Elton John AIDS Foundation Taps New Chief Philanthropy Officer (Transitions)

Elton John AIDS Foundation

Fredrick Anyanwu, associate vice president of resource development at CARE, has been appointed chief philanthropy officer at the Elton John AIDS Foundation, based in New York.

Also, Kali Lindsay, senior manager of external affairs at ViiV Healthcare, has joined the charity as its LGBTQ portfolio lead.

Read more about the foundation’s strategy for reducing stigma worldwide against people with HIV/AIDS.

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Sue Desmond-Hellmann announced Thursday that she is departing the foundation and that Mark Suzman, the foundation’s president of Global Policy & Advocacy and chief strategy officer, will become the new CEO on February 1. (See the Chronicle’s coverage of this departure.)

Opera San Antonio

E. Loren Meeker, a stage director who has directed three productions at the opera house, has been promoted to general and artistic director.

She replaces both Adam Diegel, who stepped down as artistic director in 2018, and Liz Tullis, who was executive director until last year.

Wells Fargo

Jenny Flores, head of community affairs and corporate social responsibility at Bank of the West, will join Wells Fargo to lead its small-business growth philanthropy.

Also, Darlene Goins has been promoted to become head of financial-health philanthropy. Most recently she was senior vice president for the San Francisco bank’s Hands on Banking program that provides free financial education in English and Spanish.

More New CEOs

Tasha Museles, executive director of the Children’s Cancer Foundation for the past five years, has been promoted to president. She succeeds Jerrold Chadwick, who will become chairman of its board.

Amy Quackenboss, deputy executive director and general counsel at the American Bankruptcy Institute, has been promoted to executive director. She succeeds Samuel Gerdano, who is retiring after 28 years leading the financial-policy group.

Miriam Singer will now be president and CEO of Jewish Community Services of South Florida. Most recently she was chief procurement officer for the County of Santa Clara, in California.

Monetta White, interim executive director of the Museum of the African Diaspora since August, has accepted the position permanently. She previously served as managing partner of the Fillmore Food Group.

Berks County Community Foundation

The $92 million foundation has promoted two executives.

Frances Aitken, senior vice president for finance and operations, is now chief operating officer.

Heidi Williamson, vice president, has become senior vice president for programs and initiatives.

Other Notable Appointments

Janet Alberti, deputy director of finance and administration at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, has been named vice president and chief financial officer at the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

Elyse Buxbaum, deputy director of development at the Jewish Museum, has been named executive vice president for strategy and development at the Museum of Jewish Heritage — a Living Memorial to the Holocaust.

Lauren Fiechtner, director of nutrition in the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition at MassGeneral Hospital for Children, has been tapped as senior health and research adviser at the Greater Boston Food Bank.

Maureen Harris, executive director of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Columbia, has been named director of development of Howard Hospital Foundation, the fundraising arm of Howard County General Hospital.

Giles Li, CEO of the Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center, has joined the Barr Foundation as senior program officer in arts and creativity.

Maritza Perez has been hired as national-affairs director at the Drug Policy Alliance. Most recently she was a senior policy analyst for criminal-justice reform at the Center for American Progress.

Betsy Smith has been selected as the director of the Raising Our Children with Kindness Mat-Su program at the Mat-Su Health Foundation. Most recently she worked at the program as Upper-Su community coordinator and trauma sensitive schools fellow.

Denise Smith will be the implementation director for Hope Starts Here, a program at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. She has been volunteering on the stewardship board for the program after leaving her role as executive director of the Flint Early Childhood Collaborative and Educare-Flint.

Lorelei Williams, an assessor at Comic Relief USA who focused on grants for its annual fundraising event Red Nose Day, will now serve as the charity’s senior vice president of grants programs.

Departures

Brad Whitehead plans to step down as president of the Fund for Our Economic Future, a position he has held since the group was created in 2004. He will remain with the organization as senior adviser of special projects, beginning in March.

Legacies

Barbara Mandel, a philanthropist and co-founder of the Morton and Barbara Mandel Family Foundation, died on November 21 at the age of 93. The couple gave millions to the arts, hospitals, and Jewish educational and cultural causes in Palm Beach County, Fla. Mort Mandel died in October; they were married for 70 years.

Send an email to people@philanthropy.com.

M.J. Prest has been writing about major gifts, grant making, and executive moves for the Chronicle since 2004. Email M.J.

Correction: This article has been updated to correct Elyse Buxbaum’s former position.