Kayla Whatley has a B.S. in Biology from Alabama State University, where she published statewide lesson plans in math science, counseled youth in the Summer Kids/Youth College Adventure Program, and supervised a sizeable budget as chapter president of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. Before joining EJI in 2020, she worked with youth as a residential specialist at the Lee County Youth Development Center in Opelika, Alabama, and taught physics and chemistry as an eighth-grade physical science teacher in Tuscaloosa.