Donors of Color Network
Isabelle Leighton has been chosen as its next executive director. She joined the organization a year ago as deputy director of membership and growth.
Leighton succeeds its co-founder Ashindi Maxton, who stepped down as executive director late last year.
(See more about Maxton’s work in this special report from the Chronicle.)
Americares
Mariel Fonteyn has been promoted from associate director of emergency preparedness to director of U.S. emergency response.
In addition, Cora Nally has returned to the organization as director of international emergency response. Most recently she was country director for Project HOPE’s Hurricane Dorian response in the Bahamas, and prior to that, she worked at Americares in 2019 as its Hurricane Dorian emergency response team leader.
Borealis Philanthropy
Bianca Carter has joined the grant maker as program officer for its Racial Equity in Philanthropy Fund.
Most recently, she was program officer for housing and homelessness at Trinity Church Wall Street.
More New CEOs
Julia Arroyo, managing director, and Abigail Richards, deputy director, have been promoted to co-executive directors of the Young Women’s Freedom Center. They succeed Jessica Nowlan, who is stepping down after six years.
Eileen Spencer, vice president for mobilization and generosity at Hope for New York, will be the next executive director of the American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem. After she starts in September, she will work alongside John Lent, who is retiring in December.
Kathryn Taylor, director of development at Northwestern Settlement, has been appointed executive director of Beacon Place, a charity that provides programs for the health and well-being of children and families in the Chicago area.
Other Notable Appointments
Ira Berkowitz, chief operating officer at the Center for Jewish History, has been hired as vice president and chief financial officer at FCA, a human-services charity that offers services for children, older people, families, and communities on New York’s Long Island. In addition, Thurston O’Neal has been promoted from director of the Hempstead Prevention Coalition at FCA to assistant vice president for prevention and community engagement.
Stephen Butler, assistant dean for advancement and external relations at the Oklahoma City University School of Law, has been hired as chief development officer at the Fund for Teachers.
Alma Garcia, vice president of belonging and strategic planning at Raise the Future, has joined Entrepreneurship for All as regional director for the organization’s EforAll/EparaTodos communities, which are in Worcester, Holyoke, Lynn, and the Merrimack Valley, in Massachusetts; Longmont, Colo.; the northwest region of Arkansas; and Rhode Island.
Bob Halbruner, director of individual advancement at the Smithsonian Institution, has been named associate dean for external relations at the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University.
Constance Harper has been promoted to vice president of policy, advocacy, and strategic initiatives at the Deaconess Foundation. She has worked at the $77 million grant maker for five years, most recently as director of advocacy and Freedom Schools.
Andrew Harris has joined the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts as deputy director for finance and chief financial officer. Until last year, he was vice president for finance and administration and chief financial officer at Roosevelt University.
James Husson, senior vice president for university advancement at Boston College, will become vice president of development and alumni relations at the University of Pennsylvania on October 17. He follows John Zeller, who began leading fundraising at the university in 2005 and recently retired.
Alli Jernow, who currently leads the sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression program at the Wellspring Philanthropic Fund, will join the Arcus Foundation as vice president of its social-justice program on September 26. She will succeed Cindy Rizzo, who has led the program since 2018.
Necie Liggeons has been promoted from deputy chief advancement officer to chief development and alumni engagement officer at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Mariaesmeralda Paguaga is now vice president of strategic communications at Americans for the Arts. Most recently, she led the PeaceTech Lab’s Office of Strategic Communications and Special Projects at the U.S. Institute of Peace.
Matt Purdy, impact and sustainability director at Campbell Global, will now serve as director of forest investments at the Conservation Fund.
Barbara Wong, director of community engagement and family programs at the Barnes Foundation, has been hired as director of creative communities at the William Penn Foundation, where she will oversee more than $30 million in annual grant making.
Departures
Carol Butera will retire as president and CEO of the William G. and Marie Selby Foundation in the spring. She has worked at the $81 million foundation in Florida since 2017.
Lynette Fraga, CEO of Child Care Aware of America for the past decade, plans to depart early next year.
Legacies
Betty Brown Casey, a philanthropist who gave millions to organizations throughout the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, died on August 17 at age 95. Her late husband, Eugene Casey, was a real-estate developer and investor who died in 1986. Since 1974, she served on the board of the Washington National Opera and repeatedly gave to the performing-arts group, including $18 million in 1996 to purchase a new building to house it. She also donated $100 million to plant trees throughout Washington and was the namesake benefactor of the charity Casey Trees, which she helped establish in 2001.
Ann McGuiness, a fundraising consultant who raised millions for women’s reproductive health and served as senior philanthropy adviser at the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, died from cancer on August 3. She was 65. Earlier in her career, she worked in development at NARAL Pro-Choice America, the National Women’s Political Caucus, and Families USA.
Julian Robertson Jr., the hedge-fund billionaire who co-founded Tiger Management, died on August 23 at age 90. He appeared on the Philanthropy 50 rankings of donors for many years; last year, he gave $100 million to his Robertson Foundation, which he created in 1996 to support education groups, environmental causes, medical research, and other efforts. He also gave through two other foundations: the Tiger Foundation, which is connected to his Tiger Management firm and backs programs aimed at reducing poverty in New York, and the Aotearoa Foundation, which makes grants to nonprofits in New Zealand.
Send an email to people@philanthropy.com.
