Mary Lou Fulton
The California Wellness Foundation
The California Wellness Foundation has hired experienced and innovative strategist Mary Lou Fulton as its new Director of Communications. Ms. Fulton began in the role on July 23rd following her work as a consultant supporting nonprofits and philanthropies in and beyond California.
Ms. Fulton spent 11 years at The California Endowment, where she served as director of narrative strategies and co-created the first statewide campaign to end the use of racist school discipline policies, the #DotheMath campaign to elevate investing in education over incarceration, and the #SchoolsNotPrisons campaign to fight mass incarceration through arts and culture. Ms. Fulton’s work as a narrative strategist continued over the past four years, when she served as Principal and Founder of Optimista Consulting and worked with partners including PolicyLink, the Alliance for Boys and Men of Color, Alliance for a Better Community, and Sobrato Philanthropies.
Ms. Fulton will be based in the Los Angeles, California office and collaborate with grantee and investee partners across the state.
Julie Morita
The Joyce Foundation
The Joyce Foundation has appointed Julie Morita, MD, as its new President and CEO. Dr. Morita was selected following an extensive national search to replace longtime President and CEO Ellen Alberding, who is stepping down after 22 years in the role. Dr. Morita will join the foundation on October 1, 2024.
As Executive Vice President at Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), Dr. Morita has been responsible for all programming, policy, research, and communications activities, advancing that organization’s mission of health equity by eliminating barriers to health, including racial discrimination. Before joining RWJF, Dr. Morita helped lead the Chicago Department of Public Health for nearly two decades, first as a Medical Director, then as Chief Medical Officer. In 2015, she was appointed Commissioner of Public Health, overseeing the public health needs of 2.7 million residents in Chicago, Illinois.
Dr. Morita is a lifelong advocate of equity issues, deeply influenced by the experience of her parents, Mototsugu and Betty Morita, who were detained in the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. Dr. Morita has used that knowledge and empathy to pursue racial equity and the creation of more just communities in every aspect of her work.
Dr. Morita has been an advisor to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, CDC, National Academy of Medicine, and numerous state and local public health agencies. She is also a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics, National Foundation for Infectious Diseases Board of Directors, Advisory Committee to the Director of CDC, and Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin National Advisory Committee.
Contact: info@joycefdn.org.
Shelley Trott
Kenneth Rainin Foundation
The Kenneth Rainin Foundation has appointed Shelley Trott as its first Executive Director. This new position will implement the Foundation’s vision and oversee its effective and impactful grantmaking and operations. Ms. Trott has held multiple leadership roles at the Foundation during her 15-year tenure, including Chief Program Officer for the past three years. The Executive Director role takes effect September 1 and reports to Chief Executive Officer Jen Rainin, who will continue overseeing the Foundation’s overall strategic direction.
Ms. Trott first joined the Rainin Foundation as Grants Manager, working her way up to Arts Program Officer and then Director of Arts Strategy and Ventures, before becoming Chief Program Officer. Her background as a dancer and media artist influenced her entrepreneurial spirit and collaborative style and contributed to the Foundation’s impressive history of accomplishments in the Arts, Education and Health over the past 15 years. Ms. Trott’s career highlights include:
- Her innovative approach and creativity in securing and stewarding affordable spaces for arts and culture organizations in the Bay Area cemented the Foundation’s reputation for taking smart risks and fostering strong collaboration;
- Championing and advancing the Foundation’s diversity, equity, and inclusion work;
- Partnering with staff in embedding trust-based philanthropy practices aimed at balancing the power dynamics between funders and nonprofits;
- Joining forces with peer funders to create the first Common App for the Arts, a tool that streamlines the application process, saving time and resources for grant seeking arts and culture organizations;
- Fostering collaboration across departments to design the first foundation-wide learning and evaluation initiative; and
- Partnering with Rainin Foundation leaders to co-create our inaugural Program-Related Investment Fund, further enhancing the Foundation’s resources for public good.
Ms. Trott was named a 2023 Change Leaders in Philanthropy Fellow and received the prestigious Robert W. Scrivner Award from the Council on Foundations in 2014, in recognition of her outstanding creativity in grantmaking at the individual level. She is currently Board President of the Community Arts Stabilization Trust (CAST), an organization she helped launch, and is the Founding Board President of Immersive Arts Alliance.
Contact: Erika Brink at erika@fcpcommunications.com or (951) 553-3561