Our Staff
Sandra Phoenix, Executive Director
Email: sphoenix@hbculibraries.org
Phone: 404.702.5854
Office: 678.210.5801 ext. 101
Ms. Phoenix has more than 30 years’ experience at nonprofit organizations and extensive project management experience. 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 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 twin rescue dogs Lilly and Sissy, and the compelling message of the djembe drum.
LaTasha Denard, Executive Assistant
Email: ldenard@hbculibraries.org
Phone: 678.210.5801 ext. 102
Ms. Denard has more than 20 years of secretarial experience. Her duties at the HBCU Library Alliance include providing comprehensive support in a range of strategic areas for the Alliance. She serves as the primary point of contact for the Executive Director, a liaison to the Board of Directors and communications manager for internal and external information delivery to members of the Alliance.
Prior to assuming this role, Ms. Denard served as the Senior Administrative Secretary at the Asa H. Gordon Library at Savannah State University. She has also worked with the University of Georgia’s Strong African American Families Project as a program facilitator and as a partnership assistant with the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau. Before that, she was the Executive Assistant to the President/CEO of the Center for Education, Networking, Training and Empowerment Resources, Inc. (C.E.N.T.ER., Inc.), a non-profit organization.
Her education includes a Bachelor of Business Administration (Savannah State University, Summa Cum Laude); Associate of Applied Science in Teacher Education (formerly Waycross College, now South Georgia State College), and she is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma (a premier business honor society).
Shaneé Yvette Willis, Program Manager
Email: swillis@hbculibraries.org
Phone: 678.210.5801 ext. 103
Mrs. Willis has over a decade of experience in the library and archival field. As Program Manager, she is responsible for developing program objectives and evaluation systems that align with the HBCU Library Alliance's mission and vision. She facilitates collaboration among member institutions, organizing professional development opportunities, and advocating for increased accessibility to information resources that support student success and research.
Prior to assuming this role, Mrs. Willis served as the Director of Community Engagement for the Digital Public Library of America supporting a national network of over 5,000 contributing cultural heritage organizations to advance the preservation, dissemination, and use of shared digital heritage. She also served as the University Archivist and Assistant Professor at the University of West Georgia, where she led the collection of campus records and a community archives project with local churches. Her exceptional contributions were recognized when she was named Faculty Member of the Year in 2018.
Mrs. Willis has been an active leader within the archival community and continues to contribute significantly to the professional growth of libraries and archives professionals.
Marion T. Key, Development Officer
Email: mkey@hbculibraries.org
Phone: 678.210.5801 ext. 104
Ms. Key has 16 years of fundraising experience. She is the inaugural Development Officer and is responsible for creating and implementing a development plan that details how the HBCU Library Alliance solicits donors and identifies funding sources. Ms. Key is also responsible for encouraging business development partnerships to advance the mission and goals of the organization.
Prior to assuming this role, Ms. Key served as the Director of Development for Fund for Advancement of Minorities Through Education and worked in sales and marketing analytics for Fortune 500 companies such as Kraft Foods and A.C. Nielsen.
Her professional life and her personal volunteerism are dedicated to amplifying Black voices. As a 4th generation HBCU attendee, Ms. Key understands the role that Historically Black Colleges and Universities have played in the history of the United States and the influences that libraries have engendered in the development of academic excellence.
Ms. Key is also a trained journalist. She attended Delaware State University and New Jersey City University for her undergraduate studies; her Masters of Organizational Leadership is from Bethune Cookman University, and she is currently a doctoral student at the American College of Education.
She lives for her love of cooking, travel, music, and hosting family events.