Cristián Samper Will Depart Wildlife Conservation Society to Join Bezos Earth Fund

Bezos Earth Fund

Cristián Samper, president and CEO of the Wildlife Conservation Society, will join the $10 billion foundation as managing director and leader of nature solutions later this year.

He will lead a $3 billion grant-making portfolio to protect food systems and restore nature during the fight to mitigate the effects of climate change.

Conrad N. Hilton Foundation

David Haroz has been appointed chief of staff, a new position at the $7.7 billion foundation.

Most recently he was chief policy adviser and director of communications for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief at the U.S. Department of State.

Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation

Aileen Lee, chief program officer for its environmental conservation program, has been promoted to chief of programs for the $9 billion foundation’s consolidated grant making. She has worked there since 2002.

More New CEOs

Jim Cudahy, managing director at Virtual Inc., was appointed CEO of the Alliance of Crop, Soil, and Environmental Science Societies.

Natasha Dyer, deputy director of the Newark Trust for Education, has been selected as executive director of the Greater Newark Conservancy.

Holly Harrison has been hired as director of the Carl and Marilynn Thoma Foundation. Previously she was deputy director of arts and programs at the Mississippi Museum of Art.

Robert Kirshner, chief program officer for the science program at the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, has been named executive director of the TMT International Observatory. He succeeds Edward Stone, who is retiring after eight years as its leader.

Wright Lassiter III, CEO of Henry Ford Health, will become CEO of CommonSpirit Health on August 1. He follows Lloyd Dean, who will retire.

Laetitia Mizero Hellerud, founder and principal of Ubuntu Consulting, is the new executive director of the Jeremiah Program’s Fargo-Moorhead campus in North Dakota.

Diana Morris will serve as the first executive director of the Onion Foundation, which was created in 2014 by Susan and Fritz Onion, who co-founded the technology company Pluralsight, to make grants for the environment, music, and the arts in Maine. Most recently, Morris was a strategic adviser to the Nova Institute for Health. Previously she served as the director of Open Society Institute-Baltimore for more than 20 years.

People for the American Way

The progressive advocacy organization has hired three new leaders.

Jack Cohen has been hired as director of institutional giving. Previously he was development director at the Analyst Institute.

Na Eng, communications director at the McKnight Foundation, is now chief communications officer.

Rob Santiago, senior major-gifts officer at the Center for Constitutional Rights, has been appointed director of major gifts.

Other Notable Appointments

Eduardo Ayala Fuentes, director of development at the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art, has joined the Queens Museum as director of development.

Susan Jaffe, a former principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre, will become its artistic director in December. She has been artistic director at the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre since 2020. Jaffe will succeed Kevin McKenzie, who will retire at the end of the 2022 season after 30 years there. In addition, Stacy Margolis, vice president of development at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, has been tapped as chief development officer at the American Ballet Theatre.

Michael Kassa, head of global partnerships at ASU+GSV Summit, has been appointed associate vice president for corporate partnerships at Quinnipiac University.

Jordan Kessler has been hired as chief development officer at Central Synagogue. Most recently he was vice president of development at the Vera Institute of Justice.

Arlene Lozano has joined New York Cares as chief program officer. Most recently she was vice president of monitoring, evaluation, and learning and quality assurance at Orbis International.

Kathleen Mills, vice president of innovation and learning at RFK Community Alliance, has joined the Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts as vice president for programs.

Sara Robinson, chief advancement officer of the Sarasota Ballet, is joining the Van Wezel Foundation as executive director of advancement.

Lynne Slightom, donor-relations director at the Salvation Army’s Heartland Division, has been named development director at Solar Cookers International.

Melissa Spas, acting director of the Lake Institute on Faith and Giving at Indiana University’s Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, has been named the vice president of religion at the Chautauqua Institution.

Ashley Valis will serve as the first chief operating officer at Catholic Charities of Baltimore. Most recently she was executive director of the office of community engagement at the University of Maryland at Baltimore.

Bill Woodrum, coordinator of the West Virginia Entrepreneurship Network, has been named senior program officer at the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, where he will oversee grant making for community and economic development in West Virginia. He succeeds Mary Hunt, who is retiring after 22 years in the position.

Departure

David Blumenthal will depart at the end of the year after a decade as president of the Commonwealth Fund.

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