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Trustees
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E. Jenner Wood III
Chair
Jenner Wood joined the boards of the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation in 2010 and the Joseph B. Whitehead and Lettie Pate Evans Foundations in 2015 and was named chairman of those three Foundations in 2018. He joined the board of the Robert W. Woodruff Health Sciences Center Fund as chairman in 2018. Jenner serves as a director of the Genuine Parts Company, Southern Company and Oxford Industries and is a former director of Crawford & Company. He spent his entire career with SunTrust Bank serving in various corporate executive positions from 1975 to 2017. His civic responsibilities include serving as a trustee of the Sartain Lanier Family Foundation, Emory University and Episcopal High School. Jenner has chaired the board of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and is a former trustee of the Camp Younts Foundation, the Pitts Foundation, SunTrust Foundation, Agnes Scott College, Atlanta Speech School, Trinity School, Visiting Nurse Health System and Piedmont Healthcare System. He received a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an M.B.A. from Georgia State University.
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Lawrence L. Gellerstedt III
Vice Chair
Larry Gellerstedt joined the boards of the Robert W. Woodruff, Joseph B. Whitehead and Lettie Pate Evans Foundations in 2015. He is a partner in Sweetwater Holdings and former executive chairman and CEO of Cousins Properties. He serves as chairman of Grady Health System and is a director of Brown & Brown Insurance and United Distributors. Larry has chaired the boards of several leading organizations in Atlanta, including the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, the Georgia Research Alliance, the Atlanta Committee for Progress, the Woodruff Arts Center, the Metro Atlanta YMCA, Midtown Alliance, Fernbank Museum and The Commerce Club. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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Lyons Gray
Lyons Gray formerly served as a commissioner on the North Carolina Utility Commission, Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Revenue, senior advisor to the president of the University of North Carolina System and chief financial officer for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Mr. Gray was also a six-term member of the North Carolina House of Representatives. He has served on the boards of the North Carolina Communities and Business Alliance, Downtown Winston-Salem Partnership and the North Carolina School of the Arts Foundation, among other groups. Mr. Gray attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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David P. Stockert
Dave Stockert serves as a director of Mid-America Apartment Communities and is a partner in Sweetwater Holdings. He served as CEO of Post Properties from 2002 to 2016. His civic responsibilities include the boards of Grady Health System and the Westside Future Fund. He has chaired Central Atlanta Progress, the YMCA of Metro Atlanta, Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School and the Buckhead Coalition and is a former trustee of the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta and Horizons Atlanta. Dave received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado and an M.B.A from Columbia University.
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Lizanne Thomas
Lizanne Thomas is a retired partner of the Jones Day law firm, where she served as partner-in-charge of the firm’s Southern U.S. Region and chair of its Corporate Governance practice area. Lizanne serves as a corporate director for Southern Company and Logility Supply Chain Solutions, Inc. She is a former director of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Inc., Atlantic Capital Bancshares and Krispy Kreme Donuts, Inc. In 2017, OnBoard awarded its annual Lettie Pate Whitehead Evans Award to Lizanne in recognition of her outstanding service as a for-profit corporate director. Lizanne is chair of the Board of Trustees of the Georgia Research Alliance and a trustee of the Woodruff Arts Center. Lizanne received her bachelor’s degree from Furman University and her law degree from Washington & Lee University, and she subsequently served both schools as a trustee.
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Staff
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Lauren Adams
Fellow
Lauren joined the Foundations’ staff in 2024. She previously worked as a file clerk at Mark Yurachek & Associates, LLC, as well as a student assistant at Georgia State University’s Honors College. She graduated summa cum laude from Georgia State University with a B.A. in English (Rhetoric and Composition) and a minor in Law & Ethics.
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Beth Blalock
Secretary and General Counsel
Beth joined the Foundations’ staff in 2024. She has over 20 years of experience practicing environmental and regulatory law in the public and private sectors, including roles as partner at Gilbert, Harrell, Sumerford and Martin and assistant branch chief at the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Beth is a graduate of the University of Georgia, where she earned a B.A. degree in ecology and political science in 2000 and a J.D. degree with honors in 2003.
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Dahlia Bell Brown
Program Officer
Dahlia joined the Foundations’ staff in 2020. She previously served for six years the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS), most recently as the Deputy Division Director of Strategy, Innovation and Engagement. Prior to DFCS, she led the Family Violence Division at the Georgia Governor’s Office for Children and Families and spent several years doing frontline social work in the nonprofit sector. Dahlia received a B.A. degree in psychology and a correlate sequence in Africana Studies from Vassar College, and earned an M.P.H. degree from Morehouse School of Medicine.
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Carrie Davis Conway
Senior Program Officer
Carrie joined the Foundations’ staff in 2014. She previously served as Executive Director of the Southeast Region for CARE USA, and has 10 years of experience working in development in the higher education sector. Carrie graduated magna cum laude from Duke University with a B.A. degree in history and received an M.A. degree from St. John’s College.
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Stephanie Gaines
Executive Assistant to the President
Stephanie joined the Foundations’ staff in 2020. She previously served as Executive Assistant and Office Manager of the Grady Health Foundation, and has over 30 years of experience working in administration at SunTrust Banks. Stephanie earned her Associate of Applied Science degree from Clayton State University.
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Erik S. Johnson
President
Erik joined the Foundations’ staff in 2006, became Treasurer in 2014, Vice President in 2021 and President in 2025. He previously served as a law clerk to Chief Judge J.L. Edmondson on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Erik is the former chairman of the Georgia Grantmakers Alliance. He earned his B.A. degree from Emory University in 1998 and his J.D. degree with high honors from the University of Georgia’s School of Law in 2005.
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Jenny Zhang Morgan
Grants Officer
Jenny joined the Foundations’ staff in 2013. She previously worked as an account executive at the marketing communications firm Jackson Spalding. Jenny formerly served on the President’s Advisory Council for PEAK Grantmaking and is a 2022-23 Georgia Education Policy Fellow. She graduated summa cum laude from the Georgia Institute of Technology with B.S. degrees in psychology and communications.
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Eli Niepoky
Treasurer
Eli joined the Foundation’s staff in 2021. She previously served as Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of Berman Capital Advisors and as CIO and Principal of Diversified Trust Company. Eli started her investment career at Delta Air Lines’ pension fund. She is board chair of the Employees’ Retirement System of Georgia and serves on its investment committee. She received her B.A. degree in economics from Wake Forest University and her M.B.A. degree from Georgia State University. Eli is a CFA Charterholder and a member of the CFA Society Atlanta, where she previously served as president and board member.
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Emily Patteson
Grants Program Administrator
Emily joined the Foundations’ staff in 2019. She previously worked as a client and grants manager with the SunTrust Bank Foundations and Endowments Specialty Practice. Emily graduated cum laude from Vanderbilt University with B.A. degrees in economics and Spanish.
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Lizzy Smith
Grants Program Director
Lizzy joined the Foundations’ staff as Grants Officer in 2005 and became Grants Program Director in 2011. She previously worked for the fundraising consulting firm of Coxe Curry & Associates for more than seven years, and also served as Director of Special Events for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in Raleigh, NC. Lizzy serves on the steering committee for the Georgia Grantmakers Alliance. She is a former trustee of Philanthropy Southeast and a past chair of Candid’s Atlanta Advisory Board. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a B.A. degree in economics.
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Sarah Tablan
Controller
Sarah joined the Foundations’ staff in 2007. She previously worked in public accounting with Smith & Howard, P.C., and ran her own accounting and tax practice for six years. Sarah graduated summa cum laude with a B.B.A in accounting and received her master’s in taxation from Georgia State University’s Robinson College of Business. She is a certified public accountant.
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Tammy Walton
Receptionist
Tammy joined the Foundations’ staff in 2008. She previously worked as an equipment supply coordinator at Coca-Cola Enterprises and as an HR assistant at Emory Healthcare. Tammy earned her B.A. degree in business administration from Talladega College in 1993, and her M.A. degree in Marriage and Family Therapy Counseling from Argosy University in 2016.
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