Colette Haywood

is a current Fellow for Georgia and previously was the Rise Vaccine Education and Mobilization Manager in Atlanta. Colette is an author, veteran businesswoman, and community leader with over 20 years of combined professional and volunteer experience serving charitable and educational institutions through nonprofit administration, and grant writing. Communications, program management, and more. Colette is the Senior Editor of Historic Westside News, an initiative that arose from the community’s desire to ensure the connectivity of Atlanta’s Westside communities. Through this platform, Colette works to create a space for uncensored community voices. Like 40% of the current undergraduate population at American colleges and universities, Colette became a non-traditional student while completing her degree at age 50. A professional student, Colette received her Bachelor of Science in Organizational Management and Leadership at Morris Brown College, followed by a Master of Arts in Education from the Interdenominational Theological Center. Colette is passionate about youth and her community and looks forward to completing a PhD in Public Policy so that she can better address the cultural and social barriers imposed by unequal K–12 schooling, which puts a select few students on the college pathway at the expense of millions of others.