St. David’s Foundation
Edward Burger, a professor of mathematics and president of Southwestern University, will become CEO of the $822 million health foundation in January. He succeeds Earl Maxwell, who intends to retire in December after 12 years at the helm.
MIT Media Lab
Joi Ito, director of the Media Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has resigned following an investigation into his decisions to obfuscate large donations that the Media Lab received from Jeffrey Epstein, a wealthy convicted sex offender who killed himself in prison last month.
In addition, Brown University has put Peter Cohen on leave from his position as director of development for computer and data-science initiatives as a result of his involvement with Epstein during Cohen’s time working at MIT.
Read more of our coverage of the MIT Media Lab scandal.
Open Society Foundations
Sarah Margon, Washington director at Human Rights Watch, will now serve as director of foreign-policy advocacy for Open Society-U.S.
More New CEOs
Robert Boyd, founding executive director of the Secure Schools Alliance, will be the next president and CEO of the School-Based Health Alliance. He succeeds John Schlitt, who has stepped down after 22 years.
Anna Gosline, senior director of strategic initiatives in the executive office of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, will also serve as executive director of the Massachusetts Coalition for Serious Illness Care. Gosline succeeds Richard Averbuch, who has retired.
Yvonne Mariajimenez, deputy director of Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County, has been promoted to executive director. She succeeds Neal Dudovitz, who has led the group since 1993.
Alison Moore, chief business officer for the Beauty Collection at Condé Nast, has been hired as CEO of Comic Relief USA.
Kareece Sacco, director of operations at Well Aware, has been promoted to executive director. Sarah Evans, CEO and founder of Well Aware, will stay on as board co-chair.
Kimberlee Sia, CEO of KIPP Colorado Schools, will become president and CEO of the Colorado “I Have a Dream” Foundation, effective October 21.
Saskia Traill, senior vice president and acting chief operating officer at ExpandED schools, has been promoted to president and CEO.
iGiftFund
William Payne, a lawyer in Ohio, will now be CEO of this organization, which offers alternatives to donor-advised funds.
In addition, Sheilah Villanueva was promoted from grants administrator to executive vice president and chief operating officer, and Cindy Shedloski, a CPA in Ohio, joins the organization as director of finance.
Museum of the Bible
Joe Foster, vice president for advancement at Marymount University, has been appointed chief development officer.
Also at the museum, Steve Schildwachter, chief marketing officer at BrightStar Franchising, has been hired as chief marketing officer.
Other Notable Appointments
Ruba Afzal, associate director of community engagement at the Literacy Council of Northern Virginia, has been promoted to director of partnerships and community engagement.
Sarah Bibelhausen, assistant director of development and alumni relations at the University of Texas at Dallas, has been appointed director of development at Equest.
Sterrin Bird, former chief development officer at the United Way Bay Area, will now serve as chief advancement officer at the Children’s Health Council.
Stuart Carden has been named artistic director of Kansas City Repertory Theatre. He has been a freelance theater director since 2015 and, before that, served as associate artistic director of the Writers Theatre, in Glencoe, Ill.
Chiqui Cartagena, senior vice president at Univision Communications, has joined the Conference Board as chief marketing officer and leader of its marketing and communications center.
Hearn Jay Cho will be the first chief medical officer at the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. He is a physician of hematology-oncology and will continue his positions as associate professor of medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai and attending physician with the Multiple Myeloma Service at the Mt. Sinai Tisch Cancer Institute.
Jane Martínez Dowling, president and CEO of ExpandedED Schools, has become chief external-affairs officer at KIPP NYC.
Juhu Thukral, a human-rights lawyer in New York, will now be vice president of programs at the International Women’s Health Coalition.
Mandy Van Deven, communications officer at Foundation for a Just Society, will join the Nathan Cummings Foundation as director of communications.
David Wachtel has been named senior vice president of the Blackstone Charitable Foundation. He was most recently senior vice president of marketing, communications, and partnerships at Endeavor.
Departures
Nuala O’Connor, president and CEO of the Center for Democracy & Technology, is stepping down. Chris Calabrese, vice president of policy, and Lisa Hayes, vice president of strategy, will serve as interim co-CEOs until a permanent replacement is hired.
Robert Ottenhoff, the Center for Disaster Philanthropy’s first president and CEO, will step down on April 1. He has led the grant maker since 2012. A successor has not yet been named.
Lee Sherman, president and CEO of the National Human Services Assembly, will retire on November 30.
Legacies
T. Boone Pickens, a billionaire oil tycoon and philanthropist, died on September 11 at age 91. A regular fixture on the Philanthropy 50 list of biggest donors, Pickens gave more than $790 million to nonprofit groups over the past 16 years, including a total of $500 million to Oklahoma State University and $160 million to establish his own foundation in 2006.
Kinloch Nelson Yellott III, president of the Thomas Wilson Foundation since 2011, died of a heart attack on August 5. He was 67.
Send an email to people@philanthropy.com.