Terri Wilkerson (she/her/hers)

Chief Operating Officer

Terri Wilkerson is an experienced nonprofit leader with more than 15 years of success in building strong teams, improving systems, and delivering programs that strengthen communities. Her career spans housing, health, workforce development, and child welfare, where she has led initiatives grounded in equity, compassion, and measurable impact. In addition to her executive leadership roles, Terri is the founder and principal of Jones 86 Coaching & Consulting, a firm that partners with organizations to align people, processes, and strategy — work that has served as a proof of concept for her innovative approach to operational excellence.

Terri holds a Master’s in Nonprofit Organizational Development, a BA in Psychology from DePaul University, and is completing her MBA in Finance at the University of Illinois Chicago. She is also SHRM-certified and a Certified Executive Leadership Coach. A proud Chicagoan, she finds beauty and dynamic energy in some of the city’s most disenfranchised communities, where resilience and possibility live side by side.