Board Members
Lora Smothers, Founder
Hi! My name is Lora Smothers and I am the Founder of Joy Village. I have a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience from Emory University, a Master’s degree in gifted education from the University of Georgia, and 14 years of experience as an educator and school director here in Athens, GA. Athens has been my home for 15 years and I feel called to love and serve this city for decades to come.
My Why: I experienced years of cultural alienation and trauma as the only Black student in my grade from 5th through 12th grades. I want to create learning environments here in Athens that center the joy and thriving of Black youth, so they won’t have to experience the same hurts that I did.
Dr. Jemelleh Coes
In 2013, Dr. Jemelleh Coes was nominated to represent Bulloch County as Teacher of the Year. She went on to become Georgia’s 2014 Teacher of the Year. She has been in education for seventeen years at the K-12 and university level.
Jemelleh is the daughter of immigrant parents and a first-generation university graduate. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in Decatur, Georgia. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Education with a concentration in Special Education and her Master’s degree in Education with a concentration in Teaching and Learning from Georgia Southern University. During her tenure at Georgia Southern University, she traveled nationally and internationally to collect data from various educational systems in order to find ways to make improvements and validate the successes of our local systems. Her travel continues today.
Jemelleh earned her Ph.D. in Educational Theory and Practice with certificates in Education Law and Policy, Disability Studies, and Qualitative Research from the University of Georgia. She serves as a board member for the National Network of State Teachers of the Year and advisory councilperson for the Georgia Partnership of Excellence in Education. She listens with keen attention and endeavors to find the gaps in equity that exist throughout education.
She is the Director of Teacher Leadership at Mount Holyoke College where she leads the program, develops curriculum, and provides professional development opportunities for teacher leaders. She is also a professor at the University of Georgia where she teaches future educators along with future professionals dedicated to disability advocacy. She also serves as a teacher mentor for classroom teachers throughout the state. In this capacity, she supports teachers with career development and special projects. Her work is about helping other educators grow. Through this, she is thankful to be able to learn from some of the most exciting and uniquely innovative educators in the country!
Her work has a laser focus on equity and disrupting traditional ways of engaging in education.
Kirrena Gallagher
Kirrena is a lifelong resident of Athens, Georgia. Kirrena served on several community based boards/authorities and committees prior to becoming an Athens-Clarke County School District Board of Education board member in 2021. She volunteers as an advocate for students and parents in the Athens community and has served as a parent educator and coach for over a decade. Kirrena has successfully opened and managed her own in-home childcare facility, Ms. Kirrena’s, serving preschool aged children, and has experience raising funds for many community programs as well as her own political campaign.
Charlene Woodham Brickman, PhD
Dr. B is a career educator and has taught in both private and public settings in multiple geographies. She is happy to call Athens home where she is a small business owner (Recess & Play, LLC) and consultant. Whether in the ATL Metro area or traveling across the US, she is spreading the message that education should be engaging and enjoyable. She works to support developmentally appropriate practice, hands-on learning and play, all of which impact socio-emotional learning and the mental health of this next generation of leadership.
Ritu Sharma, PhD
Dr. Ritu Sharma is an educator, a research scientist, and an interdisciplinary research facilitator. Trained and experienced as a cell and molecular biologist and geneticist, she has also worked toward understanding and facilitating interdisciplinary scientific collaborations at research universities. She has taken a rich and diverse path through higher education, spanning two continents, and is deeply motivated to help future generations navigate through it. She has gained invaluable sights into the strengths and limitations of different educational models and their wide and powerful impact, from attitudes to innovations. She is driven to invest equally in the social and academic aspects of education, which must not be merely imparting information, but about everything we do with it, how we receive and perceive it, how we let it shape us and how we use it to shape the world around us. She is aligned with Joy Village’s philosophy and believes that the most significant learning can only happen only with a positive learning experience filled with joy. She is committed to help Joy Village emerge as one of strongest pillars of education that lifts and supports Black youth.
Qiana Dixon
Former Joy Village parent, lover of all things dance, realtor, and wellness coach, Qiana shares the dream of creating a welcoming and dynamic educational environment for the Athens community. Growing up between her home state of New York and the city of Athens, Georgia has impacted her desire to ensure a space created for children to explore culture, connection and identity as they learn and grow. College life at the University of Georgia nurtured her spirit of curiosity and empowerment which she has passed on to her children, friends and family. As a Black woman in America, she strives to cultivate an authentic and fulfilling life and has loved finding another avenue to do so as a founding member in support of Joy Village.
Dr. Alesha Battee
Dr. Alesha Battee, a proud native of the Mississippi Delta, made Athens her home in 2018. She completed her Doctorate in Nursing Practice with a concentration as a Family Nurse Practitioner at the Athens campus of Augusta University College of Nursing. Her aims for the Athens community are to create spaces for belonging and foster opportunities for village building. Filling a gap in the online parenting space, she developed an online community for global majority mothers in Athens, Moms of Color Athens. She also leads an online community dedicated to supporting black homeschooling families in the Athens area, Black Homeschoolers Near Athens. A mother of two boys and a wife, she strives to develop a vibrant and inclusive community within the Athens homeschool network that is dedicated to nurturing, and empowering children of color. As a homeschool instructor, she is dedicated to uncovering and advancing pathways that empower the Black community by rekindling a deep connection to the strength and resilience of Black history. Her passions include gardening, sewing, reading, crocheting, wood working and nurturing the special gifts in each individual.
Community Partners
Athens High and Industrial School/Burney Harris High School Alumni Association
