Board & Staff
The Foundation is governed by a board composed of family members who meet regularly with a dedicated Foundation staff based in the Zeist Family Office and the Mayson Avenue Cooperative office in the Edgewood neighborhood.
Board of Directors
Marie B. Foster, Co-President
Nancy B. Robitaille, Co-President
Brad Foster, Director
Nicholas Foster, Director
Harrison Hackett, Director
Staff
Executive Director
Atiba is a family man with two adult children and eight grandchildren in Georgia schools ranging from early learning to higher education.
He attended Brown University and graduated in 1982 with a B.A. degree in Economics and Urban Studies, including a semester at the University of Lagos, Nigeria. When he was a high school teacher in Providence, RI, Atiba served as a National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Fellow and in Atlanta he was in the inaugural class of the Education Policy Fellowship Program managed by the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education.
Atiba currently serves on the Board of Directors of Park Pride and the East Coast Greenway Alliance. His three decades of volunteering with the BRAG Dream Team, a statewide youth cycling program in Georgia, led to his recognition as an Atlanta Journal Constitution “2024 Everyday Hero.”
Associate Director
Danielle joined The Zeist Foundation as Associate Director in 2020. She entered the world of institutional philanthropy in 2008 with the R. Howard Dobbs, Jr. Foundation where she held both operational and programmatic responsibilities including managing $3.7 million in active grants. She is an alumna of the Southeastern Council of Foundation’s Hull Fellowship and the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education’s Education Policy Fellowship.
Danielle’s previous experience spans both the non-profit and for-profit sectors with roles in development, association publishing, and business administration. She holds an ABJ in Newspaper Journalism from UGA’s Grady College of Journalism & Mass Communication and an MPA concentrated on Nonprofit Management from the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University. Danielle lives in Decatur with her husband, Jason, and son, Charlie.
Place Based Philanthropy Program Director
Garry lives in Edgewood and has served in leadership positions with Organized Neighbors of Edgewood and Neighborhood Planning Unit O.
Garry has served on the advisory board for several organizations including, The Neighborhood Fund at The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, Horizons Atlanta Edgewood Site, and Agape Youth & Family Center. Currently, he serves on the Board of Directors for Whitefoord, Inc. and Moving in The Spirit. He attended The University of Alabama and graduated with a B.A. degree in Business Administration. Prior to joining Zeist, Garry was a banking officer with SunTrust Bank.
Senior Director of Grantmaking and Operations
Leah-Lane started her career as an intern with the Center for Women in Charleston, SC, where she fell in love with nonprofit work. Before joining The Zeist Foundation, she dedicated herself to fundraising for Fernbank Museum of Natural History, The CDC Foundation, Public Broadcasting Atlanta/WABE (90.1), and The High Museum of Art.
For many years, Leah-Lane served the Cabbagetown neighborhood as the Chomp & Stomp Festival Games Coordinator, Sponsorship Chair, and the Vice President of the Cabbagetown Initiative, LLC. She currently volunteers as a grant reviewer for the Fulton County Arts Council, the Georgia Council for the Arts, and with the Toomer Elementary PTA.
She is an alumna of the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Arts Leaders of Metro Atlanta (ALMA) program. She holds a Bachelor degree in Studio Art (Painting) with a minor in Women Studies from the College of Charleston and a Master of Public Policy (MPP) from the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University. Leah-Lane lives in Edgewood with her husband, daughter, mother, and dog.
Chief Financial Officer, Assistant Treasurer
Eileen attended Kennesaw State University and simultaneously earned a BBA in Accounting and a BS in Psychology. After several years in public accounting as a CPA, she joined Zeist in August 2000.
Eileen is currently an active member of the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants, Financial Planning Association of Georgia, and the Atlanta Estate Planning Council. She currently serves as the Board Treasurer of the Financial Planning Association of Georgia and is also active in the nonprofit world, serving on the advisory boards of Agape Youth and Family Center and Whitefoord, Inc.