Akonadi Foundation Taps Next President; White House Aide to Lead Share Our Strength

Akonadi Foundation

Raymond Colmenar will be the $33 million foundation’s next president. He most recently was managing director at the California Endowment, where he led its Northern California regional team and the statewide Inclusive Community Development team.

He succeeds Lateefah Simon, who has led the racial-justice grant maker for six years and will now join its board.

Fountain House

Kenneth Zimmerman, founder and co-director of the Mental Health Strategic Impact Initiative, has been appointed CEO of the national mental-health charity.

He replaces Ashwin Vasan, who was named New York City health commissioner earlier this year.

GiveDirectly

Rory Stewart, a senior fellow at Yale University’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, has been appointed president and CEO of this nonprofit group that raises money to make unrestricted cash transfers to some of the world’s poorest people.

He succeeds Michael Faye, its co-founder, who will now serve as executive chair.

Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust

Steve Zabilski, CEO of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul’s Phoenix Council, will become the Arizona grant maker’s president and CEO on April 1, 2023.

He will succeed Mary Jane Rynd, who is retiring after 22 years at the $574 million foundation, including five years at its helm.

Share Our Strength

Anne Filipic will be the antipoverty charity’s next CEO. She most recently worked as assistant to President Joe Biden and director of management and administration in the White House.

Filipic follows Tom Nelson, who will retire after 10 years at the organization.

More New CEOs

Jamal Berry will be promoted from vice president of programs to president and CEO at Educare DC, effective January 1.

Marianne Coppock, vice president of client success, has been promoted to CEO of the Stelter Company, a marketing agency that serves nonprofit groups. She succeeds Bev Hutney, who resigned in February.

Alexander Diaz has been selected as executive director of the Bergen Performing Arts Center. He was most recently director of education and outreach at the organization’s Performing Arts School, in Englewood, N.J.

Julie Farber, deputy commissioner of the New York City Administration for Children’s Services, will be the next executive director of Covenant House New York. She replaces Nancy Downing, who is retiring after seven years as executive director and 15 years total at the social-services agency for homeless youths.

Charmel Gaulden has been promoted from chief operating officer to president and CEO of the Foundation for Louisiana. She has led the $12 million foundation on an interim basis since July, when Flozell Daniels Jr. departed to lead the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation.

Joe Hansbauer, president and CEO of Findlay Market, will be the next president and CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Cincinnati.

James Horton, vice president of education and engagement at the Museum of the City of New York, will now serve as president of the Harlem School of the Arts at the Herb Alpert Center.

Jenni Jeffress, executive director of Madison Public Library Foundation, will become president of the Oscar Rennebohm Foundation on January 1. She will succeed Steven Skolaski, who has led the $43 million foundation since 1987 and will retire at the end of the year.

Tasha Kennard, farm program manager at Southall Farms, has been named CEO of Thistle Farms, a nonprofit social-justice group that serves women survivors of addiction, prostitution, and human trafficking. In addition, Scott Ryder has joined the organization as its first chief financial officer. Previously he was chief financial officer at Casa de Amparo.

Jessica Kennedy, vice president of legal and compliance at Communication Service for the Deaf, has been promoted to serve as president of CSD Health, its arm that promotes equitable health care access for people with hearing disabilities.

Sonja Kostich, chief executive and artistic officer of the Kaatsbaan Cultural Park, will become executive director of the Baryshnikov Arts Center in October. She will follow Cora Cahan, who has served as the arts organization’s president and CEO since 2019.

Erin Lewellen has been promoted from president and chief operating officer to CEO of Global Citizen Year. She succeeds Abby Falik, who founded the group 12 years ago. Lewellen has worked there for eight years and recently served as its interim leader during Falik’s sabbatical over the summer.

Luis Pizarro, a medical doctor who most recently led the HIV portfolio at the international medical charity Unitaid, has become executive director of the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative. He succeeds Bernard Pécoul, who founded the medical-research organization 19 years ago.

Talia Rivera has been tapped as executive director of the Fund for a Safer Future, the first time the organization has had a full-time executive director. Since 2019, she has served as director of SOAR Boston, the City of Boston’s gang-intervention program.

Jennie Smith-Peers has been hired as president and CEO of Philanthropy West Virginia. She was most recently director of development and communications at Iona Senior Services.

Jed Sundwall, global-sustainability lead at Amazon Web Services, has been tapped as executive director of the Radiant Earth Foundation. He will work alongside Hamed Alemohammad until the end of October, when Alemohammad will step aside as executive director and become an adviser and board member at the artificial-intelligence group.

San Francisco Foundation

Raquiba LaBrie has been hired as vice president of programs at the $1.9 billion foundation. She was previously program director for education grant making at the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund.

Anand Subramanian, managing director at PolicyLink, has also joined the foundation as senior director of its People Pathway.

Other Notable Appointments

Rosanna Aybar has been promoted from vice president for finance and administration to senior vice president for finance and administration at the William T. Grant Foundation.

Courtney Thomas Barnes has joined the Greater New Orleans Foundation as vice president of communications and public affairs. She most recently served as vice president of communications at Berni Consulting.

Donna Frisby-Greenwood, president and chief executive officer of the Fund for the School District of Philadelphia, will join the Pew Charitable Trusts as vice president for Philadelphia programs, effective October 3.

Deborah Grayson will be the National Geographic Society’s next chief education officer. Most recently she was senior director of leadership and organizational development at the Association of Research Libraries.

John Haske, chief advancement officer at Red Cloud Indian School, in Pine Ridge, S.D., has joined Habitat for Humanity of Omaha as its chief development officer.

Eugene Hernandez will join the Sundance Institute in November as director of the Sundance Film Festival and head of public programming. He is currently senior vice president of Film at Lincoln Center and executive director of the New York Film Festival.

Clinton (Lee) Holmes, human-resources manager at Triad Manufacturing, has been appointed chief administrative officer at Concordance, a St. Louis charity that helps previously incarcerated individuals re-enter their communities.

Dawn Lyons has been promoted from senior vice president of marketing to chief of operations at the Sandy Hook Promise.

Brian Oakes has been promoted from associate vice president for advancement to vice president for advancement at Loyola University Maryland. He has served in the role on an interim basis since January.

Laura Padron, associate vice president at the Florida International University Foundation, has joined the University of Connecticut Foundation as its senior vice president for advancement.

Kim Spitaleri, vice president for global consumer marketing at Estée Lauder Companies, has been appointed chief marketing officer at the Reform Alliance.

Michele Sawyer, executive director and general auditor of corporate audit services at Elanco Animal Health, has been appointed chief financial officer at the Indiana Biosciences Research Institute.

Omar Sharif Jr., associate director of major gifts at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, has joined the Holocaust Museum LA as its chief advancement officer.

Anita Sharma, a nonprofit consultant who founded 4th Street Communications, has joined SaverLife as its chief impact officer.

Charles Sharp, chief financial officer at the Dignity Health Management Services Organization, has been named senior vice president and chief financial officer at Pride Industries.

Steve Taylor has been named principal of Integer, a consulting firm that aids nonprofits and businesses in policy advocacy at the federal level. Most recently, he was senior vice president and head of government relations and public policy at United Way Worldwide.

Angela Thompson has been promoted from program director to vice president of programs for homeless families at the Urban Resource Institute.

Andy Wayne, director of marketing and communications at Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital, is joining Catholic Charities of Baltimore as its director of communications.

Yvonne Wolf, founder of TalentMatters and senior consultant at the NeuroLeadership Institute, has been appointed chief people and culture officer at the Trust for Public Land.

Departures

Rukaiyah Adams has stepped down after eight years as chief investment officer at the Meyer Memorial Trust.

Maurice (Mo) Green will retire as executive director of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation on March 31. He has led the foundation for six years.

Philip Himberg, executive director of the artist-residency group MacDowell since 2019, will depart on December 31.

Anne Kubisch, president and CEO of the Ford Family Foundation since 2013, intends to retire at the end of 2023.

Mike Thirtle has resigned after one year as CEO of the Gary Sinise Foundation. Donna Palmer, chief philanthropy officer, will serve as its interim leader during the search for a permanent successor at this organization that supports first responders, veterans, and their families.

Legacy

Barbara Ehrenreich, founder of the Economic Hardship Reporting Project, died at age 81 of a stroke. See this article from the Chronicle’s archive about her work.

Send an email to people@philanthropy.com.