co-founder

Ilham Askia is the Co-Founder and former Executive Director of Gideon’s Promise, a national nonprofit public defender organization whose mission is to transform the criminal legal system by building a movement of public defenders who provide equal justice for marginalized communities. As Executive Director, Askia spent 15 years changing the culture of indigent defense representation in America. Before leading the organization, she served as Program Director, where she worked to recruit new public defenders and build lasting partnerships with public defender offices throughout the Southeast. In 2022, she stepped down as Executive Director and joined the Gideon’s Promise Board of Directors, where she continues to advance and strengthen the organization’s vision for public defense reform.

Ilham Askia currently serves as the President & CEO of East Lake Foundation in Atlanta, GA. The East Lake Foundation focuses on generating new opportunities for families living in the East Lake community and creating an inclusive space where all residents thrive. The Foundation’s goal is to support programming that addresses mixed-income housing, cradle-to-college education, community wellness, and economic vitality.

Askia earned a Master’s of Early Childhood and Elementary Education from Trinity University in Washington D.C. and a Bachelor of Science degree in City & Regional Planning from Cornell University. She resides in Atlanta, Georgia, with husband Jonathan and children Aaliyah and Lucas.