Our Leadership

Milton J. Little, Jr. became the first African-American president of United Way of Greater Atlanta in July 2007. Previously, he served as president of United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley. Little joins a strong legacy of fundraising and collaborative leaders who bring together supportive partners in the for-profit, nonprofit, philanthropic and government sectors to identify challenges facing individuals and families and offer solutions. He has helped raise more than a billion dollars for local community needs and priorities during his career.

In 2010, under Little’s leadership, nearly 17,000 Georgia families received $20.5 million in emergency financial assistance through the Georgia Fresh Start initiative, led by United Way of Greater Atlanta and the Georgia Department of Human Services. The funds were provided by the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to provide relief on past due mortgage, rent and/or utilities expenses during the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.

Little has been at the forefront of shaping the role of United Way in responding to economic and natural disasters, from bringing together community leaders when a tornado struck downtown Atlanta to overseeing United Way’s efforts to stabilize North Georgia victims of record flooding in 2009.

In 2017, under Little’s leadership, United Way of Greater Atlanta launched the Child Well-Being Movement. The Child Well-Being Movement seeks to mobilize the 13-county Greater Atlanta region to improve the educational, health, and financial well-being of 250,000 children and young people, their communities and caregivers by 2027. Under his leadership, United Way of Greater Atlanta and a group of partners developed the nation’s only Child Well-Being Index that measures child wellbeing, down to the zip code, using fourteen different indicators.

In March of 2020, Little led the launch – in partnership with the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta – of the Greater Atlanta COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund. To date, the Fund has raised more than $25 million and provided 320 nonprofits across Greater Atlanta with resources they need to help the most vulnerable populations affected by the Coronavirus pandemic.

Before joining United Way, Little served as chief operating officer and interim president and CEO of the National Urban League, the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights and social service community-based movement. Prior to joining the League, Little had a career in corporate philanthropy at AT&T and Lucent Technologies and served as vice president for Field Operations at MDRC, a non-partisan education and social policy research organization.

A member of Phi Beta Kappa, Little graduated magna cum laude from Morehouse College with a B.A. degree in sociology. He earned an M.A. degree in urban sociology and social policy from Columbia University.

Little is a graduate of Leadership Atlanta’s Class of 2010 and served as chairman of the board for the Center for Assessment and Policy Development, Southern Education Foundation, and vice chair of Ways to Work. He is also a member of several board and/or advisory councils, including but not limited to: 100 Black Men of Atlanta, Atlanta Mayoral Board of Service, Atlanta Speech School, Central Atlanta Progress, Georgia Chamber of Commerce, Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students, Georgia’s Older Adults Cabinet, Georgia’s Children’s Cabinet, Get Georgia Ready Reading Cabinet, Hope Atlanta Advisory Council, Junior League of Atlanta, Learn4Life, MDRC, Rotary Club of Atlanta, Susan G. Komen of Greater Atlanta, The Commerce Club Operating Board, University of Georgia Advisory J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development, and the Woodruff Arts Center Board of Trustees. He also serves on United Way World Wide’s National Advisory Council and, in January 2020, was invited and appointed to serve on the Roundtable on Population Health Improvement for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. He recently completed service on two Atlanta mayoral transition teams for Mayor Andre Dickens (2022) and Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (2018).

Little’s leadership has earned him numerous accolades including, but not limited to, the National Philanthropy Day Spirit of Collaboration Award (2020), Legacy of Hope Award from Africa’s Children’s Fund (2019), Atlanta Technical College Bridge Builder Award (2018), Alonzo F. and Norris B. Herndon Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award (2017), and Boy Scouts of America Whitney M. Young, Jr. Service Award (2005). He is also the recipient of the prestigious Centurion Award by Hope Atlanta (2011) and Paul Harris Fellow by Rotary International (2014). In 2012, he received Atlanta Civic League’s Founders Award, Atlanta Hawks Trailblazer Award, Morehouse College’s Bennie Award, and Turknett Leadership Group’s Connecting the Community Award.

He’s a lauded Atlantan and has been recognized on numerous occasions by “Who’s Who in Black Atlanta” and by Atlanta Business Chronicle as one of Atlanta’s Most Influential Atlantans (2009, 2014) and Most Admired CEO (2015, 2016) and by Atlanta Magazine as one of the 500 Most Powerful Leaders in Atlanta (2015, 2019, 2021, 2022). Similarly, Georgia Trend Magazine has recognized him as a Notable Georgian (2017, 2018) and an Influential Georgian (2021, 2022). He is also a contributing writer for the Philanthropy Thought Leadership blog, a partnership between The Community Foundation, United Way of Greater Atlanta, and the Saporta Report.

“Milton has been a pillar of strength ever since his arrival in Atlanta,” says Kathy Colbenson, CEO of local community partner CHRIS Kids. “Milton provides strong leadership and effectively leverages his ability to bring together various sectors to help those in need. He continues to be a blessing for this region and the families we serve.”

Little is a native New Yorker and is married to Shana Davis Little. He has one daughter, Blake; two sons, Milton and Taylor; and three grandchildren, Joi, Miles, and Langston.