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LEADERSHIP TEAM

Ashley Lee

CHIEF PROGRAMS OFFICER

Ashley Lee (she/her) previously served as the Executive Director of Public Allies Milwaukee. Under her leadership, Public Allies Milwaukee grew into Public Allies Wisconsin, one of the largest sites in the Public Allies network, with 45 Allies serving each year. She led the expansion into the Racine/Kenosha area by securing a planning grant to launch the satellite site. During Ashley’s tenure, she raised over $150,000 annually in private funding and oversaw the site’s launch of an alumni mobilization strategy to actively support Milwaukee-based alumni moving into positions of influence.

In her most recent role as the Director of Alumni Engagement and Mobilization at Public Allies, Ashley was responsible for the development and implementation of strategies and programs to support the professional development of Public Allies alumni. She supported leveraging our 8,000 plus alumni network to deepen engagement, relationships, and collaboration across issues, geographies, generations, and sectors.

Prior to Public Allies, Ashley served as Special Assistant to the Superintendent of Milwaukee Public Schools, where she was responsible for designing and launching the Department of Black and Latino Male Achievement. Ashley is also an experienced national service leader, having served as Regional Manager with Teach for America’s national admissions team. Ashley has been recognized as the 2019 Wisconsin Governor’s Service Alumni of the Year and recipient of the 2019 Nelson Institute Rising Star Alumni Award.

Elodie Baquerot Lavery

SENIOR ADVISOR TO THE CEO

Elodie Baquerot Lavery (she/her) is an experienced senior executive and champion for economic and social justice with a demonstrated history of working across sectors to design, drive, and collaborate on large-scale change efforts. She rejoins Public Allies after nine years at Living Cities, a leading racial economic justice organization that harnesses the collective power of 18 of the world’s largest foundations and financial institutions and partners with cities across the country to close their racial income and wealth gaps.

As former COO of the Public Allies, she led operations and strategic planning efforts. Prior to joining Living Cities, President Obama appointed Baquerot to serve at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). She went to HUD from the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, where she served as a Housing Fellow.

She has also worked as a Research Associate at Monash University, and at the New York City Economic Development Corporation. Baquerot holds a Master of Science from the London School of Economics and a BA from the University of Michigan.

Jenise Terrell

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

As Public Allies CEO, Jenise Terrell (she/her) brings over 25 years of experience in nonprofit leadership, community development and leadership development. Jenise began her journey in leadership as a Public Allies AmeriCorps member herself in 1997. Throughout her more than 20 year history with Public Allies, Ms. Terrell has held several roles, including Ally mentor and supervisor, field operations leader, fundraising strategist, government relations lead, Executive Vice President of Program Strategy, and most recently, Interim CEO.

Jenise’s personal mission is to create a world where all young people have the opportunity to realize their full potential. She has worked to fulfill that vision by leveraging national service as a vehicle to create pathways to leadership for marginalized and disenfranchised voices across the United States. Jenise played a central role in developing innovative Public Allies initiatives: DREAMCorps, the first national service program to engage DREAMers (young adults with deferred immigration status) in national service; a collaborative, multi-city venture with the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance to build career and education pathways for Men of Color, and a multi-city partnership with AARP designed to increase livable communities for multiple generations.

Jenise is a native Milwaukeean, proud Public Allies Milwaukee alumna, Marquette University alumna, and a working mother of two beautiful children. Jenise is passionate about the history of Milwaukee’s Black community, speculative fiction, and the writing of Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, Octavia Butler, N. K. Jemison and the legion of Black women who dare to tell the truth about our history and imagine a future where we all are free.

Lauren Elfant

CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER

Prior to joining Public Allies, Lauren (she/her) was the Deputy Director of U.S. Programs at the Center for Reproductive Rights and before that, Chief of Staff to Commissioner Carmelyn P. Malalis at the New York City Commission on Human Rights. In her position, Lauren served as advisor to the Commissioner and as a member of the executive team responsible for setting and implementing the Commission’s policy and legislative agenda. She also had a leadership role in building and supporting city-wide initiatives, proposing new initiatives and campaigns, and establishing relationships with community partners, elected officials, local businesses, and other stakeholders, as well as supporting general operations and management of the Commission. Prior to joining the Commission, Lauren worked as a staff attorney in the Community Development Project at the Urban Justice Center where she provided technical and legal support on consumer justice issues through affirmative and defensive litigation and policy advocacy. Lauren also worked as a Supervising Attorney and Team Leader at the Bronx Defenders in the Family Defense Practice where she engaged in extensive litigation on behalf of parents involved in the child welfare system.

Lauren received her BA in Women’s Studies from the University of Pennsylvania and her JD from Temple Beasley School of Law, where she was the Symposium Editor of the Temple Political and Civil Rights Law Review.

La-Tonia Jackson

CHIEF OF STAFF

La-Tonia Jackson (she/her) is a strategic and influential senior executive with over 20 years of experience in corporate strategy, thought leadership, corporate social responsibility, strategic transitions, and project management. She is a devoted advocate for developing and implementing diversity initiatives by cultivating positive and inclusive work environments through her strong understanding of the challenges involved in leading corporate-wide culture changes. 

La-Tonia is a member of the Board of Director for the Boys and Girls Club of Harlem on the Executive and Governance committees, and is a diamond-life member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated.  La-Tonia has led values-aligned initiatives aimed at improving corporate communication, process, strategy, and profitability– both as an expert consultant and as a leader. She launched the first “Verizon Innovative Learning STEM Summit,” a hands-on experiential learning and mentoring weekend for 100 underserved middle school minority males from across the nation in the Bay area. La-Tonia also designed and executed the Innovative Learning Girls Program for a Fortune 500 company, which provided a 3-week next-gen tech summer experience and monthly academic year engagement to 1500 rural, under-resourced, middle school girls across 15 community colleges.

Currently, La-Tonia serves as the Staff Officer/Chaplain of the U.S. Army Reserve in Fort Dix, New Jersey. She has a Doctor of Ministry from the United Theological Seminary, a Master of Divinity, Theology and Women’s Studies from the Princeton Theological Seminary, a MS in Adult Education and Human Resource Development from the Fordham Graduate School, and a BA in Behavioral Science with a minor in Criminal Justice from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Nina Koh

VICE PRESIDENT OF COMMUNICATIONS (ACTING)

Nina Koh (she/her) is a communications professional who holds extensive experience developing and executing strategically driven communications campaigns across industries, from technology and innovation to healthcare, social justice, and racial equity. For over 20 years, she has consulted businesses on PR and Communications strategies, from small start-ups and nonprofits to global tech companies. 

Born in South Korea and raised in New York City, Nina currently resides in Santa Fe, NM with her partner, two daughters, part-time dog, full-time retired cat, bees, and about a dozen chickens on most days. She currently serves on the board of Vital Spaces, an arts equity nonprofit which she co-founded, which focuses on fostering a collaborative creative community and access to the arts for all Santa Fe residents. 

A creative writer at heart, her passion is using language as a force for good and tool for social justice. She also loves cooking, reading, writing, walking, sitting, questioning the things that we accept as truths, and re-imagining what leadership could look like.

In loving memory of our dear friend and colleague Tonya Mantilla – an incredible leader and visionary champion of justice and equity. 1974 – 2021. Rest in Power, Tonya.