The Board of the Women’s Fund of Greater Chattanooga announces the organization’s next executive director is Erika R. Burnett, a long-time Nashville resident, entrepreneur, founder, innovator, teacher and advocate.
Ms. Burnett will relocate to Chattanooga this summer and will lead the organization, beginning Monday.
Officials said, "With more than a decade of innovative leadership experience, Burnett joins the Women’s Fund of Greater Chattanooga’s team ready to guide the nonprofit organization. In this role, she will leverage her experience with advocacy, philanthropy and building partnerships to address the root causes of inequity and to create lasting change for the women of the Chattanooga area and the state of Tennessee."
“Erika’s leadership experience, strategic thinking and passion for solving root problems facing women and girls in our state stood out during our interview process,” said Jennifer Harper, board president of the Women’s Fund and founder of Bridge Financial Planning. “We’re looking forward to having her in Chattanooga as we grow the Fund and advocate for women and girls here in our community and across the state. Her strengths align with our key efforts regarding local and state advocacy, encouraging women-led philanthropy and creating strong networks of women in our region.”
In her most recent role, Ms. Burnett served as founder and principal trainer for the Burnett Group, offering a full range of human capital training and consulting. Leveraging her years of nonprofit leadership and community engagement experience, she supports the growth, training and development of professionals. She addresses a wide variety of topics including volunteer management and engagement, diversity and inclusion, youth development, team building, leadership exploration and generational differences.
In 2018, she, alongside business partner Nicole Kemp, launched the Women of Color Collaborative, demonstrating a "strong commitment to advocating, empowering and securing the resources for women and girls to work, play and build together."
Before starting her consultancy, Ms. Burnett served the community in a variety of roles, including expert workshop facilitator at the Center for Nonprofit Management (Nashville), affiliate director at Communities in Schools of Tennessee, director of organizing at Leadership for Educational Equity and senior director of programs at Hands On Nashville, among others.
Ms. Burnett is a graduate of New Leaders Council and of Nashville Emerging Leaders, as well as a long-time member of the National Council of Negro Women. She is certified with CORE Competency Assessment for Nonprofit Professionals through Lipscomb University and is a trained Peace Circle facilitator. She earned her master of education from Vanderbilt University and her bachelor of arts in English and her teacher certification from Tennessee State University.