You cannot be afraid to speak up and speak out for what you believe.
You have to have courage, raw courage.
Our Origins
Before his passing in 2020, Congressman Lewis created the John and Lillian Miles Lewis Foundation to carry on his and his wife’s passion for purposeful living. John and Lillian consistently demonstrated their love of learning and their unwavering devotion to teaching others. They were steadfastly committed to peace, to strengthening democracy through civic engagement, to fairness and justice, to amplifying the voices of rising generations, and to building the “beloved community.” They believed in the power and importance of dialogue and collaboration, and they had unwavering confidence in the capacity of individuals to reimagine and build a better society.
People throughout the U. S. and around the world, young and old, rich and poor, of all races, ethnicities, and backgrounds, are responding to a newfound sense of urgency to make intentionally different choices to dismantle intolerance and injustice and to build a world in which everyone values the dignity and worth of every human being. The JLMLF is committed to doing its part by continuing the good, righteous and important work of John and Lillian Miles Lewis and inspiring what Congressman Lewis called “good trouble, necessary trouble!”
When the Foundation launched on the Congressman’s birthday in 2022, John-Miles Lewis said, “When my dad thought of this Foundation, it was his vision that it would support good work, inspire good troublemaking and do its part to make the world a better place.” It is the Foundation’s mission to realize Congressman Lewis’ vision.
Bridges
We Are Building
JLMLF uses the following levers for change, which, when activated together, possess transformational power and potential to build democracy:
Trusted Partnerships
JLMLF’s goals are achieved through trusted, mutually respectful partnerships with mission-aligned individuals, organizations and efforts.
Innovative Thought Leadership
JLMLF commits to prepare individuals and communities for the work of justice by facilitating important, although difficult, conversations.
Strategic Investment
JLMLF invests in, inspires and supports innovative, committed and trusted efforts to achieve its mission.
Michael E. Collins
Board Chair and Interim President
Michael Collins is the Board Chair and Interim President for the John and Lillian Miles Lewis Foundation. He served as the long-term Chief of Staff, Floor Assistant, and Senior Advisor to the Congressman John Lewis—a civil rights icon, a revered national leader, and the representative for Georgia’s Fifth Congressional District—for more than twenty years. As Chief of Staff, Michael directed the work of the Congressional staff in both Washington and Atlanta. Michael managed the long-term legislative plans of Congressman Lewis and was the main liaison for constituents and various interest groups. He supported Congressman Lewis as he championed important legislation and made laws that impacted the lives of everyday citizens.
Stephen L. McDaniel
Secretary
Stephen McDaniel has held senior-level fundraising and marketing leadership positions at universities, including Tuskegee University, Atlanta Technical College and the University of Maryland at College Park, as well as at UNCF, where he led the Atlanta office and served as Regional Telethon Coordinator. Previously, he served as a philanthropy consultant in Niamey, Niger and on the team that evaluated fundraising readiness at the Kigali Institute of Science, Technology, and Management in Kigali, Rwanda.
J. Veronica Biggins
J. Veronica Biggins leads Diversified Search Group’s Board Practice and manages the Atlanta office. Prior to her career in the executive search industry, she served as Assistant to the President and Director of Presidential Personnel under William Jefferson Clinton. She was also Vice Chairman of the U.S. Delegation to the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing and Chair of the Czech Slovak American Enterprise Fund, the latter earning her a Points of Light Award from President George W. Bush.
Tharon Johnson
Tharon Johnson is the founder and CEO of Paramount Consulting Group, a full service, bipartisan government affairs and communications firm based in Atlanta. A nationally recognized political strategist and trusted community leader, Tharon appears each week on Fox 5 Atlanta’s public affairs program, “The Georgia Gang” and on 90.1 WABE-FM’s “Political Breakfast” podcast.
Rodney Slater
Rodney Slater is a partner at the law firm of Squire Patton Boggs, where he is head of the transportation practice and chairs the firm’s foundation, which promotes the role of public service and pro bono work in the practice of law and the development of public policy. He is one of the leaders of the firm’s best-in-class practice in Corporate Compliance Advice, ensuring best-business practices for various companies.
President Emerita
Linda Earley Chastang
Inaugural President and CEO, and Project Director, The Good Trouble Archives
Linda Earley Chastang was the Inaugural President and CEO of the John and Lillian Miles Lewis Foundation, serving from its founding until May 2023 and overseeing its initial organizational development. She twice served as Congressman John Lewis’s Chief of Staff and also served as Counsel and as his Associate Staff on the Ways and Means Committee, where among the initiatives in her portfolio were what is now known as Sam Nunn Federal Building in Atlanta and the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington.
Linda was a member of the founding faculty of the School of Law at Georgia State University; special Advisor to the Chairman of President Obama’s Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Chief of the Legislative Branch at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Executive Director of the D.C. Judicial Nominations Commission, Staff Director for the Joint Federal Relations Committee for the New Jersey State Legislature and Assistant Attorney General in the Florida Attorney General’s Antitrust Division.