Mott Foundation Chooses Founder’s Great-Grandson as Next CEO (Transitions)

Charles Stewart Mott Foundation

Ridgway White, president of the $2.8 billion foundation and a great-grandson of its founder, will also be the chief executive officer. He succeeds his father, William White, who has retired as CEO after nearly 50 years at the foundation.

Read more about Ridgway White’s leadership in our archives.

Democracy for America

Yvette Simpson, a former Cincinnati City Council member who unsuccessfully ran for mayor in 2017, will become CEO on January 1. She replaces Jim Dean, who is stepping down to become special adviser to the organization, which supports grassroots, progressive community organizers.

NEA Foundation

Sara Sneed, director of education investments at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, will become president and CEO on March 1. She will succeed Harriet Sanford, who has led the philanthropic arm of the national public-education teachers union since 2005.

More New CEOs

Victoria Juarez, executive director of Girls Inc. of Carpinteria, Calif., has been named president and CEO of the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara.

Andrea Hong Marra, manager of external communications at the Arcus Foundation, has been appointed executive director of the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund. She succeeds Dolph Ward Goldenburg, who has served as interim executive director since February.

Erin McAleer, director of Opportunity Boston at Be the Change, has become president of Project Bread, an anti-hunger charity in Massachusetts.

Megan Watkins has become chief executive officer and executive director of Farm Sanctuary. She joins the animal-rights charity from U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management, where she was managing director and national practice executive for foundations and grant making.

Yolanda Watson Spiva, former president and CEO of the College Success Foundation, has been appointed president of Complete College America.

Shawn Wilson, director of multicultural engagement at the Ford Motor Company Fund, has been named president and CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan. He succeeds Mary O’Connor, who served as interim CEO and will now return to her position as national director of major metro services at the main office of Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

Other Notable Appointments

Marc Bamuthi Joseph, chief of program and pedagogy at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, will take on the newly created role of vice president and artistic director for social impact at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, effective January 1.

John Dedrick, vice president and program director at the Charles F. Kettering Foundation, has been promoted to executive vice president and chief operating officer.

Karen Elam, director of community relations at the Jewish Federation of Greater Rochester, has been promoted to director of the Levine Center to End Hate, a new program at the federation. It was established this month with a $1 million grant from the William and Mildred Levine Foundation to combat religious, ethnic, and sexual bias and intolerance.

Susan Jay has joined the Birthright Israel Foundation as associate vice president for major gifts for the Southeast Region, based in Miami. Previously she was executive director for advancement at Florida International University’s College of Engineering and Computing.

Kevin Moses, a developmental biologist and science officer at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, has joined the Kavli Foundation as vice president for science programs.

Kirk Tanner, an oncology researcher and senior director at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, has been appointed chief scientific officer at the National Brain Tumor Society.

Departures

Chad Griffin has decided to leave the Human Rights Campaign in 2019, after seven years at the helm. During his tenure, the organization led efforts to win marriage equality and establish federal civil-rights protections for LGBTQ people. Griffin will remain in the job while the board searches for his replacement.

Dawn Laguens, executive vice president and chief brand officer at Planned Parenthood, will leave the reproductive-rights group after almost eight years. She most recently spent six months as the interim president after Cecile Richards stepped down in April and before Leana Wen started as president this month.

Richard Legon, president of the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges since 2006, plans to retire on June 30.

Marian Wright Edelman, founder of the Children’s Defense Fund, is stepping down as president when the organization appoints a new leader. She will move into a new role as president emerita and will support the board’s search for her replacement. Max Lesko, chief of staff, will become national executive director of the organization. Lesko served in the Obama administration as chief of staff for the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights.

Legacy

Addison Barry Rand, who served as CEO of AARP from 2009 until his retirement in 2014, died on November 7. He was 74. Rand was the AARP’s first black leader.

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Correction: A previous version of this article said that Yolanda is the president and CEO of the College Success Foundation. That is a previous title.