Leadership
&
Board
Advancing the Legacy
The James Weldon Foundation
Rufus E. Jones, Jr.
President
Rufus E. Jones, Jr., Co-founder and President of the James Weldon Johnson Foundation, has been advancing Johnson’s legacy since 2000 when he co-produced the James Weldon Johnson Medal ceremony under the guidance of the late Dr. Sondra Kathryn Wilson, a preeminent James Weldon Johnson scholar. In 2016, Rufus helped establish the James Weldon Johnson Literary Foundation Legacy Award, which celebrates achievements in the performing arts, fine arts, and historic preservation.
Rufus’s multifaceted career reflects Johnson’s own versatility. He has been an educator, entrepreneur, musician, songwriter, and Wall Street trader. Over three decades, he built a successful career in relationship management and sales trading, retiring in 2020 after serving as a Senior Equity Trader at Watermill Institutional Trading. Previously, he held roles at Lehman Brothers, SunTrust, and Goldman Sachs in equity sales trading, capital markets, and private wealth management. Before transitioning to Wall Street, Rufus worked in education and administration at The Latin School of Chicago and The Dalton School in New York, serving as Dean of Students, History Teacher, and Coordinator of Corporate and Foundation Giving.
A Memphis native, Rufus holds an A.B. degree from Harvard University and an MBA from the University of Tennessee. He actively supports educational initiatives, volunteering as an Alumni Admissions Representative for Phillips Academy (Andover) and serving on several advisory boards, including the College & Career Lab and the College & Career Pathway Lab. Rufus also sits on the board of the Community Development Corporation of South Berkshire.
The James Weldon Foundation
Jill Rosenberg Jones
Chairperson and Treasurer
Jill Rosenberg Jones is the Executor of the James Weldon Johnson Literary Estate and co-founder and Chairperson of the James Weldon Johnson Foundation. Deeply committed to advancing Johnson’s legacy, she manages the copyrights and permissions for his extensive collection of writings and artifacts housed at Yale’s Beinecke Library and Emory’s Woodruff Library, which together contain approximately 1,500 items.
Jill has enjoyed a distinguished career in financial services, having held senior roles at leading institutions such as Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Credit Suisse. She has also worked at Boston’s public television station, WGBH. Her global experience includes living and working in Australia as a management consultant, where she developed a passion for Australian Aboriginal art.
In 2019, Jill was named one of “Fourteen Black Women to Watch in Philanthropy” by BlackHer Media. She is a staunch supporter of artists at all stages of their careers through the James Weldon Johnson Fellowship in the Arts Program. Jill is also an advocate for education and serves on the Board of Trustees of Bard College at Simon’s Rock.
Jill earned an A.B. in History from Harvard College and an MBA from Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management.
Meet Our Board Members
Winold Reiss, James Weldon Johnson. 1920. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Lawrence A. Fleischman and Howard Garfinkle with a matching grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
“And God stepped out on space,
And he looked around and said:I'm lonely—
I'll make me a world.
And far as the eye of God could see
Darkness covered everything,
Blacker than a hundred midnights
Down in a cypress swamp.
Then God smiled,
And the light broke,
And the darkness rolled up on one side,
And the light stood shining on the other,
And God said: That's good!..”
—James Weldon Johnson, Excerpt from “The Creation,” From God's Trombones by Copyright © 1927 The Viking Press, Inc., renewed 1955 by Grace Nail Johnson.
Enshalla Anderson
Director and Global Head of Brand Strategy & Creative, Google Cloud
Enshalla Anderson is a seasoned global leader in brand strategy and creative innovation. Currently serving as the Director and Global Head of Brand Strategy & Creative for Google Cloud, Enshalla is at the forefront of growing brand love for Google’s rapidly expanding cloud portfolio. Her career has spanned diverse roles across Wall Street, management consulting, and the creative agency world, with international experience in New York, London, Istanbul, and Caracas. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania with a BA in History, Enshalla also holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. When she’s not shaping the future of Google Cloud’s brand, Enshalla enjoys spending time with her husband and two sons, sharing their passion for Star Wars and Marvel.
Mildred J. Hudson, Ph.D.
Mildred J. Hudson, Ph.D. earned her doctorate from Columbia University and her B.S. from New York University. Dr. Hudson was born in Mississippi, lived in New York City for 45 years and retired to Helena, Arkansas where she attended elementary school. For 15 years, she taught in community colleges in New York and helped trained educators throughout the United States and abroad. For seven years she was a program officer at the now Wallace Foundation where she developed and implemented over $100 million in national education programs designed for underserved youth. At the foundation, her teacher recruitment program, Pathways to Teaching Careers, supported over 3,000 teachers in 60-plus colleges and universities, and was adopted by President Clinton as a part of his national educational initiative. Later she headed Recruiting New Teachers, Inc. which produced the first advertising programs recruiting teachers nationally for urban and rural schools. She has published numerous works and publications in education on educators in the U.S. and abroad.
Terry Denson
Media Business Leader and Content Strategist
Terry Denson is a widely acknowledged innovator and strategist in the media industry, with over 15 years of experience shaping multichannel, OTT, direct-to-consumer, and digital platform models. Renowned for his creativity and ingenuity, Terry has demonstrated exceptional ability in assessing consumer behavior and leveraging high-growth trends to drive subscriber growth, revenue, and customer adoption. His expertise in consumer aspirations and business model innovations has positioned him as a dynamic leader in an evolving industry, delivering strategies that consistently lead to industry-first accomplishments.
Cindy Dishmey Montgomery
Head of Data Strategy, Morgan Stanley Real Assets
Cindy Dishmey Montgomery leads global data strategy as Head of Data Strategy at Morgan Stanley Real Assets, where she works with visionary start-ups to disrupt industries with innovative solutions. With over 15 years of experience in data, finance, and global markets, Cindy combines her expertise in technology, leadership, and analytics to provide clients with competitive, data-driven strategies. Named one of Crain’s Business 2021 Notable Women on Wall Street, Cindy delivers creative and impactful solutions designed to drive positive change, particularly for communities of color. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and a Master’s of Science in Business Analytics, both from New York University. Cindy’s dedication to responsible data use and industry innovation underscores her commitment to creating a more equitable and forward-thinking future.
