We’re passionate about one thing: Empowering Women
Our mission is to break the cycle of generational poverty for women through education and job training.
Meet The Team!
Our Board of Directors is comprised of community leaders with expertise in a wide range of areas, including counseling, advocacy, education, finance, grants, realty, health & wellness, and business management. The Board meets monthly. It is responsible for taking care of the strategic and financial health of the organization on an ongoing basis. Board terms are three years with a two (2) year minimum for continuity. Officers are elected annually as required. The UGA MBA students serve as, non-voting members through the four semesters of the MBA program (a 20-month term).
Virgina “Ginny” Hamilton
President
Grants Professional
UGA Auxiliary Services, Athens, GA
Virginia “Ginny” Hamilton is the President of our Foundation, and also works at the University of Georgia with Auxiliary Services as a Grants Professional.
Ed Keegan
Founder & Treasurer
Associate Director, Raytheon Technologies
Retired US Air Force
Ed Keegan is a Founder, Treasurer, and Board Member. Ed is, and always will be, Ashton’s Dad.
Kim Keegan
Founder & Community Outreach
Chairwoman of the Board
Kim Keegan is the Founder, CEO and past-President of the Ashton Hope Keegan Foundation, as well as the Chairwoman of the Board.
Michaela Buttler
Fundraising Chair
Consultant
Korn Ferry, Atlanta, GA
After meeting Kim through the Leadership Oconee program, she was touched by Ashton’s story and the Keegan’s investment in the next generation of women striving to better themselves through education.
Linda Maples
Secretary
Realtor
Coldwell Banker Upchurch Realty, Athens, GA
Linda Maples is a licensed REALTOR® with Coldwell Banker Upchurch Realty. She is known for her endless energy to get things done to find creative solutions to help her clients with their home buying and selling goals.
CarolAnn
Marketing Chair
Personal Trainer
Club Pilates & Athens Health and Fitness
She is a health/fitness professional known as the trainer’s trainer. CarolAnn, has become one of the country’s leading fitness educators, authors, and national presenters.
Kim Cook
Member at Large (Dec. 2023)
LifeVantage Consultant & Retired Teacher
Kim Cook is a retired teacher who was born and raised in Texas and earned her BS in Deaf Education at Texas Tech University in Lubbock. She moved to Oconee County in 2022 and now loves calling Georgia “Home”.
Steven M. Hines, MD
Member at Large (Jan. 2024)
Owner, Five Points Psychiatry
Dr. Steven Hines is a board certified adult psychiatrist who has been in practice in Athens, GA, since 2006.
Sherry J. Anderson, SHRM-CP (she/her)
Volunteer Coordinator (April 2024)
Executive Office Coordinator
PAN Foundation
Sherry Anderson is a professional with a passion for working in mission-driven organizations.
UGA MBA Fellow Board Members
The UGA MBA students serve as, non-voting members through the four semesters of the MBA program (a 20-month term).
Zainab Musa Lawan
Member at Large (2022)
Zainab Lawan is a first-year MBA student at the University of Georgia Terry College of Business. She is very passionate about education as a tool to empower women and the girl child.
Aniyah Coaxum
Member at Large (Nov. 2023)
Aniyah Coaxum is a first-year MSW student at the University of Georgia College of Social Work. This Bulldog hails from Jacksonville, Fl.
Elizabeth Okoro
Member at Large (Nov. 2023)
Elizabeth Okoro is a first–year MBA student at the University of Georgia Terry College of Business who is passionate about supporting women’s education.
Emeritus Board Members
Martha “Tish” Rumsey
Retired Georgia Division of Family & Children Services
Terri Davis
Realtor & Associate Broker Keller Williams Realty – Greater Athens
Do you have a passion to help support our mission?
Ashton was all about volunteerism, and that is the biggest need for the foundation. We will be hosting events to raise funds to support Ashton’s causes. Becoming a member of a nonprofit board as a board member or committee member can be a rewarding, high impact way that for-profit executives can do community service while learning new skills that can enhance their own careers.
Come to a Board Meeting!
We hold our board meetings once a month at Coldwell Banker Upchurch Realty, 2405 W. Broad St. #150, Athens, GA 30606, the first Monday of every month @ 5:30PM. Come out sometime to see what we are all about.
