated professional development trainings at Boys and Girls Club Keystone Conferences, Association of C5 Youth Programs Annual Summit, Crossroads for Kids summer staff training and the National Afterschool Association. She is also a certified Weikart Center for Youth trainer. She is committed to helping organizations grow by providing leadership training and coaching, strategic planning and visioning and program design, evaluation and management.
Erika Williams
Erika S. Williams is the founding Managing Partner of The Albireo Group, LLC. Erika specializes in performance evaluation, fund development and organizational improvement strategies within the philanthropic, government and nonprofit sectors. Formerly, the Senior Research Analyst with the Fulton County Government’s Office of Strategic Planning and Performance Excellence, Erika implemented monitoring and evaluation strategies using a combined logic model and results-based accountability framework for the pursuit of continuous learning and improved social service delivery system for Fulton County’s children, adults and families. Prior to joining Fulton County, she was the Director of Accountability & Communications with the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Atlanta Civic Site. In this role, she focused on strategy development and performance measurement for neighborhood-scale programs, including early care and education and family self-sufficiency programming. Specifically, she secured millions of dollars in co-investment to support the School Readiness & Student Success strategies. Additionally, she coordinated the working collaboration between the Annie E. Casey Foundation – Atlanta Civic Site, the Atlanta Housing Authority and other key stakeholders to support the Atlanta Housing Authority’s Family Self-Sufficiency programs, ensuring a responsible relocation for families and children during the Atlanta Housing Authority’s HOPE VI project and leveraging financial support from public and private sources totaling $13.1 million in partners’ investment. Erika has a background in corporate philanthropy and served as Program Analyst for the Morgan Stanley Foundation where she managed an annual budget of $4 million in Arts & Culture and Diversity & Education grants. As a consultant, she emphasizes innovation in fund development, continuous organizational learning, results metrics, and transforming research and data into actionable knowledge to advance the organization’s mission. Erika has earned a B.S. in Business Administration & Management from Lincoln University in Oxford, PA and a M.S. in Urban Policy & Analysis from the New School University in New York City.