Mott Foundations Name New CEOs, and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation Starts New Era in Leadership

Mott Foundations Name CEOs

Ridgway White, president of the $2.8 billion foundation and a great-grandson of its founder, will also be the chief executive of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. He succeeds his father, William White, who has retired as CEO after nearly 50 years at the foundation.

Meanwhile, the Ruth Mott Foundation, created by Charles Stewart Mott’s wife, also has a new CEO. She is Raquel Thueme, who was previously the foundation’s vice president for programs.

She succeeds Handy Lindsey Jr., who retired last month.

Silicon Valley Community Foundation Gets New Head

Nicole Taylor, vice president of the Arizona State University Foundation, will lead the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. She succeeds Emmett Carson, who stepped down in June after an investigation by the Chronicle of Philanthropy uncovered poor management at the $13.5 billion foundation.

Taylor has spent part of her career in the region the community foundation serves. She headed the East Bay Community Foundation and was dean of community engagement and diversity at Stanford University.

Ex-Cabinet Secretary Will Lead Goodwill

Steven Preston, former secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development under President George W. Bush, will become Goodwill Industries International’s president and CEO in January. He replaces Jim Gibbons, who left his post in August after 10 years.

Children’s Defense Leader to Leave Top Role

Marian Wright Edelman is stepping down as president of the Children’s Defense Fund, which she founded. Max Lesko, chief of staff, will become national executive director of the charity during the search for Edelman’s replacement.

Nord Family Foundation To Undergo Leadership Change

John Mullaney, executive director of the Nord Family Foundation, plans to retire in June after more than two decades at the institution. He will be succeeded by Anthony Richardson, associate director there who is also head of the Lorain Schools’ Academic Distress Commission, in Ohio. Richardson was among the influencers the Chronicle spotlighted last year in a cover article featuring people quietly changing the nonprofit world. Nord Family Foundation To Undergo Leadership Change

Departures

Chad Griffin has decided to leave the Human Rights Campaign in 2019, after seven years at the helm.

Dawn Laguens, executive vice president and chief brand officer at Planned Parenthood, will leave the group after almost eight years. She most recently spent six months as interim president after Cecile Richards stepped down in April and before Leana Wen started as president in November.

Otis Brawley, executive vice president and chief medical officer at the American Cancer Society for 11 years, has resigned.

Susan Paresky, who serves as senior vice president for development at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, will step down next month, after 21 years. She intends to provide consulting services to nonprofit groups.

Legacy

Barbara Jonas, a social worker and psychotherapist who later become a major philanthropist focused on promoting nurses and aiding veterans, died in October at age 84. She and her husband, Donald Jonas, appeared on our 2005 Philanthropy 50 list of people who give the most.