Leadership
Executive Director Allona Lane Cross
Executive Director and Administrator
As the Executive Director, Allona oversees the GCEO, which is a state agency charged with the mission to protect individuals from discrimination in employment and housing by enforcing the Georgia Fair Employment Practices Act and the Georgia Fair Housing Law. Since 2019, Allona has led the agency towards favorable growth throughout the state, she has developed statewide initiatives to promote inclusive communities and workplaces, amended the Georgia Fair Housing Act to make it substantially equivalent to the federal Fair Housing Act, and renewed the agency’s interim certification and longstanding partnership with the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD). Prior to becoming the Executive Director, Allona was named Deputy Director of the agency where she served as second in command. As Deputy Director, she assisted the Executive Director in the administration & coordination of the agency in the areas of operations, administration, financial management, information technology, compliance, and investigations.
Prior to becoming the Deputy Director, Allona served the State of Georgia for over a decade in varied leadership roles at GCEO. Those roles included Director of Fair Housing, Senior Compliance Officer, Communications Officer, and Mediator for the agency.
Allona has worked in the fair housing and affordable housing fields for over a decade. Prior to joining the GCEO, she served as a Housing Specialist for the Birmingham Housing Authority in Birmingham, Alabama. Her passion for equal opportunity, fair housing, and inclusion is fueled from a long family history of real estate entrepreneurship. Allona helps manage her family’s real estate & development company which has been established for over 60 years and has cemented itself as a historical entity in Mississippi within the local community.
In 2021, Allona was awarded the Metro Fair Housing Freedom Award for her consummate leadership in advancing the Georgia Commission on Equal Opportunity’s (GCEO) mission and vision. Allona was also nominated and selected as a 2022 Moxie Award Finalist by the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce. In 2023, Allona was awarded the "Top 40 Under 40" Award by her alma mater, the University of Mississippi for making a significant impact in public service.
Allona is a native of West Point, Mississippi. She earned a bachelor’s degree in legal studies from the University of Mississippi, and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Allona is a member of the University of Mississippi’s Alumni Association, the American Society for Public Administration, the Upsilon Alpha Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, the Junior League of Gwinnett and North Fulton, and a lifetime member of the Golden Key International Honour Society and the Pi Alpha Alpha Honor Society. Allona was selected for Leadership Gwinnett’s Class of 2022 and Leadership Georgia’s Class of 2024. She also serves on various boards and councils, which include the Salvation Army of Gwinnett’s Advisory Council, a program committee member for Wellroot Family Services and previously served as an Advisory Board Member for the Gwinnett County Public Schools’ Community-Based Mentoring Program, Board Chair for College Equipped, Inc., and a member of the Architectural Review Committee for the Wheatfield Reserves community.
She is an active figure in the Grayson, Georgia community where she volunteers within various organizations and resides with her Husband, Regis, twin sons, Collin & Carter, and daughter, Peyton.