Montgomery, Ala. — The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is pleased to announce the appointments of Erika Mitchell as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer and Jennifer Riley Collins as Executive Vice President and Chief of Programs and Innovation. Both will report to Margaret Huang, the President and CEO of the SPLC.
Erika Mitchell has served as the organization’s Chief Financial Officer for the past two years. In her new role, she will oversee finance, human resources, information technology and organizational development.
Mitchell brings more than 20 years of experience working in finance, operations and strategy. Before joining the SPLC, she served as chief financial officer at multiple national nonprofit organizations including Communities In Schools and MedShare, where she managed finance and various operational functions. She also held leadership roles at Deloitte in the mergers and acquisitions and talent development practices.
“Her unique blend of financial and operational expertise is critical to our mission,” said Margaret Huang, president and CEO, the Southern Poverty Law Center. “She has demonstrated the vision and experience necessary to lead us through these challenging and uncertain economic times.”
As a champion of vulnerable communities, Mitchell also serves on the boards of Our House, which assists families experiencing homelessness and Cobb Collaborative, which aims to improve outcomes for children and families through capacity building.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Syracuse University and holds a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in finance and strategy from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School. Mitchell is a licensed certified public accountant in New York and Georgia.
Jennifer Riley Collins joins the SPLC after serving as a presidential appointee with the Biden-Harris administration as the regional administrator for the Southeast at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HHS). In her new role, she will oversee the legal, public policy, strategic programs and communications teams.
Riley Collins has worked at the Delta Regional Authority and served as the county administrator for the Hinds County Board of Supervisors. She was the executive director and senior attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi. With over 30 years of service in the U.S. military, she retired as a colonel in the U.S. Army.
Riley Collins volunteers on several committees as a member of the Mississippi Bar Association. She also established and oversees the legal ministry at her church, offering pro bono legal information to congregants of Jackson Revival Center as well as serving on the hospitality ministry. In addition, she has served on the board of Mississippi Center for Legal Services and the Political Action Committee of Women for Progress of Mississippi and is an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.
Originally from Meridian, Mississippi, Riley Collins earned her bachelor’s degree from Alcorn State University. She also holds a master’s degree in criminal justice administration from the University of Central Texas and a Doctorate of Jurisprudence from Mississippi College School of Law. She is a licensed attorney in Mississippi.
“We are excited to welcome Jennifer to the SPLC, as her extensive programmatic experience will be invaluable to our organization,” Huang said. “Her leadership will be key to strengthening and expanding our programmatic work, as well as enhancing the SPLC’s impact both nationally and within the communities we serve.”