Board Member

In 2014, hours after spending time with her pregnant daughter, Briana, and future son-in-law, Sadria received a late-night phone call letting her know that both had been kidnapped, found handcuffed and shot. Her son in law was deceased and her daughter had been rushed to the hospital for an emergency c-section. Briana passed away days later and gifted 4 people another chance at life through organ donation. Sadria lost a daughter and gained two granddaughters. That was the moment that her pain was transformed into purpose. She started volunteering with Donate Life Georgia’s organ procurement organization; Lifelink of Georgia in 2016 helping raise awareness of organ donation at health fair events and speaking events sharing Briana’s gift of life story. After several years of volunteering, she was awarded the volunteer of the year award, hospital development award, and inspirational volunteer award in 2020. She also started an affirmation podcast on Spotify and Apple called Heart of Gold inspiration, to spread compassion, hope, love, encouragement and positivity as well as sharing her journey in being a grandparent raising her two granddaughters, balancing home life, and work. Sadria decided to do more in honoring her daughter to encourage her community and beyond to become registered organ donors, helping other families heal, and continuing the legacy of her daughter by spearheading Briana’s Heart of Gold, Inc.

Andrew Hobbs has been a hard worker all his life. In 2013, Andrew's life drastically changed-he found out he had a liver condition which prevented him from enjoying life. The next year, Andrew found out he had liver cancer and needed a liver transplant to survive. Over the next few months, Andrew suffered sickness, depression, and uncertainty whether life would continue, or would his life be taken from this disease called cancer? On September 4, 2014, Andrew's legacy and Briana's legacy came full circle. As a direct recipient of Briana's liver, Andrew would be eternally connected to her family and legacy. Since 2014, Andrew has committed himself to spread awareness about eye, tissue, and organ donation. Andrew is an active volunteer of Lifelink of Georgia and is director of his own organization-Black Donors Matter! Andrew will always and forever be grateful for the heart of gold Briana possessed.from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a BA degree from Lawrence University in Wisconsin.  Her nonprofit experience includes bylaws development; strategic planning; surveys and data analysis; and project management.

Chinara Aklilu is making waves to connect underserved communities to better life and health resources. In 2010 Chinara received her Bachelor's in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing Communication at Kennesaw State University. After which, she had a successful career as a Sales Support Specialist. After working in merchant services for nine years, she became interested in making community impact by affording underserved communities access to life-changing aids. At LifeLink of Georgia, she began her impact journey as an Education Specialist for eye, organ, and tissue donation and transplantation. During her outreach in the Atlanta Metropolitan Area, she often presented to local churches, non-profit organizations, and universities to share the rising number of chronic illnesses and their impact on kidney and heart health in African American community members. As a result, she became an Association for Multicultural Affairs in Transplantation (AMAT) and Donate Life of America (DLA) member. Both organizations provided resources to better educate multicultural communities in making more informed health and life decisions related to donation and transplantation. Today, Chinara serves as secretary for Briana's Heart of Gold. She also supports multicultural communities through diversity, equity, and inclusion by creating safe green spaces for enjoyment and partnering with like-minded organizations. 

Anita Johnson is the Treasurer of the Board and Principal at Johnson Consulting Group. She has over 25 years of professional experience working with other non profit organizations. Anita joined the board to aid the organization in educating her community about donor registration.

Ms. Sandra Phoenix is the Executive Director of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Library Alliance and has more than 30 years’ experience at nonprofit organizations and extensive project management experience. The HBCU Library Alliance is the membership organization for White-House designated HBCUs with a mission to develop library leaders, preserve collections and plan for the future. Responsible for the overall operations of the HBCU Library Alliance, her duties include providing leadership in developing strategic and financial planning, managing an organizational budget with the Board of Directors, managing, publicizing and promoting grant-related activities of the organization, and promoting active participation on grant projects by member institutions.

Prior to assuming this role, Ms. Phoenix served as Executive Services Librarian at LYRASIS where she served as Project Manager for a two-year Gates Foundation Opportunity Online Grant project resulting in $1.7M grant funding.

She believes in the power of knowledge, the power of the endless contributions of people of color, and the power of the library in strengthening community. Ms. Phoenix is committed to the goals and vision of the HBCU Library Alliance and its future directions in supporting HBCU libraries.

In her free time, she enjoys vegetable gardening, spending time with her rescue dog Sissy, and the compelling message of the djembe drum.

Felicia Harris has always served people in different capacities throughout her career. Currently, she works in healthcare and has a great passion to help others. Organ donation has always been very important to her, but when Alan unthinkable situation happened to her family in 2014, it caused her to really appreciate the gift of organ donation. Felicia became a caretaker to Briana’s liver recipient and since then, Felicia vowed to give back to the organ donation community anyway she could. Felicia was overjoyed to be invited to become a board member for Briana’s Heart of Gold. Felicia is eternally grateful to Briana, Sadria, and family for the selfless act of organ donation and giving her family a 2nd chance of life. She looks forward to supporting this wonderful organization while spreading awareness of the importance of organ donation and keeping Briana’s legacy alive.

 Marilyn Holmes is a Licensed Financial Professional with a passion for educating others, helping them to recognize and grow their legacies. As a Living Donor, Marilyn is fully aware that legacy includes organ donation. Marilyn believes that the more we all know about the process and the truth in organ donation, the more lives will be saved, and the more families will have opportunities to grow and thrive. As someone who knew Briana personally, Marilyn is thrilled to be a part of our organization and to assist in furthering Briana's legacy of organ donation. 

 In November of 2008, Shante Byrd was diagnosed with Lupus SLE, Lupus Nephritis, and end  stage renal disease (kidney failure). Shante’s lupus was in a serve flare and her kidneys were attacked.  Shante had to start dialysis immediately and was on dialysis for 7 ½ years. During this time, her faith remained strong, and she lived in expectation every day. After being listed for a kidney transplant at Emory Transplant Center, on March 21, 2016, Shante underwent a successful kidney transplant. Shante is 45 years old. A resident of Rex, GA for 18 years. She is the mother of two – a daughter  (Dominique) and son (Leon). She continues to give back to the lupus, kidney, and transplant community  and is an active volunteer/advocate with multiple kidney-oriented organizations. She volunteers as the  volunteer coordinator for New Beginning Kidney Foundation, Lupus Foundation of Georgia, and Life Link  of Georgia/Donate Life to encourage and support organ donation as she continuously shares her  miraculous story in her community. Shante is a trained mentor with the Georgia Transplant Foundation.  She is an active member of Team Georgia and attended the Transplant Games of America in Utah,  where she won gold medal for cornhole in her age division. Shante was selected to be highlighted in  2021 at the Tubman Museum in Macon, GA for African Americans in the Transplant Community. In  2022, Shante was honored to be featured on the American Kidney Fund in Action quarterly newsletter.  Last year, Shante was selected to be honored as a survivor of the journey for kidney disease with the New Beginning Kidney Foundation, highlighted in a display in the main lobby at Emory University  Hospital for Donate Life Month 2023, obtained her fundraising goal and walked in the Walk to End Lupus Now 2023 and went to Washington, DC. to advocate for kidney disease with the American Kidney Fund.  This year, Shante has been selected to be featured in the Georgia Transplant Foundation first  quarterly digital newsletter with her mentor, Tamara Y. Walker. Shante also plans to attend the  Transplant Games of America in Birmingham, Alabama in July. She also looks forward to doing other  projects in the community to bring awareness and education to lupus and kidney disease.  “I am a Lupus Warrior, Kidney Failure/Dialysis Survivor, and Transplant Strong.” - Shante Byrd