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 as the Finance Manager. Merry oversees all financial management and planning for…
Community Engagement Manager
Erin Hinek joined DEF in May 2025 as the Community Engagement Manager to help grow partnerships and support campaigns that benefit all Decatur students. …
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
Martha Moore has over twenty years of experience in business accounting and management. She is currently studying to become a…
Vice Chair
Haqiqa is recently retired after working as a school counselor at Renfroe Middle School for 24 years. She is also…
Co-Treasurer
Shannon Scalese is a CPA with a Master of Accountancy from the University of Georgia. She and her husband Anthony…
Co-Treasurer
Reggie and his wife, Amanda, moved to Decatur from Pittsburgh, PA in 2018. They have two children who attend City…
Secretary
Lynn has held multiple leadership positions at the CDC in the field of infectious disease. She recently came out of…
Governance
James is a trial and appellate laywer and a founding partner of Caplan Cobb LLP. James also serves on the…
Executive Committee
An Atlanta native, Raul and his wife, Mary Lynn have lived in Decatur since 2000. Their 2 children attend City…
Kent (KC) Baker, originally from Charlotte, NC, migrated to Atlanta to attend Clark Atlanta University. A dedicated father of four,…
Laura Bollman, M.Ed., is the Director of Strategy & Operations at the Rollins Center for Language and Literacy, a professional development organization dedicated to realizing literacy and justice for all.
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…
Steve and his wife Nicki have lived in Decatur for over 20 years. The Decatur community and its schools and teachers have helped…
Weonhee was raised in Virginia and now resides with her family in Decatur, GA. As a mother of three CSD children…
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: 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: Member, CSD Board of Education
Hans and his wife Ginger have lived in Decatur since 2008 and have four kids in Decatur schools. He was…
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…