AmeriCorps Names Former Biden Campaign Staffer to Serve as Chief Program Officer

AmeriCorps

Danielle Melfi has been appointed chief program officer at the federal agency for national service and volunteerism.

She is the founding executive director of Building Back Together, a nonprofit advocacy organization that aims to raise public support for President Joseph Biden’s legislative agenda. Previously she was Wisconsin state director for his 2020 presidential campaign.

Gulf Coast Community Foundation

Phillip Lanham has been tapped as the next president and CEO of the $411 million community fund, effective June 1. Currently he is chief philanthropy officer at the Greater Cincinnati Foundation.

Lanham will succeed Mark Pritchett, who is retiring after 15 years at the helm.

World Resources Institute India

Madhav Pai has been installed as CEO of the conservation group, based in Mumbai. He has worked there for 15 years, most recently as program executive director of the WRI India Ross Center.

Pai replaces O.P. Agarwal, who has stepped down as CEO but remains a senior adviser with the organization.

More New CEOs

Shellena Eskridge, deputy director since 2021, has been promoted to executive director of the Homeless Prenatal Program. She follows Martha Ryan, who has led the San Francisco group since she founded it in 1989.

Charles Iacono has become president and CEO of the Green Beret Foundation, which provides support services to U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers and their families. Previously he was senior development and board relations officer at the United Services Organization.

Jeff Keller has been appointed CEO of the Rimrock Foundation. Previously he was president of the Ramsey Keller Memorial.

Kica Matos has been promoted from executive vice president of programs and strategy to president of the National Immigration Law Center and its Immigrant Justice Fund. She succeeds Marielena Hincapié, who departed in November after more than 20 years there.

Peter Miller, a professor and dean of the Bard Graduate Center, will be the next president and CEO of the American Academy in Rome, effective July 1. He will succeed Mark Robbins, who is departing after nearly 10 years at the nonprofit arts and humanities institution.

Heather Pringle, a major general in the U.S. Air Force, will become CEO of the Space Foundation on July 1. Currently she is commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. Pringle will replace Tom Zelibor, who will retire on June 30 after leading the $17 million foundation for six years.

Julia Quanrud, chief of staff at Ampact, has been named CEO of ServeMinnesota, the commission for national and community service in the state. She succeeds Audrey Suker, who is retiring after 24 years as its leader.

José Romano, assistant vice president for professional services at Baptist Health South Florida’s Doctor’s Hospital, is now president and CEO of the Zoo Miami Foundation. He follows William Moore, who has led the group since 2014 and is now retiring.

Karla Twedt-Ball has been promoted from senior vice president for programs and community investment to president and CEO of the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation. She will start her new role on June 1 when she succeeds Les Garner, who is retiring after 13 years at the $223 million community fund.

Affirm

The Phoenix organization, which was previously known as the Arizona Family Health Partnership, has named three new directors.

Ashley Laszok has been promoted from operations manager to director of operations.

Karen Martinot, a women’s health nurse practitioner at Mountain Park Health Center, has been named director of programs and clinical administration.

April McCue has been appointed director of grants and evaluation. Previously she was a prevention coalition coordinator at San Juan Basin Public Health.

Other Notable Appointments

Andrea Clay, vice president of corporate partnerships at the National Psoriasis Foundation, has been hired as vice president of development at the Cancer Support Community.

Kareem Crayton has been tapped as senior director for voting and representation at the Brennan Center for Justice within New York University School of Law. Most recently he worked as a consultant to public officials and organizations on voting rights and redistricting in the South.

Alison Freed has become chief development officer at American Friends of the Hebrew University. Most recently she was executive director of development at Penn Medicine, the University of Pennsylvania Health System.

Gamynne Guillotte will join the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art on June 26 as chief education and community-engagement officer. She currently works at the Baltimore Museum of Art as chief education officer.

David Rosselli will become executive vice president for advancement at Belmont University on August 1. Currently he is vice president for advancement and alumni relations at Baylor University.

Hana Sharif, artistic director of the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, will become the first person of color to serve as artistic director at the Arena Stage. She starts on August 21 and will succeed Molly Smith, who is retiring after 25 years in the position.

Departure

Gail Richards, president and CEO of the Johnson County Community Foundation since 2009, plans to retire in 2024.

Legacies

Todd Haimes, who worked at the Roundabout Theatre Company for 40 years, died on April 19 from osteosarcoma. He was 66. Haimes joined the performing-arts group in New York as executive director in 1983, when he was 26, and helped steer the theater away from the brink of bankruptcy in the 1980s. He became its artistic director and CEO in 2015.

Sammie Morrison, co-founder of the Southeast White House, died on April 13 at age 83. After receiving the gift of a house in southeast Washington, D.C., Morrison and his friend Scott Dimock created this Christian community-development organization there in 1996. It now operates the D.C. Dream Center.

John Pappajohn, a financier and philanthropist who primarily gave to the arts, health causes, and higher education, has died at age 94. He founded Equity Dynamics, a financial consulting company, and Pappajohn Capital Resources, a venture-capital firm in Des Moines. He and his wife, Mary (who died in 2022), appeared on the Chronicle’s Philanthropy 50 ranking of donors in 2009 after giving $47.3 million to a variety of charities that year.

Send an email to people@philanthropy.com.