Weinberg Foundation Announces New Program Director
Darius Graham to manage place-based philanthropic strategy for Baltimore
BALTIMORE, May 29, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, one of the largest private foundations in the United States, today welcomes Darius Graham as the Foundation's newest program director. Graham will be responsible for refining and communicating the Foundation's place-based philanthropic strategy for Baltimore, working across sectors to effectively implement that strategy, and developing metrics for measuring the Foundation's impact. He will also work with other program team members (representing the Foundation's specific areas of giving) to collaborate with the Baltimore philanthropic, government, and business sectors, as well as neighborhoods and community groups.
Prior to joining the Weinberg Foundation, Graham served as Director of Student Ventures at Johns Hopkins University, where he led entrepreneurship and innovation initiatives, including FastForward U and the Social Innovation Lab, which helped transform new technologies and novel ideas into viable ventures.
"I am incredibly excited to announce that Darius will be joining the Foundation as Program Director, Baltimore," said Aaron Merki, Managing Director, Programs and Grants and Program Director, Older Adult Services for the Weinberg Foundation. "His expertise in strategy development and execution, as well as his strong commitment to civic engagement, makes him the perfect fit for this position. Darius brings a thoughtful approach to all that he does, and we are thrilled to have him join our team."
Graham previously founded DC Social Innovation Project, a nonprofit that provided funding and pro bono assistance to help launch and grow innovative, grassroots community initiatives in Washington, DC. He is a former Social Entrepreneur-In-Residence at University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business and has served as a mayor-appointed commissioner on the District of Columbia Commission on National & Community Service. Graham began his career as an associate in the financial restructuring group at the law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP.
He received a B.A. summa cum laude from Florida A&M University and a J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley – School of Law, where he served as an editor of the California Law Review and as editor-in-chief of the Berkeley Journal of African-American Law & Policy. A former Global Shaper with the World Economic Forum, Graham has been recognized by Baltimore Business Journal as one of Baltimore's 40 Under 40 and is a graduate of the Greater Baltimore Committee's Leadership Program. He serves on CLIA's Board of Directors, the Baltimore Museum of Industry's Board of Trustees, and the Baltimore Community Foundation's Impact Investing Subcommittee.
About The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation
The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, one of the largest private charitable foundations in the United States, provides approximately $100 million in annual grants to nonprofits that provide direct services to low-income and vulnerable individuals and families, primarily in the United States and Israel. Grants are focused on meeting basic needs and enhancing an individual's ability to meet those needs with emphasis on older adults, the Jewish community, and the Foundation's priority communities of Maryland, Northeastern Pennsylvania, Hawaii, Chicago, New York City, San Francisco, rural communities in the United States, and the State of Israel. The trustees, some of whom also serve as executive officers of the Foundation, are Chair Robert T. Kelly, Jr., Donn Weinberg, Alvin Awaya, Fay Hartog-Levin, and Paula B. Pretlow. Rachel Garbow Monroe serves as the Weinberg Foundation's President and Chief Executive Officer. For more information, please visit www.hjweinbergfoundation.org.
Media Contact: Craig Demchak, 443-738-1159
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SOURCE Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation
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