The Institute for Strategic and Equitable Development (ISED) is guided by the vision of its Board of Directors: 

Celia E. Naylor - President

Barnard College and Columbia University

Celia E. Naylor is a professor in the Africana Studies and History departments at Barnard College, Columbia University. Before joining the Barnard College faculty in 2010, she started as an Assistant Professor and was promoted to a tenured Associate Professor of History at Dartmouth College (2002-2010). 
 
Professor Naylor's current project centers on the Rose Hall Plantation in Montego Bay, Jamaica. The monograph related to this project, entitled UnSilencing Slavery: Telling Truths about Rose Hall Plantation, Jamaica, was published in July 2022 by the University of Georgia Press (Gender and Slavery Series) and the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi. The website for this project, (Un)Silencing Slavery: Remembering the Enslaved at Rose Hall Plantation, Jamaica, was launched on August 6, 2022, in honor of the 60th Anniversary of Jamaica's Independence and as part of Jamaica's annual celebration of Emancipendence. 
 
At Barnard College, she teaches a number of courses including Introduction to African-American History; Introduction to the African Diaspora; Remembering Slavery: Critiquing Modern Representations of the Peculiar Institution; Black Feminism(s)/Womanism(s) and "Black Sexual Politics" in Contemporary U.S. Popular Culture; and "Tongues on Fire": Caribbean Women's Articulations of Fracture(s), Freedom(s), and Futurities.
 
Most of her published work explores the multifaceted connections between African-Americans, Black Indians, and Native Americans in the U.S. She was one of the coordinators of the historic conference "'Eating Out of the Same Pot': Relating Black and Native (Hi)stories," held at Dartmouth College in April 2000. Her book, entitled African Cherokees in Indian Territory: From Chattel to Citizens, was published by the University of North Carolina Press in May 2008 (John Hope Franklin Series in African American History and Culture). This work charts the experiences of enslaved and free Blacks in the Cherokee Nation from the Trail of Tears to Oklahoma’s entry into the Union in 1907. Her interests include African-American and Caribbean history; Native American history; and women's history and literature in the African Diaspora.

Due to Professor Naylor's interest in, and commitment to, racial equity and social justice, over the past few years she has been working with the Institute for Strategic and Equitable Development (ISED). She has served as President of the Board of Directors of this non-profit organization since its establishment in 2015.

Amanda Storey - Vice president

As Executive Director of Jones Valley Teaching Farm, Amanda is responsible for setting the organization’s strategy, supervising the Leadership Team, stewarding the annual budget, and acting as spokesperson to the community of donors, partners, and public. Jones Valley Teaching Farm’s education model, Good School Food, has grown from one to 15 schools in the Birmingham City School system over the last ten years covering Pre-K-12th grade. Under her leadership, Jones Valley Teaching Farm launched the Ready to Grow capital campaign to build a Center for Food Education on their downtown campus and has successfully met the $8.3 million dollar goal. Prior to joining Jones Valley Teaching Farm, Amanda’s roles have included: Assistant Director at the Community Food Bank of Central Alabama, Assistant Vice President of Community Health & Wellness at the United Way of Central Alabama, and Marketing Manager at Cooking Light Magazine. She serves on the Hispanic and Immigrant Center of Alabama’s and Institute for Strategic and Equitable Development (ISED)’s Board of Directors.

Deryck ferrier - secretary and treasurer

Deryck has been in the tax business since 1978 and is a principal at ProTech Tax and Accounting LLC, in Birmingham, Ala. He has a B.S. in electrical engineering, is an enrolled agent, and National Tax Practice Institute Fellow. Deryck has been a regular on the local radio station WATV, providing tax information, and as a Live Line guest, answering tax questions. He has also served as the tax matters expert for a low-income tax clinic in Birmingham. Deryck is currently serving as president of The Alabama Society of Enrolled Agents and is a member of the National Association of Tax Professionals, for which he has also served as a past president of the Alabama chapter.