Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service
Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, former policy director for first lady Michelle Obama, has been named president and CEO. She is the first refugee to lead the humanitarian group; her parents came to America as asylum seekers from Sri Lanka when she was an infant.
Pittsburgh Foundation
Lisa Schroeder, president and CEO of the Parks & People Foundation, has been named president, the first woman to lead the $1.1 billion community foundation. She will succeed Maxwell King, who is retiring at the end of this summer after five years at the helm.
Skoll Foundation
Donald Gips, the former U.S. ambassador to South Africa under President Obama, will become president of the $580 million foundation. He succeeds Sally Osberg, who has for 16 years led the foundation started by Jeff Skoll, the former president of eBay.
More New CEOs
James Bonham has been named president and CEO of the ESOP Association and president of the Employee Ownership Foundation, a nonprofit group that supports employee efforts to acquire ownership shares of the companies where they work. Previously he was chairman of public policy and government relations at the law firm of Manatt, Phelps, & Phillips.
Mark Cloutier, executive director of Horizon Services, has been appointed CEO of Caminar, which provides behavioral-health services in San Mateo, Calif.
Alison Nakamura Netter, chief communications and development officer at ZanaAfrica Foundation, has been promoted to executive director.
Steven Rhines has been promoted to president and chief executive officer of the Noble Research Institute, an affiliate of the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation. He has worked at the nonprofit organization for almost two decades, most recently as vice president, general counsel, and director of public affairs. Rhines replaces Bill Buckner, who has retired after seven years.
Marc Slater, interim executive director at Raphael House since November, has been appointed permanently to the position. He joined the family homeless shelter in San Francisco as director of development in 2016.
Maura Sullivan, an assistant secretary at the Department of Veterans Affairs appointed by President Obama, has been named CEO of the Warrior-Scholar Project, which helps military veterans enroll in academic programs at top colleges and universities.
Kristen Titus, chief technology and innovation officer in the office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York, has become the first executive director of the Cognizant U.S. Foundation, which offers digital literacy education and skills programs.
Other Notable Appointments
Jennifer Agmi, director of programs at the New York Women’s Foundation, has been appointed senior program officer for the Libra Foundation’s gender justice grant-making strategy.
David Berkowitz, co-chief investment officer at RiverPark Capital Management, has been named investment chief at the Klarman Family Foundation, managing the fund’s $700 million in assets.
James Powell Budden has joined the Health Foundation of Greater Indianapolis as program manager and compliance coordinator. Previously he was transitions manager at Indiana’s Family and Social Services Administration.
Tony Cohn, a brand marketing specialist in the Office of Communications and External Affairs at the Smithsonian Institution, has joined the Morgridge Family Foundation as director of strategy. The Denver grant maker had $167 million in assets in 2016, according to the most recent data available.
Sarah Fawcett-Lee, regional vice president for philanthropy at MedStar Health, in Baltimore, is now senior vice president of the Virtua Health Foundation.
James Haskins, managing director of the Wilma Theater, in Philadelphia, will now be managing director of the Guthrie Theater, in Minneapolis.
Bret Silver has joined Drew University as vice president for university advancement. He was most recently chief strategy and external relations officer at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.
Carlie Steen, program manager at Stonewall Community Foundation, has been named director of programs at the New York Women’s Foundation.
Departures
Carol Larson is stepping down after 15 years as president of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and 30 years total at the $7.8 billion grant maker. She plans to leave by the end of the year, pending the selection of a successor.
Gabriella Stern, director of media and external relations at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is departing to become director of communications at the World Health Organization, based in Geneva.
Richard Woo, CEO of the Russell Family Foundation, will depart the Gig Harbor, Wash., grant maker after nearly two decades of leadership. He joined the $132 million foundation a year after it was established in 1999.
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