Our Team
Staff
Featured
Board of Directors
Featured
Executive Director
Meagan Berardi rejoined DEF as Executive Director in 2024, after previously serving as DEF's Director of Community Engagement and Director…
Director of Finance & Operations
Merry Pope joined the DEF team in 2024. Merry oversees all financial management, planning and business operations for DEF…
Community Engagement Manager
Rhonda Wildman joined the DEF team in January 2026 as the Community Engagement Manager. She brings to the team experience of 30 years working in the nonprofit sector…
Programs Manager
Lori Heemann officially joined the DEF Team in July 2025 as the Programs Manager after many years of volunteering with DEF, highlighted by the establishment of Joe’s Fund…
Board Chair
Haqiqa is recently retired after working as a school counselor at Renfroe Middle School for 24 years. She is also…
Past Board Chair
Martha Moore has over twenty years of experience in business accounting and management. She is currently studying to become a…
Vice Chair
Steve and his wife Nicki have lived in Decatur for over 20 years. The Decatur community and its schools and teachers have helped…
Secretary
Laura Bollman, M.Ed., is the Director of Strategy & Operations at the Rollins Center for Language and Literacy...
Governance
James is a trial and appellate laywer and a founding partner of Caplan Cobb LLP. James also serves on the…
Co-Treasurer
Reggie and his wife, Amanda, moved to Decatur from Pittsburgh, PA in 2018. They have two children who attend City…
Co-Treasurer
Shannon Scalese is a CPA with a Master of Accountancy from the University of Georgia. She and her husband Anthony…
Kent (KC) Baker, originally from Charlotte, NC, migrated to Atlanta to attend Clark Atlanta University. A dedicated father of four,…
India is native of Southwest Georgia and a graduate of Spelman College. She and her husband, Will, have 2 kids…
Jeremy is Executive Director of Urban Recipe which is an organization committed to making sure families have the food they…
Weonhee was raised in Virginia and now resides with her family in Decatur, GA. As a mother of three CSD children…
Julie Smith is a Program and Project Manager at Accenture, bringing more than two decades of experience in philanthropy, public-private partnerships, and…
Deanna Jue Sutandi moved to Decatur in 2020, where she lives with her husband and two children. A native of Starkville…
An Atlanta native, Raul and his wife, Mary Lynn have lived in Decatur since 2000. Their 2 children attend City…
Garrett lives in Decatur with his wife and their four children. He and his family are actively involved in the community through their participation on the College Height's advisory council…
Ex-Officio: CSD Board of Education
Tracey Anderson and her family have lived in Decatur sine 2009, and she was elected to serve on the Board of Education in December 2023…
Ex-Officio: Innovation and Strategy Director, City of Decatur
Claire Miller is the Innovation and Strategy Director for the City of Decatur. Before joining the City of…
Ex-Officio: Executive Director, Decatur Housing
Mr. Padilla is an executive with over thirty-six years of experience, leading award-winning development, investment, acquisitions, management, and construction initiatives,…
Ex-Officio: Superintendent, City Schools of Decatur
Dr. Gyimah Whitaker is superintendent of City Schools of Decatur and ex-officio member of the DEF board. She joined CSD…