Catawba Nation Foundation
Kristine Urrutia will be the first executive director of this new grant maker for Native American community and economic development throughout North Carolina. It will be funded primarily by gaming revenues from the Two Kings Casino, in Kings Mountain, N.C.
A citizen of the Lumbee Tribe, Urrutia was most recently principal and CEO of the JAN Collaborative, a consulting firm that focuses on conservation, public health, and social justice.
Middle East Institute
Stuart Jones was tapped as its next president and CEO. Most recently he was senior vice president and president for regions and corporate relations at the engineering firm Bechtel, and previously served as the U.S. ambassador to Jordan and then Iraq under President Barack Obama.
Jones succeeds Susan Saxton, who has been the think tank’s interim leader since Paul Salem’s departure in June.
Purdue Research Foundation
Chad Pittman will be promoted from chief executive of economic development to president and CEO of the research organization on February 1.
He will succeed Brian Edelman, who has been its president since 2017 and will now retire.
In addition, Greg Deason has been promoted from senior vice president of alliances and placemaking to chief operating officer, also effective February 1.
More New CEOs
Omar Carrillo Tinajero will be promoted from director of programs to executive director of the Center for Community Investment on January 21. He will succeed Robin Hacke, who will remain with the group as a senior fellow.
Jennifer Reed Goddard will begin in January as president and CEO of Philanthropy West Virginia. She is the former CEO of YWCA Charleston, West Virginia.
Nora Lawrence, artistic director and chief curator at the Storm King Art Center, will become its president next month. She will succeed John Stern, whose father and grandfather co-founded the art center in 1960.
Terry Loftis will start in early March as president and CEO of the New Jersey Symphony. Currently he is chief advancement and revenue officer of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.
Maricelle Robles will be the next CEO of the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, in San Francisco. For the past four years, she has served as executive director of the Headlands Center for the Arts.
Andrea Wood, a nonprofit consultant and former vice president of social impact at Best Buy, will be the next president and CEO of the Association of Corporate Citizenship Professionals. When she starts on January 29, she will succeed Carolyn Berkowitz, who has led the group for seven years.
Other Notable Appointments
Milan Ball, a fundraising consultant and former director of development and marketing at the Be Nimble Foundation, has been appointed director of development and partnerships at Giving Compass. In addition, Kavitha Thimmaiah is joining the group as director of donor education and content production. Previously she freelanced as a content-marketing writer for education and nonprofit organizations.
Cheryl Ewers, chief financial officer at Catholic Charities CYO of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, has been appointed chief financial officer at San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
Allison Gerber has been promoted to vice president of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Center for Economic Opportunity. She has worked at the $3.5 billion grant maker since 2013 and was most recently its director of employment, education, and training.
Wally Halas, vice president for university advancement at Fairfield University, has been promoted to executive director of principal gifts. In addition, Geri Derbyshire was promoted from senior associate vice president for advancement to vice president for university advancement.
Mark Ruffo has been named chief advancement officer at the California Academy of Sciences. Most recently he was chief of outreach, development, and communications at Landesa.
Jason Shott, regional vice president of operations at Atria Senior Living, has started as chief operating officer at Phoebe Ministries.
Departures
Bradley Drexler, vice president of Institutional Advancement at Northampton Community College, in Pennsylvania, plans to retire at the end of the year. He has worked there since 2016.
David Leslie, executive director of the Rothko Chapel since 2015, will retire at the end of June.
Legacies
Michael Bailin, who served as president and CEO of the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation from 1996 to 2005, died on December 9. Prior to leading the grant maker, he founded and led Public/Private Ventures for 17 years.
Alton Thacker, a barber in Utah who founded Tiny Tim’s Foundation for Kids in 1996, died on November 26 at age 89. The nonprofit group produces and delivers millions of handmade toy cars to children in need around the world.
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