Nicole Sherard-Freeman
Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan
The Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan (the Community Foundation) named Nicole Sherard-Freeman President, effective January 2025. Ms. Sherard-Freeman was most recently Chief Operating Officer of the Community Foundation. Current President, Richard DeVore, will retire.
Prior to 2023, Ms. Sherard-Freeman was Group Executive of Jobs, Economy & Detroit at Work, and Executive Director of the Mayor’s Workforce Development Board for Mayor Mike Duggan, City of Detroit, Michigan. Prior to that she served as the President & CEO of Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation (DESC). From 2014 to 2018, Ms. Sherard-Freeman was Managing Director for Corporation for a Skilled Workforce, a national research-to-action nonprofit that most notably led JPMorgan Chase’s New Skills at Work portfolio in Detroit, Michigan. She also held leadership positions in banking, global business-to-business services, and was a successful entrepreneur.
Ms. Sherard-Freeman has been recognized in Crain’s Detroit Business Notable Women in Nonprofits, 50 Names to Know in Government and 100 Most Influential Women in Michigan; Michigan Chronicle’s 2024 Power 50 recipient; and Axios Detroit 2022 Power Players.
Ms. Sherard-Freeman succeeds Mr. DeVore, who has applied innovative problem solving to some of the region’s leading issues including economic development, youth sports, arts and culture, and environmental sustainability. He helped numerous people start and grow their careers at the Community Foundation and spearheaded the development of its first strategic plan. When Ms. Sherard-Freeman assumes the presidency, Mr. DeVore will become a special advisor to the president and will continue leading the Community Foundation’s efforts to facilitate the completion of the Detroit Riverfront.
Aurea Montes-Rodriguez
First 5 LA
First 5 LA appointed Aurea Montes-Rodriguez as its new Vice President of Community Engagement and Policy. Ms. Montes-Rodriguez’s deep ties in the South Los Angeles community and legacy of successful advocacy on behalf of Black, Latino, and LGBTQAI+ communities underscore First 5 LA’s commitment to equity and racial justice for the county’s youngest citizens and their families. In her new role, Ms. Montes-Rodriguez will lead efforts to integrate data, community engagement, and public policy, aiming to center equity and racial justice in our work through system change that serves young children and their families.
Ms. Montes-Rodriguez brings extensive experience from her tenure at Community Coalition (CoCo), an organization focused on addressing systemic issues such as poverty, violence, and educational inequity. Over her 27-year career there, she played a key role in its fiscal growth and elevated its work as a prominent social movement organization both locally and nationally by spearheading efforts such as co-founding the Make LA Whole Coalition, which brings attention to the needs of children, women, and over-policed communities; and a multi-year kinship care campaign, focused on improving the lives of African American and Latine foster children.
Her accomplishments have been recognized by leading organizations such as Catalyst California, the ACLU of Southern California, and the Tides Foundation. In 2022, she was awarded the Stanton Fellowship for her inquiry into gender and new community approaches to cultivate women’s leadership.
Sameera Fazili and Patrick Gallagher
The Heinz Endowment
Sameera Fazili, an economic policy expert who was Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of the White House’s National Economic Council (NEC) in the Biden administration, and Patrick Gallagher, former chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh, have been appointed to The Heinz Endowments’ board of directors. They will serve initial three-year terms bringing with them a wealth of experience and knowledge that will be invaluable to the foundation in the years to come.
Ms. Fazili has more than 20 years of experience in economic policy development, program execution, and crisis management across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Her expertise spans multiple industries including financial services, manufacturing, clean energy, housing, small business, transportation and logistics. She is founder and CEO of Zoon Ventures, LLC, a firm offering advisory services to companies, philanthropies, and nonprofits on energy transition, supply chain resiliency, industrial policy, and inclusive economic development. She is also a senior fellow at the Roosevelt Institute and an advisor with Lafayette Advisors.
As Deputy Assistant to President Joe Biden and Deputy Director of the NEC from 2021 to 2022, Ms. Fazili led the Biden administration’s work on industrial policy, supply chains, regional economic development, energy communities, and responses to supply chain crises. She played a leading role in the passage and implementation of the CHIPS and Science Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the Infrastructure Investment, and Jobs Act. Her other positions in the federal government included serving in domestic and international economic policymaking roles in the White House for both President Biden and President Barack Obama, the U.S. Treasury Department, and the Federal Reserve System. She currently sits on the boards of the Washington Center for Equitable Growth and Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta.
Dr. Gallagher was University of Pittsburgh chancellor from 2014 to 2023. He currently is a professor in the university’s department of physics and astronomy. Under his leadership, Pitt released and later updated its first strategic plan, advanced a master plan for new construction and campus expansion, and established an Office of Sustainability to centralize campus-wide sustainability activities, strategies and partnerships. Dr. Gallagher launched a program in which the university matched federal Pell grants, helping to make Pitt accessible to more students. Pitt also established an Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion during his tenure to increase diversity among staff and student populations.
Before holding Pitt’s top post, Dr. Gallagher served for 21 years in various roles at the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), including Director of the NIST Center for Neutron Research between 2004 and 2008 and NIST Director and Undersecretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology between 2009 and 2014. Between 2013 and 2014, he was concurrently acting as Deputy Secretary of Commerce. Dr. Gallagher has served on many independent boards, including those of the American Association of Universities, the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities, and Internet2. In the Pittsburgh region, he has served on the boards of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, UPMC and The Dietrich Foundation.
Tracee Black-Fall, Stephen Cooper, Jennifer Maedgen, and Allen Smart
Hogg Foundation for Mental Health
The Hogg Foundation for Mental Health appointed four distinguished professionals to its National Advisory Council (NAC). The new members, bringing a wealth of expertise and experience in their respective fields, will contribute to the foundation’s mission of advancing mental health in Texas and beyond.
The new NAC members are:
- Tracee Black-Fall, AAS. Ms. Black-Fall is Executive Director of Tova’s N.E.S.T. and a Certified Family Peer Support Specialist. Since her recovery from a brain aneurysm, she has been a champion of education and advocacy for individuals and families. She has received numerous awards, including the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Voice Award, in recognition for her advocacy work.
- Stephen Cooper, MSW, PhD, LCSW. Dr. Stephen Cooper is a Professor of Social Work and BSW Program Director at William Woods University. Dr. Cooper is a social work educator who is known for his contributions to rural social work practice. He has taught BSW and MSW courses with an emphasis on research, statistics, policy, and community/organizational practice.
- Jennifer Maedgen, PhD. Dr. Jennifer Maedgen serves as the ADA/Section 504 Coordinator for the University of Texas at Austin campus, as well as the Electronic Information Resources Coordinator. Her office also coordinates accommodations under the auspices of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.
- Allen Smart, MA, MPH. Mr. Smart is a national spokesperson and advocate for improving philanthropic practice under his group, PhilanthropywoRx. He works with individual funders, Philanthropy Support Organizations, regional and national rural organizations and national nonprofits on a wide range of strategy, writing/researching and staff coaching projects.
The Hogg Foundation’s NAC plays a critical role in guiding the foundation’s strategic initiatives, ensuring that its programs and policies reflect a broad and inclusive understanding of mental health issues. The new members will join a team of dedicated professionals who are committed to improving mental health systems and supporting effective mental health practices.
Contact: Ike Evans at 512.293.4265 or imani.evans@austin.utexas.edu.
Andrea Perdomo-Morales
REACH Healthcare Foundation
REACH Healthcare Foundation named Andrea Perdomo-Morales as its new Program Officer. Ms. Perdomo-Morales will be responsible for supporting its work to advance health equity through coverage and care for underserved people in the region. She will support the program team’s grantmaking strategies and engage with the community to identify opportunities to advance our mission.
Ms. Perdomo-Morales brings a wealth of experience to the foundation, most recently serving as the Chief Health Equity Officer at Vibrant Health. She also led the Communities Concerned for Immigrants and Refugees (CCIR) initiative for six years. CCIR is a program seeded by REACH to provide a network of health care and social service providers and community members serving and celebrating individuals entering the Greater Kansas City, Kansas area.
Ms. Perdomo-Morales has dedicated her career to advancing health equity. She has led numerous initiatives to connect resources and mobilize partnerships designed to provide culturally appropriate physical and behavioral health care, mental health, and social services to residents across Kansas and Missouri.
Contact: 913.432.4196.
Tanner Wealand and Robert J. Morris
United Methodist Ministry Health Fund
The United Methodist Ministry Health Fund’s board of directors welcomed two new members: Tanner Wealand and Robert J. Morris. Mr. Wealand serves as President and CEO/CFO at McPherson Hospital in McPherson, Kansas. Mr. Morris serves as Senior Vice President and Institutional Consultant at Graystone Consulting in Wichita, Kansas. He also has served on the Health Fund’s Investment Committee. As members of the board of directors, they will help further the mission of improving the health of all Kansans.
Contact: 620.662.8586.