The McKnight Foundation has announced the selection of Tonya Allen as its new president.

Currently the president and CEO of the Detroit-based Skillman Foundation, Allen will succeed Kate Wolford, who stepped down in late 2019 after thirteen years with the foundation. Lee Sheehy, former director of the foundation's Region & Communities program, will continue as interim president until Allen takes up her new position in March. 

Allen joined the Skillman Foundation in 2004 as a program director and was then promoted to the position of vice president of programs before taking over as president and CEO in 2013. During her tenure, she helped design the $100 million Good Neighborhoods program and was a driving force in building a coalition that resulted in one of the most ambitious educational reform agendas in the City of Detroit's history. Prior to Skillman, Allen served as a program officer for the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and the Thompson Foundation; founded the Detroit Parent Network, a parent membership organization dedicated to improving educational options for children; and led the Annie E. Casey Foundation's Rebuilding Communities Initiative in Detroit.

"Tonya is a highly respected civic diplomat and bridge builder who will be a leader for all of McKnight's programs and partners in Minnesota and across the globe," said the foundation's board chair, Debby Landesman. "She excels at diving into complexity, testing new approaches, and mobilizing people and communities toward a common vision for change."

"I am excited to join the McKnight Foundation," said Allen. "I feel called to this remarkable institution and to the unique opportunities and challenges of Minnesota. We have an extraordinary opportunity to work side-by-side with our partners — community activists, corporate executives, public system leaders, and nonprofit champions — to advance collective leadership that will accelerate the speed, scope, and scale of impact. Together with my talented colleagues, I am ready to build on McKnight's greatest strengths and assets and usher in system change commensurate with what it will take for people and planet to thrive."

(Photo credit: Shawn Lee)