Hilary Pennington

Hilary Pennington is an American philanthropist and the Executive Vice President of Ford Foundation, a position she has held since January 2018.[1] Pennington is celebrated for leading the launch of the five-year, $5 billion BUILD initiative which invested in the sustainability and capacity of 300 social justice organizations around the world.[2][3]

Hilary Pennington
Born
South Africa
OccupationPhilanthropist
TitleExecutive Vice President, Ford Foundation

Previously, she was vice president for Ford foundation’s programming on Education, Creativity, and Free Expression.[3]

Before joining Ford Foundation, she was the Director of Education, post secondary success and special initiatives at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation[4] and led the foundation's effort to double by 2025 the number of low-income Americans who obtain a post secondary credential by age 26.[5]

Early life and education

The oldest of 3 children, Pennington was born in South Africa. In her interviews with several media sources, she has mentioned that witnessing the inequality of apartheid in her father's home country of South Africa helped shape her lifelong passion for social justice.[3][6][5]

Her later years were spent in St. Louis, with her family regularly spending summers in Door County, Wisconsin.[4]

Pennington graduated from Yale University’s School of Management and holds a graduate degree in social anthropology from Oxford University. She also obtained a master’s degree in theological studies from Episcopal Divinity School.[7]

The Ford Foundation

In 2018, Pennington was appointed as the executive vice president of Ford Foundation.[2] As Executive Vice President, Pennington oversees all programs, in the U.S. and globally, for the Ford Foundation, a social justice philanthropy with a $13 billion endowment and annual grantmaking of $600 million.[4]

Pennington joined the Ford Foundation in 2013 as a program vice president. During her time as program vice president, she led the foundation's work on arts and culture, documentary film making, journalism, and youth leadership.[3] Pennington was also responsible for leading the foundation's work in Africa and the Middle East.[2]

Other professional work

In addition to a background in education and social justice in the non profit sector,[8] Pennington was a former adviser to Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, and, along with Arthur White, co-founded Jobs for the Future, a research, consulting, and policy-development organization, which as of 2020 operates in 46 states.[9][10]

References
  1. "Who Is Hilary Pennington? A Few Questions for Ford's New Executive Vice President". Inside Philanthropy. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  2. Foundation, Ford. "Ford Foundation Appoints Hilary Pennington as Executive Vice President". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  3. "A Peek Behind the Philanthropic Curtain: A Conversation with Hilary Pennington on Ford's BUILD Initiative". Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly. April 5, 2018. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  4. "Hilary Pennington: When there is deep inequality and prejudice, everyone suffers | Faith and Leadership". faithandleadership.com. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  5. Thomason, Andy (November 11, 2013). "Gates Ex-Official, Now at Ford, Will Foster Equality at Colleges". The Chronicle of Higher Education. ISSN 0009-5982. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  6. "Hilary Pennington '83 Helps Develop Young Minds | Yale SOM Alumni". alumni.som.yale.edu. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  7. Bagley, Nickolas (January 23, 2018). "Hilary Pennington is the First Executive Vice President of the Ford Foundation". Youth Today. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  8. "Hilary Pennington". Global Summit on Community Philanthropy. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  9. Candid. "Gates Foundation Appoints Hilary Pennington Director of Special Initiatives". Philanthropy News Digest (PND). Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  10. "Where We Work | JFF". www.jff.org. Retrieved May 23, 2020.
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