The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation is pleased to announce that the Board of Trustees unanimously and enthusiastically has asked Board Chair, Preston Pinkett III, to expand his duties and responsibilities temporarily as Board Chair to include additional leadership of the Foundation and Staff until the president and CEO role is filled. His increased leadership role as Board Chair will begin on April 2, 2024. Preston has served on the Board with distinction for 22 years—the last five as Chair. In addition to his broad and deep knowledge of every aspect of the work of the Foundation, Preston has an impressive record of success throughout his professional career in working to alleviate economic disparities, income inequality, empowering individuals, and investing in communities that have been historically underserved. He brings skills and experience in investment models that will help deepen the Foundation’s impact. Through his experiences in State government, he knows New Jersey well. He also is no stranger to Newark, our new hometown, where he has worked and volunteered for many years. Within Dodge, he has aligned the Board on a vision of social and racial equity that employs all the assets of the Foundation—its grant-making, its endowment and investment portfolio, and its ability to influence and convene leaders in a wide array of fields. He has the trust and confidence of the Board to lead Dodge during this interim period. The Board is particularly pleased and grateful that Preston has accepted the substantial added responsibilities.
The second decision was to convene a Joint Board-Staff Strategic Planning Committee to build on the significant knowledge the Foundation has acquired through the work of its Staff, grantees, and partners during the last five years. Key questions before the Committee are how to sharpen our focus; use all the Foundation’s assets in the drive to achieve our vision of a more racially and socially just New Jersey; how to measure success; and how to work collaboratively with community leaders, other experts, and a wide array of partners to impact policy and practice in ways that tangibly improve the lives of our fellow New Jerseyans who have for too long been disadvantaged or lived in under-resourced communities.
Both decisions were made with one goal in mind—to continue Dodge’s work on racial and social justice without interruption or loss of momentum.