NEO Philanthropy has elected four new members to its Board of Directors. Joining the board are Cathy Albisa of National Economic and Social Rights Initiative (NESRI), Glenn Harris of Race Forward and Publisher of Colorlines, Kristen Ruff of Philanthropy New York and Kerrien Suarez of Equity in the Center.
“Our new board members bring with them diverse backgrounds from across the nonprofit sector and I could not be happier to welcome them onto our Board,” said Michele Lord, NEO Philanthropy President. “They are ready to put their expertise to work to help further NEO’s mission of advancing equity and justice.”
Cathy Albisa co-founded National Economic and Social Rights Initiative (NESRI) in order to build legitimacy for human rights in general, and economic and social rights in particular. Cathy has a background in constitutional and human rights, and significant expertise in reproductive justice, corporate accountability and economic and social rights. She received a BA from the University of Miami and graduated from Columbia Law School.
Glenn Harris is the President of the new Race Forward and Publisher of Colorlines. Glenn brings more than 25 years of experience working on issues of race and social justice – standing with community groups, foundations and government agencies dedicated to building a more just and democratic society. A prolific speaker and trainer, Glenn has helped hundreds of organizations across the country center racial equity in their work.
Kristen Ruff serves as the Senior Vice President of Member Services at Philanthropy New York where she creates and implements the organization’s member engagement strategy, provides support to members through professional peer networks, leads development programming for young professionals and more. Prior to joining Philanthropy New York, Kristen coordinated the public education and humanitarian aid programs at MADRE, an international women’s human rights organization. She holds a B.A. in Women’s Studies from Wellesley College.
Kerrien Suarez is the Director of Equity in the Center, a field-wide initiative to influence social sector leaders to shift mindsets, practices and systems to achieve race equity. A management consultant with 20 years of experience, Kerrien’s focus on diversity, inclusion and equity developed through support of leaders and social entrepreneurs of color in education reform, early childhood education policy and social impact. She is a graduate of Harvard College and London School of Economics.
The new board members join John Gilroy, Christopher Meyer, Patricia Bauman, Christina Schatz, Sean Thomas-Breitfield, Darren Sandow and Ben Wyskida on NEO’s Board of Directors.
For more information about NEO Philanthropy, please visit neophilanthropy.org.