David R. McGhee, vice president of organizational excellence & impact, supports the Foundation’s president & CEO and provides leadership across the Foundation. He helps shape and support key initiatives and projects, manage external relationships, and ensure organizational alignment in…

When I formally entered the field of philanthropy, I was certain of my commitment to improving the overall quality of life for children and families. But to be frank, what I was not certain of was the full scope of the vast and unique role philanthropy could play in facilitating such change. As a…

The idea of raising the bar in the philanthropic sector is a great one, but we need to acknowledge some potentially hard truths first: a) the bar is actually set pretty low, so the idea of raising it shouldn’t be the pinnacle of our aspirations; b) we haven’t reached the goals represented by the…

Donita Volkwijn joined Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors in May 2012 and leads Knowledge Management transformation efforts, with the aim of leveraging knowledge management tools and methodologies to ensure that access and information (and, as a result, power) are distributed fairly and equitably…

Ayushi Vig (she/her) helps lead the Freedom School for Healing & Justice in Philanthropy, a program designed to prepare high net-wealth individuals to be in right relationship with grassroots movements for justice. She was part of the founding team of the Trust-Based Philanthropy Project, and…

Like many of us in the philanthropic sector, I have, over the past year, been to more than a few webinars and conferences on philanthropy’s role in advancing equity. It can often feel like we’re all following a standard script. We acknowledge that racism exists, and has in fact existed for a while…

I came away from the second day of the Council on Foundations’ Leading Together 2021 conference with an enormous amount of hope. Hope in humanity and in the kind and equitable future we will create together, if we challenge ourselves to do better and shift many of our sector practices. The…

Nell Edgington has spent her 25-year career innovating in the social change sector. As president of Social Velocity, she helps create more strategic, financially savvy, and confident nonprofit and philanthropic leaders and organizations. Nell is a popular writer, speaker, and blogger, and author of…

Over the past year, the COVID-19 crisis and violent racism against the Black and AAPI communities provided a moment of reckoning for philanthropic practitioners across the United States. We can capitalize on this moment if we work together, and if we understand that the greater good is more than a…

Roy Agloinga is a Program Officer of External Affairs at the Rasmuson Foundation. He works with Alaska partners on funding collaborations and with outside funders to encourage giving in Alaska. Roy currently serves on the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee…

Sally Ray brings more than 28 years of experience working in the nonprofit world and a passion for community and social service to her current role as director of domestic disaster recovery funds, and previously as director of strategic initiatives and the director of the Hurricane Harvey Recovery…

Tanya Gulliver-Garcia brings practical, academic and philanthropic understandings of disasters to her work as the director of learning and partnerships. She is a self-described “disaster junkie” who is passionate about ensuring the most marginalized and vulnerable in our communities are able to…

During sessions on the first day of Leading Together 2021, three words resounded in the conversations: respect, trust, and equity. These three words have tremendous importance, both in our lives as individuals and as philanthropy professionals, and they have the power to reshape the ways that we…

Adam Ganuza is an Arts Program Officer for the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.  He is the lead of the Knight Arts Challenge, an open call for the best ideas for the arts in Miami, Detroit, and Akron, Ohio. He is based in Miami, where he lives with his wife, Andrea, and two small children,…

Molly Talbot-Metz is the President/CEO for the Mary Black Foundation, a health legacy foundation working to improve health and wellness in Spartanburg County, SC.  Prior to joining the Foundation in 2001, as its first program officer, Molly worked on local and statewide efforts to reduce teen…

Dr. Russell Booker is executive director of Cradle to Career Network member Spartanburg Academic Movement in Spartanburg, South Carolina. With an unwavering conviction in the power of education, he believes our greatest hope for the future is to inspire and equip students for meaningful lives of…