Ecotrust Names Its First Native American Leader

Ecotrust

Ronda Rutledge was named executive director of this nonprofit group in Portland, Ore., that advances environmental and racial justice in economic development. She is the organization’s first Native American leader.

For the past 14 years, Rutledge has served as executive director of Sustainable Food Center in Austin, Tex.

A Blade of Grass

Lu Zhang, an artist and arts administrator, will become its next executive director on June 20. This foundation makes grants to artists engaged in social activism.

Zhang is currently the initiatives director at United States Artists.

Birthright Israel Foundation

Elias Saratovsky will become president and CEO on September 1 of this organization that offers Jewish youths the opportunity to visit Israel. He has worked at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee for 21 years, most recently as national director of regional affairs.

Saratovsky is a Birthright alumnus; as a student, he traveled with the group on its first trip to Jerusalem in 1999. He will succeed Israel Tapoohi, who has led the organization for six years and is retiring at the end of 2023.

More New CEOs

Kelley Cornish has been appointed CEO of the T.D. Jakes Foundation, a Dallas organization that offers programs in work-force development and community building. Most recently she was executive vice president and chief administrative officer for diverse segments, representation, and inclusion at Wells Fargo & Company.

Andrew Dolan, co-artistic director at Red Eye Theater, has been named executive director of Solas Nua, an Irish arts organization in Washington.

Hannah Hahn will become executive director of the Lois and Richard England Family Foundation, which has $98 million in assets, in July. Currently she is a program officer at the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation.

Gary Ivory has been installed as president and CEO of Youth Advocate Programs. He has served as its president for two years and has been interim CEO since November, when Jeff Fleischer stepped down after three decades at the helm.

Danielle Johnson, senior director of development at Ohio State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, has become executive director of the American Veterinary Medical Foundation.

Diana Lockwood will now serve as executive director of Rising United, a group that creates women-led scientific projects as well as educational and partnership programs for girls in science, technology, engineering, math, and the arts. She is the founder of Steam Kids, which designs curricula for schools and organizations that are focused on hands-on learning opportunities.

Lucia Rivieccio, a licensed social worker, will now serve as interim executive director of Day One. She succeeds Stephanie Nilva, who is stepping down 20 years after she founded the organization that raises awareness of dating violence and domestic abuse among youths.

Kirk Windus has been promoted from communications and fund-development manager to executive director of the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation.

Other Notable Appointments

Allyssa Joseph, director of development at Metropolitan State University of Denver, has been named vice president for advancement at Bemidji State University and Northwest Technical College.

Don Thorn, executive director of the Colorado Future Farmers of America Foundation, will depart in July to become manager of external relations for rural Colorado at Colorado State University.

Legacies

Paul Benedum Jr., who served as board chair of his family’s Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation for 22 years, died on May 17. He was 92. An investor, geologist, and executive at the oil and gas company Benedum Interests, he was also a major donor and longtime trustee of the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh.

Florence Davis, a lawyer and president of the Starr Foundation since 1999, died on May 21 from cancer. She was 68.

Carrolle Perry Devonish, a philanthropy consultant and retired executive director of the Anguilla Community Foundation, died on May 3 at age 85. She was the first female and Black director of the Philadelphia Foundation and previously worked as the United Negro College Fund’s local development director.

Peter Swords died on May 9 at age 88. During his time working at the Lawyers’ Committee in Mississippi, he represented Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil-rights leaders in legal matters. In 1972, he developed a course on nonprofit law at Columbia Law School, which he taught for 40 years. As co-founder and president of the Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York, now known as Nonprofit New York, Swords advocated for changes within the IRS on how the agency processes the Form 990 and improving the quality of data reported on nonprofit groups’ financial disclosures.

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