NAACP Legal Defense Fund Taps New Leader to Succeed Sherrilyn Ifill

NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund

Janai Nelson, associate director-counsel, will be promoted to president and director-counsel in the spring.

She will succeed Sherrilyn Ifill, who plans to step down after serving in the role for nearly 10 years.

Carnegie Corporation of New York

Louise Richardson will become president of the $3.6 billion foundation in January 2023. Currently she is head of the University of Oxford, in England, and has served as a member of the foundation’s Board of Trustees since 2013.

Richardson follows Vartan Gregorian, who died in April.

Read more about Richardson’s appointment in the Chronicle.

National Audubon Society

Elizabeth Gray, who joined Audubon in March as president and chief conservation officer and has served as acting CEO since May, will continue to lead the conservation group on a permanent basis.

She is the first woman to lead the organization in its 116-year history.

Regional Foundation

Kevin Dow, vice president of operations at the Children’s Scholarship Fund Philadelphia, will be the first executive director of this new grant maker.

Last year, the Wells Fargo Regional Foundation and Wells Fargo Regional Community Development Corporation consolidated their programs and $100 million in charitable assets to form this organization, operating through the Philadelphia Foundation. It will make grants to strengthen communities in eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware.

More New CEOs

Sigal Yaniv Feller, deputy director and senior director of advisory services at Jewish Funders Network Israel, has been promoted to executive director. She succeeds Maya Natan, who will now be CEO of Keshet-DAF, a donor-advised fund in Israel.

Maha Freij, executive director, has been promoted to president and CEO of Access, an Arab American community nonprofit group. She succeeds Hassan Jaber, who worked there for 40 years, including 13 years as its leader. He retired in September.

Avi Garbow has been named president of the Resources Legacy Fund. A lawyer who was general counsel to the Environmental Protection Agency under President Barack Obama, he most recently served as an environmental advocate at the apparel company Patagonia.

Mark Hille, president and chief operating officer of the Air Force Academy Foundation, has been promoted to president of both the Air Force Academy Foundation and the Association of Graduates. He is a 1997 graduate of the Air Force Academy.

Miranda Walker Jones, district director for Missouri’s First Congressional District, has been tapped as CEO of the Little Bit Foundation. She succeeds Rosemary Hanley, its co-founder and CEO who is now retiring.

Other Notable Appointments

Victor Avila, development manager at Phoenix Pride, has returned to Aunt Rita’s Foundation to serve as director of development. He previously worked there as director of marketing and events.

Renea Banks, chief of human resources and diversity and inclusion at VersAbility Resources, has been named chief human resources and equity officer at the National Service Office for Nurse-Family Partnership and Child First.

Priya Bery, CEO of the Tarsadia Foundation, will now join the Pew Charitable Trusts as senior vice president for partnerships.

Mark Cole has been named chief advancement and marketing officer at the Van Wezel Foundation, where he will oversee its fundraising campaign to build the new Sarasota Performing Arts Center on the Bay. He most recently worked at Miami Dade College as vice president of advancement and executive director of the Miami Dade College Foundation.

Reginald Douglas, associate artistic director at the Studio Theatre, has joined the Mosaic Theater Company of D.C. as artistic director.

Romy Drucker has joined the Walton Family Foundation as director of its K-12 Education Program. She co-founded and led The 74, a nonprofit news organization that reports on education issues.

Carlton Ford, a major-gifts officer at the Interlochen Center for the Arts, has been named national director of strategic partnerships at the Taproot Foundation.

Rachel Lubert will be promoted from assistant general counsel to general counsel at the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, effective January 1. She will succeed Guy Billauer, who is stepping down after 10 years there.

Bethany Maki has been promoted from managing director to executive director of the Progressive Multiplier, a group that helps progressive nonprofit organizations develop independent streams of revenue. She follows Phil Radford, its founder, who will remain president of the group.

Phillip Robinson Jr., managing director and chief operating officer at Education Board Partners, has been appointed chief impact officer at Reading Partners.

Jan Strode, founder of the strategic-communications company CEO Advisors, has been named chief strategy officer at Givvor, a fintech platform for philanthropists, corporate giving, wealth managers, government groups, and charitable organizations.

Departures

Jonathan Lewin, executive director of the Woodruff Health Sciences Center and CEO and chairman of Emory Healthcare, will step down from these positions to join the faculty at Emory University.

Clark McCain has departed as senior program officer at the Coleman Foundation. He worked there for 15 years.

Send an email to people@philanthropy.com.