After an extensive and intensive search, the Partnership for Southern Equity (PSE) is happy to announce that Joel Alvarado, former Executive Vice President at Ohio River South, is our new Vice President of Strategy and Engagement, succeeding the legacy left by our long-time friend Dwayne Patterson. Joel will be instrumental in developing and implementing highly effective programmatic strategies that realize measurable impacts in our systems transformation efforts.

Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Joel is an Afro-Latino first-generation college graduate whose career is predicated on social + economic justice, equity, movement work, and transformational leadership. Joel has spent most of his career in the government sector lobbying for private, public, and nonprofit interests. Prior to PSE, he was Executive Vice President of External Affairs at Ohio River South, a top regional government relations firm. While there, Alvarado was instrumental in growing the organization by providing effective thought leadership and representation to a diverse portfolio including Fortune 500 companies, national nonprofits, local governments, and political candidates. 

Alvarado earned a B.A. in History at Morehouse College and an M.P.A. in Public Policy at Clark Atlanta University. He is a doctoral student at the University of Alabama pursuing an Ed.D. in Higher Education Administration. His research interests include first-generation students of color, community colleges, institutional culture and climate, and social capital. 

“I am honored and privileged to be a part of the PSE family. This is an incredible opportunity to intersect my passion with my profession. Working with a visionary leader like Nathaniel Smith and his incredible team to eradicate structural racism and push for racial equity in the Southeast is truly a blessing. I look forward to the challenge of being on the frontline with our allies to transform the region to where freedom, justice, opportunity, and equity become our collective reality,” said Joel.

Please click the button below for more information about Joel. In the meantime, please join me in welcoming Joel to the PSE village. We are humbled that Joel is adding his voice to our growing chorus of advocates as we advance policies and institutional actions that promote racial equity and shared prosperity for all in the growth of metropolitan Atlanta and the American South.