Meet Our Leadership Team
Community Dreams Alliance is led by nonprofit and spiritual leaders in DeKalb County, GA. We have come together with a vision to offer services to enable community minded organizations in serving underserved and under-resourced communities.
Michelle Shaw
Chair
Leadership: Director, Eastside Academic Studies; Director, Northeast Independent Preparatory Academy
Education: Harvard College (BA), Harvard Law School (JD)
Michelle Shaw is the director of Eastside Academic Studies and the Northeast Independent Preparatory Academy (a homeschool accrediting organization). She taught at Eastside for nine years and has been the director since 2016. She received her B.A. in Economics from Harvard College in 1985 and her J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1989. She practiced law in Massachusetts for six years before she chose to focus on homeschooling her five children. Four of her children have graduated from college and the last one is currently attending college.
Michelle has taught teenagers in various capacities for over 20 years. She has helped run a variety of youth programs both in Boston and in metro Atlanta. She has trained adults and young people in a variety of computer software applications. She has also assisted with the formation of technology projects such as Technology Goes Home in Boston, and has served on the boards of several community organizations.
She is married to Dr. Alan Shaw, a tenured Professor in Computer Science at Kennesaw State University and the pastor of Christ First Community Church in Stone Mountain. Together they have worked as Technology Program Directors for the Algebra Project, and as Directors of Christian Initiatives and Technical Education, a youth apprenticeship program. Through their organizations, Imani Information Systems and Linking Up Villages (LUV), they have helped neighborhood groups and educational institutions organize computer networks for local purposes.
Michelle also serves on the boards of the Georgia Black Home Educators Network and the DeKalb Christian Home Educators.
Jeri Austin
Vice Chair
Leadership: Founder / CEO, Hugs and Hope Food Pantry
With over 35 years of experience in business management, nonprofit leadership, and community service, Jeri is dedicated to uplifting communities and creating sustainable impact. Among her greatest accomplishments is raising her three children, whom she homeschooled from the beginning through high school, watching them grow into loving, kind adults who love the Lord and have a heart for serving others.
A seasoned entrepreneur, Jeri was the Founder and CEO of The Ultimate Event, an award-winning event planning and catering company, for 14 years. As the co-founder and CEO of the Hugs & Hope Corp initiative under Christ First Community Church, Jeri broadened her impact by providing free, healthy meals and groceries to the community through strategic partnerships with The Atlanta Community Food Bank, Hands on Atlanta, and DoorDash. In 2023, the organization distributed over 1 million pounds of food, feeding 20 thousand households, including 24 thousand children and 13 thousand senior citizens. Through the Bags of Hope Program, launched in partnership with DoorDash’s Project Dash initiative, Hugs & Hope ensured that children attending Title 1 schools, received nourishing meals over the weekend, ensuring that no child went hungry during their time away from school.
Nicole Phillips Doyle
Executive Director
Leadership: Co-Founder, Georgia Black Home Educators Network; Board Member, Eastside Academic Studies; Fundraising / Grant Management Chair, DCHE
Education: Kennesaw State University (BA)
As a school choice and parent's rights advocate, Nicole champions the "Parent-as-Educator" movement in the Georgia homeschooling community. She currently serves the homeschool community as a Board member of Eastside Academic Studies (a hybrid homeschool) and Fundraising/ Grant Management Chair of DeKalb Christian Home Educators, Inc. (DCHE), a homeschool cooperative and parent support group in Stone Mountain, Georgia. DCHE offers accessible academic classes and extracurricular activities and demonstrates a platform of parental power-sharing in program administration, thought-leadership, teaching opportunities, and advocacy that activates an ecosystem of parent-led educational choice.
Her national and state advocacy includes collaborating with various organizations to amplify parents' voices in educational decision-making. She serves as a Community Ambassador with the Home School Legal Defense Association, a Fellowship Cohort member of Empowered Parents Invested in Change (EPIC) with GeorgiaCAN, and an Ambassador for the EdChoice Parent Corps. She has been invited to speak on multigenerational and diverse community building and collision-building at SXSW Edu, VELACon Educational Conference, and Black Minds Matter Conference.
In the face of the educational upheaval brought on by the pandemic, Nicole's commitment to equitable education led her to co-found the Georgia Black Home Educators Network. This initiative unites homeschool group leaders and allies to empower families with parent-as-educator training and forge vital community partnerships by hosting the Flourish Family Homeschool Conference. Through these efforts, Nicole endeavors to bridge educational gaps and cultivate nurturing environments that honor diverse cultural backgrounds.
Diana Shaw
Treasurer
Leadership: Chief of Staff, Mitra Investment Partners; CEO & Co-Founder, CLIFF Network
Education: Harvard University (BA), University of Chicago Booth School of Business (MBA)
Diana is currently Chief of Staff at a commercial real estate investment firm called Mitra Investment Partners in Atlanta, GA. In her role as Chief of Staff, she reports directly to the two co-founders of the organization and leads strategic initiatives to get the right people, processes, and technology in place for the organization to scale. During her time as Chief of Staff, she helped to raise $36.3M for the fund and now manages investor relations of a large investor base and leads strategic planning and hiring for the team.
Prior to working at Mitra, Diana graduated with her MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business with a focus on strategy and entrepreneurship, during which she launched Opto Financial, which is a personal finance tool that empowers young adults to build strong financial habits. She earned a B.A. in Economics from Harvard University. While in college, Diana launched a non-profit incubator (CLIFF Network: Collegiate Leadership in the Fight for Freedom) to bring together students, practitioners, and people impacted by human trafficking to create new models for change. Throughout her career, she has found opportunities to volunteer with various nonprofits, particularly those supporting vulnerable youth and people experiencing homelessness. Diana and Yesuto Shaw have been married for four years.
Yesuto Shaw
Secretary
Leadership: Technical Product Manager, LinkedIn; President, Kellogg MBA Student Government
Education: Dartmouth College (BA), Northwestern Kellogg School of Management (MBA, MS)
Yesuto works in the Tech Industry as a Product Manager at LinkedIn. He has 9 years of experience in strategy, analytics, and implementation of operational projects across the financial services, technology, and manufacturing industries. After earning his BA in Psychology at Dartmouth College, Yesuto worked at Dean and Company Strategy Consultants in Washington, DC, advising manufacturing clients on improving operational efficiency and product diversity. He then moved to Capital One, where he built skills in data analytics to prioritize and execute projects that increase profitability across multiple departments. Finally, he received his MBA at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, as well as his MS in Design Innovation at Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering, to enhance his strategic problem solving skills before pursuing a Product Management role at LinkedIn.
Outside of work, Yesuto has been actively involved in building community in multiple organizations. He served as President of the Dartmouth Alumni Club of DC, where he led a team of 25 volunteers to plan dozens of events for the 4,000 alumni living in the area. He then served as President of the Kellogg Student Government Association, where he led a team of over 100 volunteers to improve the social, academic, and recruiting environment for the Kellogg student body. He has a passion for building vibrant communities that serve the needs of diverse populations wherever he finds himself. Yesuto and Diana Shaw have been married for four years.
Jeff Brewer
Board Member
Leadership: Founder and President, Brewer Engineering; President, Tate Mountain Association
Education: University of Georgia (BS)
Jeff graduated from the University of Georgia with a B.S.A.E and is the Founder and President of Brewer Engineering. Brewer Engineering provides civil engineering and site development services for commercial, governmental, medical services, educational, recreational, planned communities, and religious facilities. For over 30 years. Brewer Engineering has been involved in 1.8 billion dollars of construction value and over 12,000,000 square feet of facilities. Jeff served as an Elder for West Ridge Church for 22 years. Jeff has served as President of Tate Mountain Associates, a 2200 acre planned mountain community. He is married with three children and 8 grandchildren.
Dionne Ford
Board Member
Leadership: Licensed Realtor, Virtual Properties Realty
Education: Iowa State University (BA), Georgia State University (Executive MBA)
With 25+ years as a Project Manager for Fortune 100 companies and a 7-year track record as a successful Realtor, multitasking and delivering exceptional results are all in a day’s work. Dionne’s keen business acumen ensures smooth implementation and results tracking, while her collaborative nature bridges diverse interests effortlessly. With exceptional contract/proposal writing and savvy negotiation tactics, she helps clients secure real estate transaction wins amid multiple offers. Dionne demonstrates unmatched business acumen, skillfully overseeing implementation and results tracking with a proven track record of meeting timelines and exceeding expectations, to ensure real estate transactions run like clockwork.
Page Fulgham
Board Member
Leadership: Minister, Assistant VP of Development, McAfee School of Theology; Director of Development, Honduras Outreach; COO, Atlanta Mission
Education: Baylor University (BA), Southwestern Seminary (MDiv and ThD)
Rudolph Page Fulgham was born in Alabama, but he spent most of his formative years in Doraville, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. He graduated from Chamblee High School, Chamblee, Georgia, and received a BA in religion from Baylor University, Waco, Texas. His graduate studies at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary culminated in Master of Divinity and Doctor of Theology degrees with an emphasis in philosophy of religion.
Page has served as an associate minister and a senior minister in churches in Texas and Georgia, and he was on the staff of Mercer University as assistant vice president of development for Mercer’s McAfee School of Theology in Atlanta, Georgia. In addition, he served as director of development for Honduras Outreach Inc. and as chief operating officer at Atlanta Union Mission (now Atlanta Mission). Page served as an adjunct professor of religion at Mercer University of Atlanta.
Page is married to the former Carol Ann Hardy, and they have two grown sons and one grandson. He continues to enjoy reading and studying religion and philosophy. He also teaches an adult Bible study at Smoke Rise Baptist Church in Stone Mountain, Georgia, where he also serves as Missions Associate.
Shanna Smith
Advisory Committee
Leadership: Board Member / Web Master, DeKalb Christian Home Educators; Founder / CEO, Empowerment Zone Collective
Education: University of Alabama (BS)
Shanna Smith is a dynamic and versatile technology professional with over 9 years of experience in software engineering, cybersecurity, and digital marketing. Holding a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering Technology and multiple industry certifications, Shanna has dedicated her career to driving performance and innovation through technology. She has a passion for empowering underserved and under-resourced communities, a vision that perfectly aligns with the mission of CDA.
As a dedicated leader, Shanna has not only spearheaded numerous development projects but also fostered STEM education and leadership opportunities for young learners, particularly in her role as a coach and mentor for programs like FIRST Robotics and Science Olympiad. Her ability to develop and expand STEM programs within educational organizations has created a lasting impact, promoting both individual growth and community advancement.
With a heart for service and a commitment to long-term positive change, Shanna has continuously sought to empower communities through her extensive volunteer work. Her contributions to organizations such as Dekalb Christian Home Educators and The Market demonstrate her dedication to creating accessible, collaborative spaces where individuals can thrive.
Shanna’s deep-rooted faith and passion for helping others drive her to be an agent of change, fully embodying CDA’s vision of showing the love of Christ through community-building efforts.
Through her expertise in technology and education, she is committed to supporting CDA’s mission of creating collaborative and accessible centers that serve as catalysts for positive transformation.
Dr. Alan Shaw
Advisory Committee
Leadership: Pastor, Christ First Community Church; Professor & Principal Investigator, Kennesaw State University
Education: Harvard College (BA), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MS, PhD)
Alan graduated with honors from Harvard with a B.A. in Applied Mathematics in 1985, earned his M.S. in Computer Science from MIT in 1988, and a Ph.D. in Media Arts and Sciences from the MIT Media Lab in 1995. He became an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Morehouse College in 2005, focusing on simulations and virtual reality in education. In 2006, he joined Kennesaw State University, where he is now the Associate Chair of Computer Science, researching educational applications of virtual and collaborative technologies.
Alan’s past work has involved bringing networking technologies into urban communities as tools for collaborative learning and community development projects in Boston, Newark, San Francisco, Baltimore and Jackson, MS. He has worked to link together schools and community based organizations to help foster and support village-like local infrastructures. In 2020, Alan, as a principal investigator, won a nearly $500,000 NSF grant for a project called Computer Science for All, designed to help middle school students learn computer science through math courses and with the use of technology. And, in 2023, as a principal investigator, was awarded a $2.5 million National Science Foundation grant to pursue a project called Calculus for All. The grant focuses on introducing calculus concepts to high school students earlier in their academic careers.
Alan has been married to Michelle Shaw for 33 years and is an ordained minister and the pastor of Christ First Community Church (CFCC) in Georgia. Alan and Michelle founded CFCC 8 years ago, and through the church they have worked on community building and renovation projects that have affected the lives of thousands of individuals, while partnering with other churches, community service organizing programs and stakeholders.
