Judy Belk
California Wellness Foundation
The California Wellness Foundation (Cal Wellness) President and CEO Judy Belk will step down in December 2023. Over the next year, the board will work closely with Ms. Belk to ensure a smooth leadership transition. Under Ms. Belk’s direction, Cal Wellness directed the majority of grantmaking dollars in 2022 to BIPOC-led organizations, implemented a $13 million investment in initiatives to address health issues that disproportionately affect women of color, launched the Hope and Heal Fund (a pooled fund of more than 22 funders committed to preventing gun violence), and restructured Cal Wellness’ endowment such that more than 62 percent of its assets are managed by people of color and 92 percent of its investments are mission-aligned.
The Cal Wellness board has begun the process for selecting the next CEO.
Contact: Sande Smith at ssmith@calwellness.org.
Temi F. Bennett and Hanh Le
if, A Foundation for Radical Possibility
if, A Foundation for Radical Possibility, selected Temi F. Bennett and Hanh Le to serve as its next executive leaders and first co-CEOs. Founded in 1997 as the Consumer Health Foundation, if renamed itself in 2021 to reflect its evolution from a traditional grantmaking entity to a community-centered philanthropic partner that works to achieve racial justice by centering Black people and people of the global majority. Its grantmaking is founded on the belief that those who live at the sharpest intersections of systems of oppression—particularly race, class, and gender identity—should have decisionmaking power over the distribution of resources in their communities. In selecting co-CEOs to guide the organization, the foundation has found another way to model its transformative approach to leadership.
Ms. Bennett and Ms. Le are especially well suited to further if’s commitment to a shared leadership culture. Both come from within the foundation, with Ms. Bennett having served as Director of Policy and Ms. Le as Vice President of Strategic Partnerships. The two work together as co-leads of if’s reparations project and are steadfast proponents of the foundation’s radical vision.
Ms. Bennett joined the foundation in 2018, bringing years of experience as an attorney and policy expert for the Council of the District of Columbia. She has led several bodies of work within if’s systems change and reparations strategies. She organized and convened Chief Equity Officers embedded in local governments in the Washington, DC metropolitan area as they conducted racial equity impact assessments and developed and implemented equitable and just policies. She provided financial and technical assistance to community coalitions holding local governments accountable to their racial equity commitments. Ms. Bennett also led Resourcing Radical Justice, a funders’ collective that centers Black liberation as the path to a thriving greater Washington region.
In her four years at the Weissberg Foundation, Ms. Le led the board and staff to prioritize and advocate for funding to and amplification of Black and people of the global majority-led and centered organizations working to advance systems change for racial justice. The foundation also strengthened equitable cocreation and decision making by its board, staff, and grant review teams, building them to be more representative and inclusive of the community, and operationalized and championed trust-based practices so nonprofit partners could focus on mission work. Before the Weissberg Foundation, Ms. Le served as Chief Program Officer at Exponent Philanthropy.
Ms. Bennett and Ms. Le succeed Dr. Yanique Redwood, who served as the foundation’s second President & CEO for a decade. Dr. Redwood left if to become Executive Director of Boston University’s Center for Antiracist Research. The foundation’s Senior Program Officer, Ria Pugeda, held the role of Interim President & CEO.
Contact: info@iffdn.org.
Shannon Clancy
BHHS Legacy Foundation
BHHS Legacy Foundation and Legacy Connection announced that Shannon Clancy has joined their joint board of directors. Ms. Clancy, the recently named CEO of St. Vincent de Paul Phoenix, leads the largest SVdP chapter in the world. The first woman to hold the position in SVdP Phoenix’s 76-year history, Ms. Clancy is a respected and beloved community leader.
To learn about Ms. Clancy, click here.
Contact: info@bhhslegacy.org
Mary Katherine Snead, Cassidy Reynolds, and Rochelle Williams
Mary Black Foundation
Mary Kathryn Snead has been named the Chief Financial Officer at the Mary Black Foundation. Ms. Snead will be responsible for directing financial, accounting, and investment activities.
Prior to joining the foundation, Ms. Snead was the Vice President of Finance & Mission Support for OneSpartanburg, Inc. In that role, she served as the chief financial staffer for OneSpartanburg, Inc., and helped build a consolidated model for business, economic, and tourism development with the 2021 ACCE National Chamber of the Year. She is actively involved in the community and has recently served on the boards of directors for PAL: Play. Advocate. Live Well., Hope Center for Children, and Converse University’s Board of Visitors. She has completed the United Way of the Piedmont’s Non-Profit Fellows Program, Leadership Spartanburg, and Institute for Organization Management.
In addition, two new team members joined the Mary Black Foundation in January. Cassidy Reynolds has been named the Communications and Events Manager. Rochelle Williams has been named the Vice President of Strategy and Programs.