CDC Official Will Join Skoll Foundation; Schwab Charitable Names Its Next President

Skoll Foundation

Nancy Messonnier, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases since 2016, has been named executive director for pandemics and health systems, effective June 1. She will build on the work of the Ending Pandemics team at the Skoll Global Threats Fund, another program created by the billionaire Jeff Skoll, the first president of eBay.

Messonnier broke ranks during a CDC press briefing in February 2020 where she warned Americans of an impending health crisis, contradicting the Trump administration’s downplaying of the coronavirus. “Ultimately, we expect we will see community spread in the United States. It’s not a question of if this will happen, but when this will happen, and how many people in this country will have severe illnesses,” she told reporters at the time.

Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research

Deborah Brooks, executive vice chairman and co-founder of the foundation, is returning as CEO, a role she previously held from 2000 to 2007.

She succeeds Todd Sherer, who has been CEO since 2011 and will now serve as executive vice president for research strategy.

Robin Hood Foundation

Derek Ferguson, chief operating officer at the $297 million foundation, has stepped up as interim CEO following the departure of Wes Moore this month.

Schwab Charitable

Sam Kang, who currently leads its service, operations, and technology teams, will be promoted to president, effective July 1.

Schwab Charitable

He will replace Kim Laughton, who is retiring after almost 10 years leading the nonprofit group that granted $3.7 billion through donor-advised funds in 2020.

More New CEOs

Simi Balter has been named executive director of the Pet Network Humane Society in Incline Village, Nev. She was most recently executive director of the southwest region at Canine Companions for Independence.

Nicholas Dawes, who was most recently deputy executive director at Human Rights Watch, is now executive director of The City, a journalism nonprofit group in New York.

Corina Gardner, executive director of education at the IDP Foundation, has been promoted to executive director. She is based in London. This Chicago family foundation was started by Irene Pritzker, the former wife of the late hotel heir Bob Pritzker.

Kiki Louya has been named the first executive director of the Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation, which makes grants to advance racial justice in the hospitality industry and provide economic support for restaurant workers who have lost wages during the Covid-19 pandemic. Louya is a restaurant owner who competed on the current season of the television series Top Chef. She previously worked in the nonprofit sector as economic-development manager at Grandmont Rosedale Development Corporation, in Detroit.

Dorri McWhorter will start as president and CEO of the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago in August, becoming the group’s first woman and Black leader. She has spent the past eight years as CEO of YWCA Metropolitan Chicago.

Leigh Phillips, CEO of SaverLife, will remain its CEO following the nonprofit financial-services organization’s merger with Onward Financial. Ronnie Washington, CEO of Onward Financial, will become special adviser to SaverLife.

Dolores Swirin-Yao has been tapped as vice president for external affairs at Westchester Community College and executive director of its foundation. Most recently she was vice president of development at Volunteers of America-Greater New York.

Jimmy Thomason, vice president of global human resources at Bank of America, has been named executive director at Aunt Rita’s Foundation, which makes grants to community-based groups that provide HIV prevention and testing programs.

National Association of Community Health Centers

Merrill Warschoff-Press, senior vice president, and Jason Patnosh, associate vice president, have been named to lead development and innovation at its Center for Community Health Innovation, which was recently created with a $5 million grant from the RCHN Community Health Foundation.

Other Notable Appointments

Scott Callan has been named associate director of individual giving at the GroundTruth Project, a nonprofit journalism organization. He most recently worked at the Nature Conservancy, where he served as associate director of philanthropy for its Florida chapter.

Melissa Hillman, a diversity and inclusion consultant and artistic director at the Impact Theatre, has been named programs officer at Theatre Bay Area.

Sandy Nathan has joined Humanity United as managing director of operations, a new position at the foundation. Most recently she served as the interim executive director for the Astraea Foundation for Justice.

Annie Nienaber, assistant dean of development at the Rutgers University School of Engineering, has been hired as chief advancement officer at Brooklyn Law School.

Stephanie Sneed is joining the Meyer Foundation as director of its new Fund for Black-led Change. She comes to the $44 million foundation from the Fair Budget Coalition, where she was executive director.

Diana Tate Vermeire is now senior vice president of strategy at the Schott Foundation for Public Education. Previously she worked at California State University at Sacramento as a university diversity officer and vice president for inclusive excellence.

Legacy

Eula Hall, who started and operated the Mud Creek Clinic for coal miners, their families, and other people who lacked access to health care in rural parts of eastern Kentucky, died on May 8. She was 93. She also ran the Mud Creek Water District, which delivered clean drinking water to homes in the region.

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