Meet Eshé
Ms. Eshé P. Collins represents Educational District 6 and serves as Vice Chair on the Atlanta Board of Education. She was elected to the Atlanta Board of Education in 2013, reelected in 2017 and seeking her 3rd term.
In this role, Eshé is honored to represent the southside of Atlanta, where the graduation rates have increased from an average of 56% to 81%, rigorous and diverse offerings have stabilized our schools and over $150 million has been in schools and facility infrastructure.
An Atlanta native, attorney and former teacher in Atlanta Public Schools, Eshé’s work within urban settings has been the combination of her classroom, policy and legal experience.
Currently, Eshé serves the Director of Programming for Jumpstart, a national, early education non-profit, where she works with organizations and communities to provide high-quality early education to all children.
Prior to Jumpstart, Eshé was an elementary school teacher in Atlanta Public Schools. It was her experience, as an educator, that inspired her to enter a career in educational policy and law. Her previous experiences include service as Judicial Clerk for the Honorable James A. Wynn, Jr. of the North Carolina Court of Appeals (now 4th Circuit Court of Appeals).
Eshé served a Policy Clerk with the Children’s Defense Fund in Washington, D.C., where she analyzed national education issues and advocated for accessible healthcare for all children. Also, she worked in Cape Town, South Africa, where she helped refugee women and children access quality services and enrollment in local schools and communities.
While in law school, Eshé served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Law Review, member of the Moot Court Board and student mediator through NCCU Dispute Resolution Program.
As a board member, she governs a diverse, urban public-school district with $1.1billion annual budget that supports 6,000 employees and 50,000 students in over 77 schools. She has chaired the Policy Review committee and led the review and creation of policies to support the district’s mission and vision.
Additionally, Eshe serves on boards for the Andrew and Walter Young YMCA, Atlanta Partners for Education, Atlanta Educational Telecommunications Collaborative and Odyssey Atlanta.
In pursuit of her passion, Eshé earned a B.A. in Psychology from Spelman College, M.S. in Educational Leadership from Georgia State University and J.D., cum laude, from North Carolina Central University School of Law. Eshé is a member of Leadership Atlanta Class of 2016, Outstanding Atlanta Class of 2014, Junior League of Greater Atlanta and Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys.
She is a recipient of Atlanta Business Chronicle’s 40 Under 40, Georgia Trend’s 40 Under 40, Carl V. Patton President’s Award for Community Service and Social Justice and the Andrew and Walter Young YMCA’s Innovative Woman in Education award.
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Eshé continues to work tirelessly to ensure that the highest quality of education, equity and transparency is afforded to all students, schools and community.