The board and staff of the Babcock Foundation are delighted to welcome four new directors to help deepen our impact across the South in the coming years. The approved directors will join the board of directors January 1, 2025:
Helen Butler (she/her) serves as Executive Director of the Georgia Coalition for the Peoples’ Agenda, a non-profit, non-partisan organization comprised of representatives from the human rights, civil rights, environmental, labor, women, young professionals, youth, elected officials, peace and justice groups throughout the State of Georgia and other southeastern states, founded by the late Dr. Joseph E. Lowery, that advocates for voting rights and justice issues. She joined the Coalition for the Peoples’ Agenda in 2003 as the State Director and was able to increase the membership of the organization to over sixty statewide and local organizations as well as, promote collaborative issue campaign organizing activities throughout Georgia, nationally and in the southeastern region. In keeping with the People’s Agenda commitment to quality education, criminal, and juvenile justice reform, protecting the right to vote, economic justice and development, and other social justice issues, she has formed strategic alliances to improve quality of life for underserved communities.
Nayley Perez-Huerta (she/ella) is a Mexican immigrant who has called the South home for the past 24 years. Her work has focused on developing and strengthening immigrant leadership and building grassroots power in the Southeast, with a strong emphasis on centering the voices and experiences of those most impacted by systemic injustice.
Dr. Karida Brown (she/her) is a sociologist, professor, oral historian, and public intellectual whose research centers on the fullness of Black life. A proud graduate of Temple University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Brown University, she currently teaches sociology at Emory University. She has authored six books, including The Sociology of W.E.B. Du Bois and the award-winning The New Brownies’ Book: A Love Letter to Black Families. Her upcoming book, Battle for the Black Mind is forthcoming Spring 2025 with Legacy Lit by Hachette Book Group.
Austin Thompson (he/him) is the Founder and CEO of Community Dynamix (CDX), a consultancy and technology services provider dedicated to equipping nonprofits and place-based coalitions with data-driven solutions that strengthen communities and help redefine the economic trajectory of underserved regions. Originally from Alpharetta, Georgia, and deeply committed to equity and sustainability in the South, Austin believes in the transformative power of technology to radically accelerate human potential, dismantle systemic barriers, and engineer a future where community-centered innovation drives lasting change. Austin brings extensive experience in philanthropy, technology, and social change, combining visionary leadership with hands-on expertise. His commitment to using technology to drive economic equity aligns seamlessly with the mission of the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation.
While we are thrilled with our new directors, this announcement is bittersweet, as the Foundation is also bidding farewell to two directors who went above and beyond in their extraordinary commitment to the Foundation and the South.
Chad Berry (he/him) came to the office of the Academic Vice President and Dean of the Faculty after serving five years as Director of the Loyal Jones Appalachian Center and also serving one year as Director of the Center for Excellence in Learning through Service. Prior to coming to Berea in 2006, he was a member of the faculty at Maryville College. He is the author of Southern Migrants, Northern Exiles, published by the University of Illinois Press, which examines the migration of millions of white southerners to the Midwest during the twentieth century. The book was inspired by his paternal grandparents, who reluctantly left Tennessee in the 1940s, going first to Akron, Ohio, and ultimately settling in Mishawaka, Indiana, where they found jobs and the economic opportunity that had eluded them in the South. He is the editor of and a contributor to The Hayloft Gang: The Story of the National Barn Dance (Illinois, 2008), an important radio program from Chicago that was instrumental in the development of country music. He is published widely in the area of Appalachian studies and international education.
Jerry Gonzalez (he/him) is the founding and current Executive Director of Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials (GALEO) and the GALEO Latino Community Development Fund. GALEO was founded in 2003 and is a 501 (c) (6) statewide nonprofit and non- partisan organization; its mission is to increase civic engagement and leadership development of the Latino/Hispanic community across Georgia. The GALEO Latino Community Development Fund is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization affiliated with GALEO. Due to his efforts at GALEO, Mr. Gonzalez has been recognized by Georgia Trend Magazine as one of Georgia’s 100 Most Influential Georgians for several of years, along with many other honors and awards.
Both Chad and Jerry joined the board in 2014, served three consecutive terms and then graciously agreed to serve two extensions to provide stability as the Foundation grappled with COVID, racial reckonings across the South and internal leadership transitions. Under their leadership, the Foundation has made nearly a thousand grants, totaling more than 121 million dollars to organizations advancing justice in the American South. Much of the Foundation’s considerable evolution over the past 11 years is attributable to Chad and Jerry, as they helped guide us through multiple strategic shifts, and were strong voices steering the Foundation toward our commitments to building power to advance racial equity.
Please join us in expressing our deep gratitude to Chad and Jerry, and in warmly welcoming our new directors, whose terms begin January first.
