Commonwealth Fund Names Its Next President and First Latino Leader

Commonwealth Fund

Joseph Betancourt will become the $1 billion foundation’s next president and first Latino leader on January 17. He is currently senior vice president for equity and community health at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Betancourt will succeed David Blumenthal, who has led the health care fund since 2013.

William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

Mallika Dutt has been hired as director of the foundation’s Gender Equity and Governance Program, effective January 23.

She is the founder of Inter-Connected, a leadership-development consulting firm. She also founded and led Breakthrough, a global organization that promotes the rights of marginalized communities and works to reduce violence against girls and women.

The Hewlett Foundation is a financial supporter of the Chronicle.

Wellcome

Paul Schreier, chief operating officer, will step up as interim CEO of the foundation on February 25.

He will succeed Jeremy Farrar, who has been appointed chief scientist at the World Health Organization.

YoungArts

In January, Clive Chang will become president of this $88 million foundation that supports young artists.

He most recently served as executive vice president and chief advancement and innovation officer at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

More New CEOs

Clifford Chanin has been promoted to museum director at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum. He has worked there since 2005, most recently as executive vice president and deputy director for museum programs.

Matthew McLendon, director and chief curator at the Fralin Museum of Art at the University of Virginia, will become director of the McNay Art Museum on February 13. He will succeed Richard Aste, who has been director and CEO of the San Antonio museum for six years.

Rita McNeil Danish, a lawyer and partner at the Columbus law firm Taft Stettinius & Hollister, has been named the CEO of Signal Ohio, a media organization that created the nonprofit newsroom Signal Cleveland earlier this year.

Robert Wheeler, who retired in 2016 as senior vice president at Mercantile Bank, has been named interim CEO and chief operating officer of the Mt. Pleasant Area Community Foundation. He has served as a trustee at the $30 million community foundation in Michigan since its creation in 1990. Wheeler follows Amanda Schafer, who is departing at the end of this month.

Other Notable Appointments

Irena Barisic has been promoted to executive vice president and chief operating and financial officer at the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. She joined the organization last year as executive vice president and chief financial and administrative officer.

Lee Bynum will serve the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts as chief education officer, beginning February 1. Currently he is vice president for impact at Minnesota Opera.

Mitchell Currin, executive director of the Animal Adoption and Rescue Foundation, will join the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust in January as finance and human-resources administrator.

Diana Gutiérrez de Piñeres Botero, executive director for the Colombia Ministry of Defense’s Inclusive Rehabilitation Center, is now director of the Colombia program at Americares.

Mark Keavey, vice president of finance for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, has been hired as senior vice president and chief financial officer at the Parkinson’s Foundation. In addition, Meri-Margaret Deoudes has joined the organization as senior vice president and chief operating officer. Most recently, she was president and CEO of the National Environmental Education Foundation.

Dominique Morgan has joined Borealis Philanthropy as program director of its Fund for Trans Generations. Most recently, she was executive director of Black and Pink National and CEO of Starks and Whitaker Consulting.

Scott Rabenold, vice president for development at the University of Texas at Austin, has been named senior vice president for university advancement and alumni relations at the University of Southern California.

Christina Yancey, chief evaluation officer and scientific integrity official at the U.S. Department of Labor, will join the American Institutes for Research as a vice president and leader of its work-force program area. She starts her new role in January.

Departures

Judy Belk will step down in December 2023 as president and CEO of the California Wellness Foundation, a position she has held at the $1 billion grant maker since 2014.

Mandana Dayani has left after a year as president of Archewell Foundation, the charitable vehicle of Prince Harry and Megan Markle.

Angie Truesdale will depart as CEO of the Centering Healthcare Institute in early 2023. She has led the group since 2015.

Legacy

Edward Avedisian, who this fall gave $101 million to Boston University, died on December 7 at age 85. He was a clarinetist with the Boston Pops and the Boston Ballet Orchestra, as well as a savvy investor in the stock market. His two gifts to Boston University in September directed $100 million to its School of Medicine in honor of his lifelong friend Aram Chobanian, the university’s former president, and an additional $1 million to endow scholarships for music students and those studying visual arts within its College of Fine Arts.

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