Jaleesa Hall
Founder & CEO
Jaleesa Hall is a native of Miami, Florida. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Media Arts, Radio, TV, Film from Clark Atlanta University, a Master of Public Administration from American University, and is a graduate of Wesley Theological Seminary where she obtained a Master of Divinity and a coveted Community Engagement Fellowship.
Jaleesa is the Founder of Raising A Village (RAV), a non-profit organization that provides high-quality intervention programs and community resources to underserved children and families. RAV began as a college initiative, entitled Driven Student Organization, on the campus of Clark Atlanta University in 2010. As a campus-chartered organization that is still active on multiple college campuses, Driven is committed to providing college students with scholastic achievement, community engagement, and leadership opportunities. Serving an audience of over ten thousand college students, Driven has made tremendous strides in the community. Due to Jaleesa's success with Driven, in 2017, she expanded the student organization and its initiatives by founding the Raising A Village Foundation in Washington, D.C.
Prior to founding Raising A Village, Jaleesa held leadership positions at some of the most notable non-profit and government organizations in the district including Center City Public Charter Schools, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts, and Wesley Theological Seminary. She has also been awarded numerous fellowships and accolades including the Newman Civic Fellowship, Change Makers Project (London, England), CityBridge Education Design Fellowship, FairChance Praxis Partnership, Nannie Helen Burroughs Humanitarian Award with the D.C. Courts, Jarena Lee Preaching Academy with WomanPreach!, Mentor Maryland DC’s Mentoring Program of the Year Award, and the American University Martin Luther King Visionary Award. It is Jaleesa’s mission to continue to improve the lives of children and families by creating innovative and sustainable programs that encourage safe, healthy, and whole communities.