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Joyce Akins
Director of the Center for Grants Development
Email: jakins@hcde-texas.org
Joyce Akins is the director of the Center for Grants Development. Her academic and employment backgrounds include education, research and evaluation, international relations, and nonprofits. Prior to joining HCDE, Joyce was an evaluator with the U.S. Government Accountability Office, where she researched and analyzed a variety of federally funded programs ranging from children’s preventive health care to international trade and development. She also worked with a nonprofit refugee assistance organization, participating in grant writing, volunteer management, and community development.
While at HCDE, she has helped mobilize over $60 million to enhance HCDE programs, including afterschool services, Head Start, adult education, therapy services, professional development for teachers in STEM and special education, and other activities to garner support for HCDE programs.
Joyce is an active member of the Southeast Texas Chapter of the Grants Professional association. She received her master’s in public affairs and bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Texas at Austin. She also has a master’s degree in international relations from Syracuse University.
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Illiana Gonzalez
Secretary
Email: igonzalez@hcde-texas.org
Illiana Gonzalez is the secretary to the director at the Center for Grants Development where she has worked for the past three years.
She has over 20 years of experience as an administrative assistant. She began her career as an administrative assistant at Harris Health Systems and provided support to the director of the pediatrics service line and pediatric medical directors.
After five years, she moved to work as an administrative assistant at Texas Children’s Hospital. She also provided clerical support to a list of pediatric specialty physicians that ranged in the areas of psychology, cardiology, gastroenterology, and rheumatology. Other duties included managing physician on-call schedules, calendars, coordination of quarterly Chief of Section meetings, and as-needed special projects.
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Vida L. Avery, Ph.D.
Manager
Email: vavery@hcde-texas.org
Vida L. Avery, Ph. D. is the manager for the Center for Grants Development and has brought in over $72 million for HCDE programs and nonprofit organizations in the Houston/Harris County area. Her professional career spans over 25 years in the educational field, having been a middle school teacher, a program officer at a foundation, and a grant writer. She is also an adjunct professor at Rice University.
Dr. Avery was the 2021 recipient of the M. Anne Murphy Award for Professional Advancement from the Association of Fundraising Professionals-Greater Houston Chapter (AFP-GHC) and is an award-winning author for her book, Philanthropy in Black Higher Education: A Fateful Hour Creating the Atlanta University System. She is a member of the Southeast Texas Chapter of the Grant Professional Association and AFP-GHC, where she has held numerous leadership positions.
She has a Ph. D. in educational policy studies with a major in higher education and a research concentration in philanthropy from Georgia State University, an M. Ed., and Ed. S. in middle school education from Brenau University and a B. A. in economics with a concentration in business administration from Spelman College.
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Sharvon Pipkins Kamaya
Resource Development Specialist
Email: spipkins@hcde-texas.org
Sharvon D. Pipkins Kamaya is the resource development specialist for the Center for Grants Development. She has 19 years of experience researching and soliciting public and private funds through proposal writing for projects focused on education, community development, health and well-being, rehabilitation, and vocational training.
Sharvon has helped government agencies, school districts, nonprofits, and faith-based organizations meet their fundraising goals, bringing in more than $200 million in public and private grants through grant-related services.
She has a master's degree in community development from Prairie View A&M University and a bachelor's degree in political science and sociology from Xavier University of Louisiana. Additionally, she is an active member of the Southeast Texas Chapter of the Grant Professionals Association.
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Kristal Frazier
Development Associate
Email: kfrazier@hcde-texas.org
Kristal Frazier is the development associate for the Center for Grants Development. Kristal reviews hundreds of funding opportunities each month, assessing competitiveness, compatibility, and capacity. She is the author of the inspirational book, For Every Flaw, and the peer-reviewed publication, The Needs Assessment: Making the Connection between Data and the Nonprofit Story (Journal of the Grant Professionals Association, 2014).
Kristal is an award-winning Keynote Speaker and Women Empowering Change Professional Award winner. She is a long-standing member of the Grant Professionals Association Nonprofit Technology Network and serves as a grant reviewer for federal agencies, Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities, and the United Way of Greater Houston.
She has a bachelor’s degree in sociology with a concentration in grant writing, program evaluation, and community development from Fort Hays State University.
