Kauffman Foundation Taps Executive Director of Entrepreneurship Programs

Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

Olatunji Ajani has been promoted to executive director for its 1 Million Cups and FastTrac programs. FastTrac is its entrepreneurial education program, and 1 Million Cups offers support for small business owners to connect and collaborate.

Ajani joined the $3 billion foundation in 2022 as an associate.

Fred L. Emerson Foundation

Lori Robinson has been tapped as president. She is the great-granddaughter of the founder of this family foundation, which now has $95 million in assets.

Robinson succeeds Kristen Rubacka, who has been its leader since 2018.

GivingTuesday

Chris Worman, an organizational development consultant, has been appointed chief global strategy and partnerships officer. He will oversee its five global hubs: Africa, Europe, India, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the United States and Canada.

In addition, Richa Chopra Mistry has been hired as chief financial officer. Previously she was vice president of finance at the Global Fund for Children.

More New CEOs

Declan Kiely will become executive director of the Grolier Club, a nonprofit organization for enthusiasts of books and the graphic arts, on July 22. Most recently he was the New York Public Library’s director of special collections and exhibitions.

Terah Lawyer has been promoted from executive director to president of Creating Restorative Opportunities and Programs, a nonprofit group that offers leadership training, career development, and housing support to previously incarcerated people.

Valerie Thompson, interim executive director of the Actuarial Foundation since December, will continue in the role permanently. She joined the organization in 2020 as its director of development.

Gabriel van Aalst, president and CEO of the New Jersey Symphony, has been named president and CEO of Dayton Live, a performing-arts organization in Ohio.

Other Notable Appointments

Ashna Arora, research director at the University of Chicago Crime Lab, has been appointed vice president of criminal justice research at Arnold Ventures.

Claudia Borgelt has been promoted from senior vice president of development to senior vice president of strategy and impact at the News Literacy Project. In addition, Erin Moore has been hired as senior vice president of development. Previously she was chief development officer at myAgro.

Kyle Erickson has been promoted from grant officer to director of rural grantmaking at the Blandin Foundation.

Belinda Harris, who previously was associate director of learning and development at Verizon, has been appointed vice president of development at the Heart of America Foundation.

Robert Matthews, director of the Child and Family Services Agency for the District of Columbia, will begin as chief program officer at Think of Us on July 15.

Sean Roddy, chief financial officer at the Society for Human Resource Management, has been named chief financial officer at the National Association of Community Health Centers.

Michael Shaw has been promoted from program director to vice president of programs at the Hudson-Webber Foundation.

Darin Weiss, former chief operating officer at Turning Point Recovery Centers, is returning to Grace Centers of Hope as its chief operating officer. He previously worked there from 2005 until 2014.

Departures

Alec Gorynski, president and CEO of the Lincoln Community Foundation since 2021, plans to depart on August 2.

Felice Levine, executive director of the American Educational Research Association since 2002, intends to step down next year. Her last day will be June 15, 2025.

Ted Russell is stepping down as director of arts strategy and ventures at the Kenneth Rainin Foundation. He has worked there for seven years.

Legacy

Miguel Garcia Jr., the former leader of the National Urban Fellows, died on May 31 at age 72. Garcia received a fellowship from the group in 1985, then joined the organization as program director in 2006. He then served as its president and CEO from 2013 until 2020.

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