At Bridge to Equity Foundation, our leadership reflects the very communities we serve. We’re not outsiders looking in—we’re insiders building out. With roots in healthcare, education, community advocacy, and lived experience, our team brings passion, purpose, and people-centered strategy to every step of this work.
This isn’t just about titles. It’s about values. Our leadership is committed to transparency, collaboration, and centering equity in every decision we make.
Dr. Antoinette Leonard-Jean Charles is the Founder, CEO, and Executive Director of the Bridge to Equity Foundation. She is most often known and addressed as Dr. LJ by her colleagues, students, and community partners. A native of Brooklyn, NY, with family roots in Due West, South Carolina, and descended from a long line of educators, Dr. Charles is an educator, maternal health advocate, and researcher whose work bridges medicine, equity, and public scholarship. With a doctorate in Educational & Professional Practice and ongoing medical training, she leads with a sharp understanding of systems and a deep commitment to healing as a legacy.
Her lived experience—navigating health disparities, advocating for her children, and standing at the intersection of race, gender, and medicine—grounds her leadership. She brings over 15 years of experience as an educator, including her current role as a lecturer at Vanderbilt University, where she teaches courses on the social dimensions of health and justice. Her work has spanned 6–12, higher education, and professional development spaces, designing curriculum, conducting research, and building justice-centered initiatives that empower communities across the South.
As Executive Director, she guides the Foundation’s strategic vision and program development, focusing on reproductive justice, rural health access, and community-based education. With co-founder Marius Coleman-Denton, she is building a sustainable foundation for community-rooted health equity that blends visionary leadership with operational excellence. She honors the legacy of healing in the South while forging new pathways to justice.
Marius Kofi Coleman-Denton is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of the Bridge to Equity Foundation. A native of Marion, Arkansas, and a proud graduate of Morehouse College, Marius comes from a lineage deeply rooted in the American South and the healing professions. Raised in a family of Black physicians, educators, and community leaders, he was instilled early on with the belief that healing is sacred work and that lasting change requires generational commitment.
With a background in biology and ongoing medical studies, Marius brings a blend of scientific discipline and lived experience to his leadership. While at Morehouse, he co-authored academic research and laid the foundation for a career grounded in scholarship and service. He is pursuing his medical degree at the University of Medicine and Health Sciences.
As COO of Bridge to Equity, Marius oversees the organization’s operations—building infrastructure, forging partnerships, and translating vision into sustainable, impact-driven systems. His leadership is steady, strategic, and deeply aligned with the foundation’s mission. He collaborates closely with Executive Director Dr. Antoinette Leonard-Jean Charles to bring the foundation’s vision to life, ensuring its mission, rooted in community and legacy, is executed with clarity, structure, and long-term sustainability. For Marius, equity isn’t just a guiding principle. It’s a personal legacy and an urgent imperative.
