President

Dr. Shequite Wilson-Johnson is a dedicated leader, visionary, and writer committed to empowering communities. She has held several impactful roles, including program manager for youth leadership initiatives and community liaison for Teen Pregnancy Prevention. Her most significant experience comes from her service as an AmeriCorps*VISTA, where she worked to help individuals overcome generational poverty and create pathways to generational wealth.

A skilled writer, Dr. Johnson excels in grants, essays, resumes, and proposals, demonstrating success in program management and organizational leadership. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice with a specialization in Human Services, a Master’s degree in Rural Public Policy and Planning, and a PhD in Public Administration with a concentration in Nonprofit Management.

Currently, she serves as the Chief Program Officer (CPO) of Higher Purpose Co, where she leverages her extensive experience to lead programs and develop impactful strategies. Above all, Dr. Johnson finds fulfillment in helping others, driven by her passion for service, leadership, and family.

Vice President

Vondaris “Von” Gordon, is native of Moorhead, MS, and the Executive Director of the Alluvial Collective (formerly the William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation).

Von believes in building deep relationships and resilient connections to drive cultural transformation and movement toward belonging and just communities. Von served as a founding board member of the University of Mississippi Institute for Racial Reconciliation while a student there.

In the community, Von serves on the board of directors of Operation Shoestring, the Community Advisory Councils of the University of Mississippi Medical Center, the Junior League of Jackson, and the LGBTQ Fund of Mississippi. Nationally, Von is a board member of The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation, a Racial Healing Fellow with the National Compadres Network, and a member of the W. K. Kellogg Foundation’s Global Fellows and Community Leadership Networks. Von and his family reside in Jackson, where they are stewards of Choctaw's native land.

Secretary

Azia Wiggins is a Jackson, Miss., native who graduated from Terry High School in 2007 and obtained a B.S. degree in forensic science from the University of Southern Mississippi in 2013. In 2014, she worked at the University of Mississippi Medical Center as a physician scheduler before going to Mississippi College to get her M.S. degree in biological sciences in 2018. In 2019, Azia started at the Jackson Free Press as an editorial assistant and by 2021, she worked her way up to Voices Editor at Mississippi Free Press, a state-wide nonprofit news organization. She then worked as a community organizer with Working Together Mississippi, a state-wide nonprofit focused on building relational power and capacity among interfaith institutions and community leaders in western Hinds county and the MS Delta. Azia is also a 2023 alumnus of the Poynter Institute’s Leadership Academy for Women in Media and a 2024 alumnus for the Change Collective, a national leadership network for rising local leaders. Azia is now the CEO of BRAINchild Media, LLC—a rising hub for Mississippi's media organizations, institutions and changemakers, serving as a vital connector through storytelling, intersectional communication strategies, grassroots organizing, and intergenerational creativity.

Treasurer

As a proud native and resident of the Mississippi Delta, Brittany Davis-Green is committed to using her time and talent to uplift her community. A graduate of Gentry High School, she earned a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and a master’s degree in Liberal Studies, with concentrations in History and Gender & Diversity Studies, from Delta State University.
Brittany’s career began in journalism, where her work earned recognition from the Mississippi Press Association. She then transitioned into higher education, serving as Director of Communications & Marketing at Coahoma Community College, Mississippi Valley State University, and Delta State University. Currently, as Communications Director for Merit America, she champions the organization's mission of providing pathways for Americans stuck in low-wage work to family-sustaining careers through flexible and accessible training programs.
Brittany is a member of St. Luke COGIC of Moorhead, MS, and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., She believes in the power of education to empower and inspire and a has been admirer of the work of Gloria Dickerson and We2gether Creating Change since she first covered the organization as a young journalist. She is proud to support the organization as a volunteer and board member.

Board Member

Dr. Portia Ballard Espy has served as President and CEO of the Mississippi Urban League (an Affiliate of the National Urban League) since June 2021. The organization’s mission is to help African Americans and others in Mississippi's historically underserved communities achieve their highest true social parity, economic self-reliance, power, and civil rights. Under her leadership, the Mississippi Urban League team was awarded the President’s Gold Volunteer Service Award by AmeriCorps and Points of Light, with recognition by President Joseph R. Biden, for its work during the height of the Jackson Water Crisis. The Mississippi Urban League was also recognized as one of Mississippi’s Top Nonprofits of 2023 by the Mississippi Business Journal and the Mississippi Alliance for Nonprofits and Philanthropy. Espy also led the creation of the Hinds County Long Term Disaster Recovery Committee, which is still managed by the Mississippi Urban League in partnership with the United Way of the Capital Area.
Espy has vast executive-level experience in manufacturing, energy, aerospace, and nonprofit sectors. She has worked as an executive in human resources management, grants management, and external affairs for Pellerin Milnor Corporation, subsidiaries of Royal Dutch Shell plc and Entergy Corporation, and Raytheon Aerospace. She has also worked in the nonprofit sector as Associate Director of the W.K. Kellogg’s Mid-South Delta Initiative, Chief Administrative Officer of the Children’s Defense Fund’s Southern Regional Office, and both Director of Community Building and Executive Director of the William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation (now known as the Alluvial Collective). Espy was instrumental in the Winter Institute's transition from its original home at the University of Mississippi and led the effort to establish the organization as an independent 501c3 in Jackson, Mississippi.
Espy is a native of Franklinton, Louisiana, and a graduate of Franklinton High School. She obtained a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Administration from Jackson State University and a certificate in nonprofit management from Harvard Kennedy School, both in May of 2021. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communications from Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and an M.B.A. from Loyola University New Orleans.
Espy currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors for Together for Hope which focuses on the 338 counties of persistent rural poverty across Appalachia, the Black Belt, the Rio Grande Valley, and Native Lands. She is also on the Board of Directors for We2together Creating Change, whose mission is to inspire and empower Mississippi Delta residents to build vibrant, healthy, and successful lives through community participation and support. She sits on the Board of Directors for the Mississippi Alliance of Nonprofits and Philanthropy, an organization that serves, builds capacity, and fosters collaboration among and between Mississippi's nonprofit and philanthropic communities. Espy sits on the Advisory Board of Mississippi KIDS COUNT and represents the Mississippi Urban League as a member of Jackson State University’s P.H.I.T Coalition and Project STEP. She is also a member of the Mississippi Civil Rights Education Commission and the MS VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters). Espy was recently recognized by the United Way of the Capital Area as one of its Women of Excellence Honorees.
Espy currently resides in Ridgeland, Mississippi with her husband, Michael, and son, Ian.