Tahirih Atlanta is pleased to welcome five new local advisory council members Takesha Bartley, Dr. Ayana Cummings, Mojdeh Farsi, Jamilah Stephens, and Anye Wanki. They join W. Imara Canady and Dr. Harry Heiman who will continue serving on the advisory council. Our local advisory councils act as advisors to local offices, ambassadors to the community, and work to expand our supporters and resources.
We are grateful for our Atlanta Advisory Council’s expertise, knowledge, and commitment to supporting our mission serving immigrant women, girls, and all survivors of gender-based violence in Atlanta.
Takesha Bartley
Human Resources Strategy Consultant, Bartley Consulting Services LLC
Takesha Bartley is the President & CEO of Bartley Consulting Services, an independent Human Resources Consulting firm in Atlanta, GA, where she specializes in talent management strategy, workforce planning and business optimization. Prior to this, Takesha spent nearly two decades working in Human Resources for various banking and technology institutions in the New York City area.
Since January 2017, Takesha served on the Board of WomenRising, a non-profit company based in Jersey City, NJ that focuses on providing advocacy services for women fleeing domestic violence. Takesha has served as the Nominating Committee Chair of WomenRising since January 2020.
In February 2022, Takesha joined Tahirih Justice Center in Atlanta, GA as an Advisory Council member, and became a volunteer for Cornerstone Hospice assisting patients in need.
Takesha is originally from Norwalk, CT and has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst where she graduated Magna Cum Laude, and a Masters of Science degree from New York University in Human Resources Management and Development. Takesha also holds a Senior Certified Professional certification from the Society of Human Resources Management.
During her spare time Takesha enjoys reading, playing the piano, traveling and attending live musical events.
W. Imara Canady
National Director, Community Engagement & Communications, AHF
Currently serving as National Director for Communications & Community Engagement for AIDS Healthcare Foundation, and Chair, Black Leadership AIDS Crisis Coalition (BLACC), W. Imara Canady, referred to as the “all around go-to guy” by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, is a highly respected executive leader, nationally known for building partnerships and collaborations that have a sustainable community impact.
Prior to his current role, Imara served as the Area Development Director for the Atlanta Regional Office of the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), where his portfolio included overseeing the community engagement and fundraising operations in South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee, annually raising over $2.5 million dollars, in support of the office’s multi-million dollar goal to achieve the organization’s mission of assisting students to get to and through college. Prior to UNCF, he was Vice-President of Programming and Strategic Partnerships for the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, where, as part of the institution’s executive leadership team, he created and developed the Center’s national programmatic infrastructure and foundation. Known as a “connector and bridge-builder” he worked with the national Board of Directors, CEO and Executive Vice-President, cultivating global relationships and building collaborations that connected the center’s vision and mission with a broad array of local, national and international cultural, academic and community organizations and institutions, that led to the successful execution of the institutions historic groundbreaking in June 2012 and the framework for the Center’s current impactful programs and initiatives.
He received an Associate’s Degree in Journalism from Atlanta Metropolitan College and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Mass Communications with an emphasis on Public Relations and Broadcast Journalism from Georgia State University. Currently residing in the Grant Park community in the City of Atlanta, he is an active member of the Baha’i’ Faith, and lives his life in accordance to a quote from the Holy Writings which states “that service to humanity is like service to the Kingdom of God”.
Ayanna Cummings
Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Justice with Compass Group National Accounts
Dr. Ayanna Cummings is passionate about eradicating the malignant diseases of racism, sexism, heterosexism, ageism, ableism, and other ills which plague our social and organizational environs. Ayanna is a a change agent for cultural transformation. Her research findings on leadership in diverse contexts give her unique expertise in diversity, equity, & inclusion training and consulting strategies and cultural change methods. In 2022, she received the Top DEI Officer Award from the Atlanta Business Chronicle. Her favorite motto is, The Secret to Growing Wings is Believing You Can Fly!
Harry Heiman
DrPH Program Director, Clinical Professor -Department of Health Policy and Behavioral Sciences, Georgia State University
Harry J Heiman is Clinical Professor in the Department of Health Policy and Behavioral Sciences at the School of Public Health at Georgia State University (GSU) where he also directs the Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) applied public health doctorate program. Prior to joining GSU, he served as Director of the Division of Health Policy at the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at Morehouse School of Medicine, where he was also Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians, with over twenty years of clinical practice experience. Leveraging his experience as a primary care physician and expertise and experience in health policy, Dr. Heiman’s work focuses at the intersection of health policy and health equity.
Dr. Heiman received his medical degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and his master’s in public health from the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University. From September 2012 to August 2013, he was a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation health policy fellow in Washington, D.C. and served on committee staff for the House Energy and Commerce Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives under Ranking Member Henry Waxman.
Dr. Heiman’s areas of interest and expertise include health policy, health equity, health-in-all-policies, and health system transformation. He previously served on the Southeastern Health Equity Council, one of ten regional health equity councils in the U.S. formed as part of the National Partnership for Action to End Health Disparities.
Mojdeh Farsi
Patent Agent, Patent Technical Writer, and Program Coordinator at TALA, Legal instructor
Mojdeh Farsi is a registered Patent Agent licensed to represent clients in patent cases before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. She is an experienced Patent Program Coordinator and Patent Technical Writer with the Texas Accountants and Lawyers for the Arts (TALA). Mojdeh received her Bachelor of Arts in Law from the Bahá’í Institute for Higher Education (BIHE) and pursued her Master of Laws at the University of Delhi. Further, she has received both her Master’s (LL.M) and Doctoral (J.S.D.) degrees at Berkeley Law with a specialized focus on software programming innovation protections, with her culminating dissertation developing an improved framework for addressing patent eligibility framework ambiguities.
For the past ten years, Mojdeh has volunteered as an instructor at BIHE, teaching undergraduate legal courses such as Commercial Law and Human Rights. Her dedication to legal education drives her philanthropic efforts, with her deep commitment to human rights rooted in her personal experiences of such violations due to her faith as a Bahá’í. She connects deeply with the mission of the Tahirih Justice Center and is eager to further its objectives, particularly involving women’s rights.
Jamilah Stephens
Director of Budget and Performance, City of Atlanta | Mayor’s Office of Innovation & Performance
Jamilah’s career in public service spans more than 15 years with a progressive record in municipal and state government, nonprofit, and higher education. Jamilah works extensively with elected officials and public sector leaders as a strategist and government service practitioner.
Jamilah is a PMP-certified and award-winning portfolio manager with experience in implementing both policy-based and data-driven projects/processes, while leading large cross-functional teams across an enterprise. To date, she has spearheaded a wide range of state and municipal government projects, from the construction of $400 million-dollar commercial developments to the deployment of $10 million-dollar technology systems. Jamilah oversees high impact and high visibility initiatives for Mayors, COOs, and Commissioners that foster efficiency, accountability, and innovation. She is a change management champion and Six Sigma Green Belt expert adept at leading transformational changes and driving organizational effectiveness.
Anye Wanki
Strategy Consultant, Jabian Consulting
Anye is originally from Bamenda, Cameroon. Prior to joining Jabian, Anye was a strategic operations manager at Workrise. In that role, Anye launched and scaled the Atlanta branch for a two-sided marketplace startup valued at $2.9B. Anye’s professional associations include Tomorrow Fellow as Management Leadership. Additionally, Anye works with Justice for Cameroon as the Research and Recent News Committee Director. In his spare time, Anye enjoys soccer, basketball, and running.
