2020 ULF Atlanta Fellows
Victoria Adofoli
Victoria Adofoli is a Masters of Public Policy candidate at the University of Maryland, School of Public Policy with a concentration in International Development, Security, and Economic Policy. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Peace Studies. Her research interests lie at the intersection of policy, technology, and development; particularly when addressing challenges such as mass migration, wealth gap, sustainable development and innovation.
Victoria is a Restorative Justice Practitioner who has assisted her community and local county attorney’s office on misde meanor cases, issues of discrimination, and criminal justice reform. She also has a background as a community organizer fighting for affordable housing, women’s rights, and education reform. Currently, she works as a Product Manager for a tech startup whose mission is to bridge the racial wealth gap by building tech-enabled tools that help small businesses that are minority-owned and women-owned. Victoria is pursuing a career in the federal or private sector where she can work on multiple initiatives for broad-based economic development and poverty reduction for underserved communities.
Dr. H. Justin Ballenger
Dr. H. Justin Ballenger is an Assistant Professor of STEM Education in Mercer University's Tift College of Education. He has extensive experience with the implementation of programming that supports the academic development of youth from under-served populations. Dr. Ballenger is the Executive Director of the STEM Education Innovation Lab or SEI Lab on Mercer’s Atlanta Campus. He also serves as a team member on Mercer’s Education Initiative in the Dominican Republic where he directs the AgSTEM Project (DR).
Dr. Ballenger’s research agenda is focused on the academic achievement of under-served populations and pathways for students from under-served backgrounds to pursue STEM careers both in the United States and abroad. As a component of this research he also investigates teaching practices and teacher preparation programs for STEM educators.
Dr. Ballenger is a published author and regularly presents at national and international conferences on issues related to STEM Education, Access and Equity, Teacher Preparation, and Community Engagement. Dr. Ballenger is engaged with a number of STEM outreach and teacher preparation programs locally, nationally, and internationally. Dr. Ballenger is a fellow with the Urban Leadership Fellowship, a Southern Region Education Board (SREB) fellow, an African Scientific Institute Fellow, he is recognized as a Master Teacher and mentor with the Call Me MiSTER Program and is a National Board Certified Science Teacher. His public community engagement includes serving as the Board Chair for STEM Initiatives with Africa Diaspora Nations and an executive board member for Real I.M.P.A.C.T Center, Inc.
Annette Christie
Annette Christie is a Dallas, TX native and currently lives in Atlanta, GA where she completed her Teach For America Corps commitment. Annette currently serves as a Special Educator in Atlanta Public Schools and has a passion for ensuring that every child has access to an equitable education.
Annette has a passion for policy and advocacy and has sharpened her expertise by completing several internships and fellowships. During the summer of 2018 she served as a Leadership for Educational Equity, Policy and Advocacy fellow. In this role she served Clayton County School Board Member, Jasmine Bowles. She has also had experience on Capitol Hill and interned for Congressman Marc Veasey from Fort Worth Texas. She hopes to use all of her experiences to invoke systemic change.
Annette graduated from Baylor University, Waco, Texas in 2018 with her Bachelor’s in Communication with Concentration in Rhetoric and Public Discourse. She plans to begin her Master’s in Public Policy at American University in the Fall of 2020.
Shae Earls
Shae Earls is an educator, advocate, and researcher from Southwest Atlanta. She is a recently admitted doctoral student in the College of Education and Human Development at Georgia State University. In 2014, Shae graduated from the University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education. She also earned her Master’s in Education in Curriculum and Instruction from Valdosta State University and her Educational Leadership Certification from the University of West Georgia. As a graduate of Booker T. Washington High School in the Atlanta Public School System, she is passionate about serving and uplifting voices in her community.
Shae became interested in policy after she noticed the negative impact that housing access and displacement were having on her students. As a member of a Participatory Action Research collective, she has been conducting research on gentrification and its impact on the students and families she serves for over two years. As a result of their research, Shae has been afforded the opportunity to present at various conferences with her research team. She has also co-authored a scholarly article that is currently under peer-review and has served as a peer reviewer. In the summer of 2019, Shae served as a Policy and Advocacy Summer Fellow with Atlanta Public Schools’ GO Team office where she conducted an internal needs assessment to identify gaps and set priorities for policy and regulation development for local school governance teams. She will begin working on her Ph.D. in Educational Policy Studies this Fall.
Yasmene Kimble
Yasmene Kimble began her career in Charlotte, North Carolina as a Teach for America Corp Member in 2018. She served as a high school social studies teacher where she taught African American History, American History, and World History.
As a teacher, she served as a varsity cheer coach, led and mentored several student organizations. She served as the professional learning community chair for all African American Studies teachers within the district. Yasmene also aided in curriculum development for the district’s African American Studies course. She is also a fellow for the North Carolina Council for the Social Studies TED Contemporary Voices—that address current issues impacting students and the community.
Yasmene holds a M.Ed in Education Policy and Leadership from American University and a B.A. in Political Science and History from East Carolina University. Starting in July she will serve as a Dean of Students at a charter school in Fort Worth, Texas.
Michael McBane
Michael McBane began his career in Atlanta as a Teach for America corps member in 2017 and then continued teaching at his placement school. Michael will be moving to Baltimore after his summer at ULF, to teach 7th grade social studies at James McHenry, a Baltimore City Public School.
Michael is a math teacher in metro-Atlanta. He began his teaching career through Teach for America, and then continued teaching for his placement school after his TFA commitment. This past year he earned a Certificate of Achievement from his school for excellence in the classroom. In 2019, Michael became an Algebra 1 Ambassador for the district, where he worked with other teachers to create innovative lesson plans for the district’s Algebra 1 teachers. During his time at Forest Park High School, Michael coached girls’ soccer and wrestling.
Michael is an Alumnus of Emory University, where he double majored in Economics and History. Michael’s studies were concentrated in law, economics, and human rights. At Emory, Michael was also the captain of varsity cross country and track and field teams.
Estephania Vasquez
Estephania is a grassroots leader and a first-generation college graduate that has focused all her efforts in building stronger families and communities in Southern California initiatives. She identifies herself as a lifelong learner an indigenist woman of color who immigrated from Mexico at a young age to Los Angeles, California.
In the past 7 years, she has had the opportunity to witness families and schools heal and transform holistically. Her inspiration comes from faith, family, friends, children, and community artists. Estephania uses her gifts to promote social change and community activism with youth, educators, and friends.
In 2020, Estephania earned her MPA with a focus on Public Sector Management & Leadership from California State University (CSUN). She also holds a BA in Sociology & Women’s Studies from the University of California (UCR). Her hobbies include going on spontaneous adventures, taking road trips, exploring nature, reading, playing the piano, and spending time with her daughter and puppy.
Tanasha Mahone, Regional Director
Tanasha Mahone is returning to ULF in her second year as the Atlanta Regional Director. As an urban educator, she began her career in Atlanta as a Teach for America Corps Member. She has served a diverse group of teachers and students in various roles including the unique experience of living and working abroad with the Japanese Exchange on Teaching (JET) Program.
In 2011 she was selected as an Indianapolis Principal Fellow and served as Assistant Principal and Principal in Indianapolis Public Schools for five years before returning as a classroom teacher in Atlanta during the Fall 2017. In 2019, Tanasha was awarded the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics & Science Teaching (PAEMST) and selected in 2020 as School Ambassador Fellow Finalist with the U.S. Department of Education.
Tanasha holds a M.A. in Organization and Leadership with an emphasis on School Building Leadership from Teachers College, Columbia University and a B.A. in Public Relations from Alabama State University. She currently teaches third grade in Atlanta Public Schools and actively serves and volunteers as a member of the Junior League of Atlanta and Civic Leadership Fellow with Hands on Atlanta.
Antonio Brown, Elected Official
District 3
Elected in 2019, Antonio Brown represents Atlanta’s District 3 which includes Vine City, English Avenue and Atlantic Station.
As a successful CEO and humanitarian, Antonio Brown adds a unique perspective, strong faith, and inspirational work ethic to his community. Growing up in poverty with his parents frequently incarcerated, Antonio discovered he had the resilience and drive to overcome adversity & achieve success. From the ground up, he built LVL XIII (Level 13), a luxury men’s fashion brand currently sold in Nordstrom nationwide. After successfully launching his business, Antonio immediately began to pour back into the community through Dream of Humanity (DOH), a nonprofit committed to improving the life trajectory of marginalized people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Dream of Humanity provides the community with access to a self sufficient lifestyle through wraparound services, transformative educational programs, and generous charitable contributions.
Antonio’s passion for business and education moved him to create the Small Business Entrepreneurship Program, which is now licensed by The Art Institute. This program provides hands-on entrepreneurial training and support to over 30,000 historically underserved college students nationwide. After witnessing the success at the Art Institute, Antonio realized there was a need to replicate the program to serve students in public schools. He built Student Entrepreneurs of America, a program that will serve 34 high schools by providing students access to a summer immersion program and pipeline into college. These students will have the opportunity to obtain up to 24 transferable college proficient credits at no cost.
Antonio has been recognized by “Next Big Thing Movement as one of 2018’s Top 35 Millennial Influencers”, and Georgia State Representative Erica Thomas awarded him a “Notable Citizen of Georgia Proclamation”. Antonio appeared on the cover of 17t South Magazine in January 2019.