Securing Grants, Assuring Impact: What You Need to Know About Grants in PSO

As the executive director of MENTOR Georgia, Leslie is leading the Fanning Institute’s efforts to grow capacity, ensure training and support, and promote the work of youth mentoring programs around the state of Georgia. Leslie joined Fanning in 2021 as the first full-time director of MENTOR Georgia, an affiliate of MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership. The mission and work of MENTOR allows Leslie to braid together her passions for education, youth development, public policy and community service. Previously, Leslie honed her social entrepreneurship chops as the first executive director of Books for Keeps, a research-based literacy nonprofit that gave 750,000 new and like-new books to Georgia students across her eight-year tenure. Leslie’s professional interests are informed by a childhood introduction to volunteering with her mother, an early career as a newspaper reporter covering education as well as state and local government, and a deep appreciation for the role of public education in shaping her own life.

Sara works as an administrative financial director at Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant. She has worked at UGA for 18 years and has spent the majority of those in Extension and Public Service and Outreach. In her current role, she oversees the unit’s administrative and financial duties and responsibilities. Sara’s bachelor’s degree in business administration is from Malardalen University, Eskilstuna, Sweden, and her master’s degree in higher education administration is from Georgia Southern University. She is currently working on her PhD in educational leadership from Georgia Southern and plans to graduate in summer 2025. She likes to spend time with her family and pets, travel, and tries to hike/jog/walk as much as possible.

As a public service associate at the Fanning Institute, David works in youth leadership development with a focus on supporting young people who have experienced foster care or homelessness and the families and institutions that serve them. He has developed a range of projects, including Embark Georgia, a statewide network to connect Georgia campuses in support of foster and homeless youth; the Embark Precollegiate Summer Program, a summer leadership and college readiness program for youth in foster care; and established the partnership with the Georgia Division of Family and Children’s Services to deliver the Education and Training Voucher program. Additionally, he is an experienced facilitator and is an adjunct faculty member in the School of Social Work. David came to the Fanning Institute with more than 20 years of child welfare experience in both the public and private sectors. He has also served as a grant reviewer and has extensive training experience, including training more than 500 foster and adoptive families, and has coordinated youth and family services.

Shana joined the Institute of Government in 2014 as a faculty member in the Planning and Environmental Services unit. She assists communities with managing legal and policy issues related to land use, environmental quality, and coastal flooding. Prior to joining the Institute of Government, Shana was the director of the Virginia Coastal Policy Clinic at William & Mary Law School. Her previous experience includes managing a nonprofit policy group, clerking at the federal and state levels, and working as a program manager at a Texas state agency and for the Texas Governor’s Office. Shana received her JD from the University of Maryland School of Law, concentrating in environmental law.