Jametta Lilly is an innovative, social-preneur and change agent that has served as a CEO, administrator and consultant with government, private non-profit agencies, foundations and the private sector. Jametta is a consummate advocate for Equitable policies, programs and practices that address structural racism and positively impact vulnerable children, families and communities in the United States and Internationally. Her expertise in collaborative program design, training, evaluation and systems work has resulted in over two dozen start-ups and initiatives in early childhood, maternal-child health, behavioral health, PreK-12 to higher education, workforce development and community/business/entrepreneurship Jametta has successfully written and implemented over $20 million in cutting-edge grants such as The Wayne Children’s Healthcare Access Program, Charter County of Wayne Head Start and Early Head Start, and the County Wide Infant Vitality Action Network, IVAN, to name a few.
As a previous business owner on Detroit’s historic Avenue of Fashion she was recruited for local and international engagements and served in community and mayoral revitalization initiatives. At DPN since May 2018, Jametta is pivoting the 20-year-old organization into; an intentional cradle to career multi-generational institution that is data informed and driven by DPN’s mission and best practices in the field. This expanded service array includes building on its parent-to-parent training and support model to help more youth and adults into education, careers and economic mobility in collaboration with Detroit Regional Chamber and others; a greater focus on parent-child early learning in the home, online and in the community; and reducing educational and health disparities in partnership with equity leaders in education, health and mental providers and systems, universities and foundations. Her work advancing Equity, systems change and policy has led to innovations such as ‘learn and earn’ fellowships and bringing parent voices from multiple cities to the Mackinac Policy Conference through virtual townhalls to engage each other and state leaders.
Janetta’s leadership is evident in multiple strategic settings including Detroit Regional Infant Mortality Reduction Task Force, the MI 0-3 Collaborative, the MI Partnership for Equity and Opportunity and as a board member of Wayne Metro and appointee to Governor Whitmer’s Coronavirus Racial Disparities Task Force and State of Michigan Child Abuse and Neglect Task Force. There she continues her racial equity advocacy and being intentional to root out systemic racism and the bureaucratic silos between health, mental health, education and social services that under-resource and undervalue community solutions. She is a staunch champion for; parent engagement in early literacy as part of 313 Reads, informing parents about their rights and opportunities in the 3rd Grade Reading Law; serving as a thought leader and champion in the city-wide Hope Starts Here Initiative and the MI 0-3 Collaborative where she advocates ‘connecting the dots’ between health, education and economic systems and outcomes. This perspective propels her as an educational equity champion with the Community Education Commission – Design Team and as an advocate in the multi-state work led by the Education Trust Mid-West.
Drawing on the multi-cultural dimensions in her childhood and diverse experiences in West Africa and the Caribbean, Jametta works to assure that marginalized communities and families are empowered as co-designers in a future where All Children Thrive.