New CEOs Rise at Heritage and William Davidson Foundations

William Davidson Foundation

Darin McKeever, the foundation’s chief program and strategy officer, has been promoted to president and chief executive officer. He succeeds Jonathan Aaron, who has served as president since Bill Davidson, the chairman of Guardian Industries who created the $1.2 billion family foundation, died in 2009.

Heritage Foundation

Kay Coles James will become chief executive officer of the conservative think tank in Washington. As a member of its Board of Trustees, she spearheaded its search committee for a replacement for Jim DeMint, the former U.S. senator who was dismissed in May. Ms. James, who served in the Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush administrations, helped run President Trump’s transition team for the Office of Management and Budget. She is also founder and president of the Gloucester Institute, a leadership academy for young African-Americans.

Room to Read

Geetha Murali, chief development and communications officer who joined the literacy charity in 2009, has been elevated to CEO. She has succeeded the group’s co-founder Erin Ganju, who will now serve on the charity’s emeritus board.

More new CEOs:

Jennifer Blatz, interim chief executive officer of StriveTogether since July, has been appointed permanently to lead this education charity in Cincinnati.

Tanya Heidelberg-Yopp, chief operations officer at the United Way for Southeastern Michigan, has stepped in as interim CEO following the resignation of Herman Gray.

Marne Davis Kellogg, executive vice president of the Kellogg Organization, has been promoted to president. Her husband, Peter, founded this fundraising consulting firm in 1981.

Claire Moore, who leads school and educator programs at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, has been appointed executive director of the Dallas Museum of Art’s Center for Creative Connections.

Kristin Sakoda, deputy commissioner of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, has become executive director of the Los Angeles County Arts Commission.

Beth Tigay, California director of Moving Traditions and a former middle-school teacher, has been named executive director of Spark, a career-mentoring group for middle-school students in Los Angeles.

Joyce Foundation

The foundation in Chicago has named three program staffing changes.

Carrie Davis, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Ohio, has joined as democracy program director.

Soledad Adrianzén McGrath, program officer in the Justice Reform program at the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, has become senior program officer in the newly expanded Gun Violence Prevention & Justice Reform program.

Jason Quiara, program officer in the education and economic mobility program, has been promoted to senior program officer.

Other notable appointments:

Margo Bloom, senior division director of development at New York University’s Langone Medical Center, has joined American Jewish World Service as vice president for development.

Alexis Carter-Black, grant manager for health-care quality and advocacy at American Heart Association and American Stroke Association, has been selected as the first director of development and state-community relations at the Nobel Research Institute. In this role, she will also manage grant making through the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation.

Carolyn Drew, a development consultant, has been named associate dean and associate vice president for development and alumni relations at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

Jim Frost, co-executive director at the Atlantic Center for the Arts, has become vice president of strategic partnerships at the National YoungArts Foundation.

Susan Shingledecker, vice president at the BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water, has joined the Chesapeake Conservancy as vice president and director of programs.

Emily Wakeling, executive director of global membership and emerging markets at Catalyst Inc., has become vice president of development, alumni relations, and communications at International House, a residential program for future civic leaders.

Departures

William Getty, president of the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, will retire on June 30, pending the selection of a new leader. He will continue working for the $346 million grant maker as regional facilitator.

Legacies

Ruth Altshuler, a Dallas philanthropist and civic leader who served for 49 years on the Board of Trustees at Southern Methodist University, died on December 8. She was 93. Her father, Carr Collins, founded Fidelity Union Life Insurance, and she served as chair of both the Carr P. Collins Foundation and the Sharp Foundation.

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