The Joan Mitchell Foundation in New York City has announced the appointment of SOLANA CHEHTMAN as its director of artist programs. Chehtman recently served as the director of creative practice and social impact at The Shed. In her new role, Chehtman aims to create and execute a programmatic vision centering artists as creative leaders and change agents, as well as oversee and further develop the existing programs with national impact. 

The Ms. Foundation for Women in New York City has announced the appointment of RUSSATTA BUFORD to the role of chief operating officer. Buford will lead the foundation’s efforts to align its systems and practices with its core values and the emergent needs of the communities the organization serves while supporting the well-being and effectiveness of staff. 

The Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, has announced that ALEXANDRIA JONES and ENIRIS RIDDICK will join the staff of the foundation later this month as program officers, overseeing the social and economic justice priority area. 

Ballmer Group has announced the appointment of MEKAELIA DAVIS as the director of Black Family Economic Mobility, effective September 12. As a part of the National Impact team, Mekaelia will lead a nationwide strategy and advise regional work that expands pathways to economic mobility for Black families. 

Bend the Arc: Jewish Action in New York City has announced the appointment of AMY SPITALNICK as its CEO. For the last four years, she served as executive director of Integrity First for America, working to hold accountable the neo-Nazis who stormed Charlottesville through a historic, successful lawsuit. 

The ECMC Foundation in Los Angeles has announced that president PETER J. TAYLOR will retire in the first quarter of 2023. Taylor, who has been the president of the foundation since May 2014, has overseen more than $250 million of grants and program related investments in support of initiatives affecting higher education outcomes, especially among underserved student populations. 

The Kessler Foundation in East Hanover, New Jersey, has announced that RICHARD GREENE will retire from his position as chair of its Institutional Review Board. Greene has served the foundation for 20 years. In addition, his successor, JEANNE ZANCA, was promoted to assistant director of the foundation’s Center for Spinal Cord Injury Research.

The Madison Square Park Conservancy in New York City has announced the appointment of HOLLY LEICHT as its executive director. Most recently Leicht served as executive vice president of real estate development & planning at Empire State Development, New York State’s economic development agency. 

Tuesday’s Children, which works to help families that have been forever changed by terrorism, military conflict, or mass violence, has announced several personnel changes. TINA SAARI is the new director of Gold Star Family programs based in Bell County, Texas; RACHELE BELT will be the Baltimore-based Mid-Atlantic regional manager of Gold Star Family programs; and PATTY MORGAN will serve as Southwest regional manager of Gold Star Family programs based in Austin, Texas.  

651 ARTS, a Brooklyn-based organization focused on the African Diasporic performing arts, has named TOYA LILLARD as its executive director. Lillard, who joined 651 as interim executive director in May, was appointed to a three-year term. 

PND also notes the passing of SANDRA SMITHEY, a program officer with the Mott Foundation’s environment team for 20 years. Smithey was responsible for two areas of grantmaking: increasing access to clean, affordable energy and reforming international development finance to meet local needs while reducing the harmful impacts of energy and infrastructure projects. Smithey played a key role in developing a multifaceted approach to increasing access to solar power in rural villages in Tanzania.