New Foundation Jobs Focus on Diversity; Women’s Philanthropy Leader Departing

Aisha Alexander, director of thought leadership at KaBoom, will join the Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation in Washington as senior director for strategy and equity. In her newly created role, she will oversee efforts to ensure racial equity in the foundation’s grant making and internal operations.

The move follows the announcement in April that the Raikes Foundation promoted Lindsay Hill, a program officer, to be the Seattle grant maker’s first director of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The Council on Foundations, which represents grant makers, in May announced that Ruth LaToison Ifill will be its second vice president of diversity, equity, and inclusion, a position created two years ago and filled initially by Floyd Mills.

Women’s Philanthropy Institute Leader to Depart

Debra Mesch, director of the institute for the past 10 years, will step down from the role on August 1.

She will continue at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy to concentrate full time on research and teaching as a professor of women’s philanthropy.

Center for Community Change Leader Stepping Down

Deepak Bhargava, president of the Center for Community Change for the past 16 years and vice president of the Center for Community Change Action, intends to depart after the 2018 midterm elections. He has worked at the social-justice organization for 24 years.

Islamic Relief USA Elevates New CEO

Sharif Aly, advocacy counsel at Islamic Relief USA, has been promoted to chief executive officer. He succeeds Anwar Khan, who is assuming the role of president.

New Foundation Leaders

• Holly Humphrey, dean for medical education at the University of Chicago, has been named president of the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation, which seeks to improve the education of health professionals.
• Mary Jane Rynd was named CEO of the Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust, an Arizona grant maker. She has worked at the $500 million foundation for 17 years, most recently as executive vice president.
• Molly Talbot-Metz, vice president of the $85 million Mary Black Foundation in Spartanburg, S.C., has been promoted to CEO.

JPMorgan Chase Foundation Promotes New President

Janis Bowdler, head of small business and community development for global philanthropy at JPMorgan Chase, has been promoted to president of the bank’s foundation. The company said in January that it intends to increase corporate giving by 40 percent to $1.75 billion over the next five years.

SOS Children’s Villages USA Replaces Leader

Neil Ghosh, executive vice president at the Global Fund for Children, has been tapped as the charity’s new CEO. He succeeds Lynn Croneberger, who left after six years in the role. In April, the Association of Fundraising Professionals honored Croneberger as its 2018 Outstanding Fundraising Professional.

Robert Baird Jr., the organization’s board chair, said Ghosh was elevated because he is well-suited to carry out the organization’s new strategic plan.

Silicon Valley Community Foundation VP Departs

Daiva Natochy, vice president for talent, recruitment, and culture, has stepped down amid reports by the Chronicle and other publications of harassment by another official and other leadership misconduct at the foundation.

Natochy is the second executive to leave in recent weeks — Mari Ellen Loijens, the foundation’s top fundraiser, resigned in April.

The foundation’s chief executive, Emmett Carson, is on paid leave amid an investigation, initiated by the board, of workplace-culture complaints by current and former employees. Carson, Loijens, and Natochy have not responded to requests for comment. (Read nonprofit consultant and Chronicle columnist Alan Cantor’s take on the upheaval at the Silicon Valley Community Foundation.)

Oxfam GB Scandal Prompts CEO’s Exit

Mark Goldring, chief executive of Oxfam Great Britain, says he will step down from his post at the end of 2018 after five years.

The humanitarian-aid group has been responding to accusations that staff members of the organization sexually abused survivors of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.

More New Senior Leaders

David Kennedy, senior associate vice president for development at Stanford University, will join Duke University in June as vice president for alumni affairs and development. He succeeds Robert Shepard, who is retiring on June 30 after 14 years as Duke’s chief advancement officer.

Rob Richie, executive director of FairVote since he co-founded the organization in 1992, has been promoted to president.

Monique Barber, a consultant in Fort Worth and a board member at Sixty and Better, will lead the senior-services charity as CEO. She succeeds Jerome Mosman, who served as CEO from 2009 until he retired this year.

Timi Gerson, strategic advocacy and communications consultant at Gerson Strategies, is the new vice president and chief content officer at the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy. She will oversee the committee’s philanthropy research, assessment efforts, and public-policy campaigns.

Benjamin Strauss, chief scientist at Climate Central, has been promoted to president and CEO. He follows Paul Hanle, who is retiring after seven years in the lead role.

Patricia Smith, a senior policy adviser at the Reinvestment Fund, will be the new president and CEO of the Funders’ Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities.

Legacies

Margaret McDermott, a leading Dallas philanthropist. died on May 6. She was 106. Her late husband, Eugene, co-founded Geophysical Service and Texas Instruments. Among her largest gifts were $45 million to the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center for its medical school and $32 million to the University of Texas at Dallas.