We are Orchestrators of Opportunity

Kristy Klein Davis is nationally recognized as a thought leader on health equity and the role of philanthropy in catalyzing positive change in communities. Currently President of Georgia Health Initiative, Klein Davis is a creative leader with deep expertise designing and implementing complex philanthropic strategies in public health and social sectors. In her role as President, she works collaboratively with the Board of Directors to achieve the Initiative’s vision of a Georgia in which all people have the opportunity to attain their fullest potential for health. She brings a creative approach to leadership and a strong passion for advancing health equity for all Georgians.

Prior to joining the Initiative, Klein Davis held various program and leadership positions at Missouri Foundation for Health, most recently Chief Strategy Officer. In this role, she drove the evolution of the foundation from a traditional grantmaker to a systems change institution, and built and leveraged internal expertise in grantmaking, policy, research, and communications to achieve long-term, equity-focused change.

In addition to her time at Missouri Foundation for Health, Klein Davis has also held positions in public health and health research organizations. Throughout her career she has worked to improve health equity through adaptive strategies that emphasize community-informed approaches that value and elevate lived experience. Klein Davis is a frequent writer and speaker on systems change, health equity, and modern philanthropy.

Klein Davis earned her Masters degree from The Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis.

Samantha Beasley joined Georgia Health Initiative in July 2019 and serves as the Program Administration Manager. A key bridge between operations and programmatic functions, Samantha oversees all grantmaking and contracting processes, ensuring that grantmaking policies and structures are aligned with Initiative values and supportive of the work of partners in the community .  She is responsible for organization-wide calendars, timelines, and workflows, ensuring appropriate balance between efficiency and effectiveness.

Samantha worked previously in Education Management and has always been an active community volunteer. Samantha graduated from Albany State University where she holds a bachelor’s degree in English and Professional Writing.

Troy is the Chief Financial and Operations Officer for Georgia Health Initiative. He is responsible for the sound execution of all financial and operational aspects of the Initiative’s work. He ensures that the finance, information infrastructure, data management, office administration, and human resources functions are operating in full support of the Initiative’s mission and vision.

Troy is a 21-year veteran of the nonprofit sector. Prior to joining Georgia Health Initiative, he served 12 years as CFO/COO of the Southern Education Foundation, a social justice organization. While at SEF, he oversaw an increase in grantors and overall program funding. The organization also grew in both staffing and program activity. Troy has worked with many organizations that focus on youth, health services and community development. He enjoys volunteering for several local charities, movies with his family, playing competitive tennis, and a relaxing round of golf in his downtime.

Troy has earned a BS in Finance from Hampton University and an MBA from Mercer University.

Joann earned a Juris Doctor from Emory University School of Law, and a Bachelor of Science in Advertising from the University of Illinois.

Yolanda Kyle joined Georgia Health Initiative in April 2023 and serves as the Operations Manager. In her role she is responsible for human resources and facilities management, as well as employee and Board engagement.

Prior to joining the Initiative, Yolanda served for over 20 years in administration and management, much of it in the non-profit sector. Throughout her career, she has driven organizational change, improved team productivity, and enjoyed leading teams and individuals.

Yolanda received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Shorter University.

Ky earned a Master of Education and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, both from Wayne State University in Detroit, MI.

Known for her authentic communication style, relationship building skills and commitment to quality service delivery, Ann Marquez has 20+ years of nonprofit management & administrative experience. Supporting C-Suite & senior executives over the course of her career, Ann is relied upon as the ‘go-to’ resource and in-house resident expert for handling end-to-end administrative process for a variety of projects & tasks, event planning, logistics management and relationship building.

Ann has held leadership roles at ASPIRA of New York, ALPFA National Staff  Team, and National Hispana Leadership Institute.

Committed to serving others and living by the belief that ‘To whom much is given, much is expected’, Ann proudly supports a number of charitable organizations. Ann is also a proud Sister & former National Executive Board member (1997-1999) of Hermandad de Sigma Iota Alpha, Inc., a nationally-recognized Latina sorority.

A lifelong Bergen County, NJ resident, Ann is also the proud mom of a great teenage special needs son who is currently learning how to navigate the transition from child to adulthood and helping his mom champion neurodiversity. Ann has a Bachelor’s of Arts from Montclair State University and a Certificate in Leadership Development from the Center for Creative Leadership in San Diego, CA.

With a background in legislative relations, policy research and analysis, and advocacy training, Sarah Phillips develops and champions results-driven policy solutions in her role as Director of Policy Strategies at Georgia Health Initiative. In this role, she monitors the policy environment to design and implement policy strategies to advance health equity for Georgians.

Sarah has spent much of her career focused on the intersection between health access and financial protection. At The Carter Center Mental Health Program, her primary impact areas included the monitoring and implementation of behavioral health parity, payment for youth mental health services, and the decriminalization of mental illness and substance use disorders. As the Senior Manager of Policy & Advocacy at Georgia Watch, the state’s leading consumer advocacy organization, Sarah identified the needs and disparate impacts affecting historically marginalized populations and guided the development and implementation of equitable policies to combat these disparities. In addition, she worked at the Georgia State Capitol, fostering relationships with legislators, conducting policy research for new legislation and analyzing each bill’s impact, and tracking legislative priorities.
 
Sarah graduated with honors from Georgia State University with degrees in Political Science and Public Policy, and a Master of Public Administration with a concentration in Policy Analysis and Program Evaluation.

Angie Winschel currently guides communications at Georgia Health Initiative. She is an experienced  entrepreneur, marketing executive and strategic communicator guiding leaders and teams through growth amidst complexity. She specializes in creating strategic roadmaps for brands that gain traction and yield measurable results. 

Angie co-founded Almanac, a St. Louis-based branding agency and served as Chief Operating Officer, Strategist and Partner for 11 years. At Almanac, she led the operational/administrative and strategy functions, interacting with both creative and strategic sides of communication, delivering brands, strategy, marketing, and growth plans for higher education, healthcare, and large social service organizations. 

Angie’s leadership spans the marketing spectrum, from strategy to creative to execution to analysis. Prior to her time at Almanac, Angie served as Vice President of Marketing and Membership for the YMCA of Greater St. Louis and the Director of Public Relations for Ursuline Academy-St. Louis. She has also held positions at YMCA of the USA, and in the education and financial services industry over her 30-year career. 

Cindy Zeldin serves as Vice President of Health Policy and Government Affairs for Georgia Health Initiative and is a member of the executive leadership team. As the inaugural staff member in the Health Policy role she designs and implements a portfolio of initiatives and activities that inspire and promote collective action to advance health equity for all Georgians.

With more than twenty years of experience in the health policy and advocacy field, Cindy has established herself as a connector, bridge builder, and strategic innovator who works for the good of all Georgians.

As the first executive director of Georgians for a Healthy Future (GHF), a statewide consumer health advocacy organization, she worked closely with partners and key stakeholders to establish and build the new organization’s capacity for policy development, community outreach and education, coalition building and mobilization, strategic communications, and advocacy. Most recently, she served as a Senior Consultant for Health Management Associates (HMA), a leading national research and consulting firm that specializes in publicly financed health care.

In her early career, Cindy held various positions in research, policy analysis, and advocacy, all with a focus on health. She earned her MPH in Health Policy and Management from the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University, an MA from The George Washington University, and a BA in Political Science from Emory University.