NEW YORK – The Ms. Foundation for Women, the first national women’s philanthropy and the foundation building women’s collective power to ignite change across the United States, announced the appointment of Susan Wefald to the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer and the appointment of Patricia Eng to the position of Vice President for Program.
“We are thrilled that Susan Wefald and Patricia Eng will be assuming new, exciting roles at the Ms. Foundation,” said Sara K. Gould, President and CEO. “Each of them will bring to their positions a record of outstanding achievement within, and beyond, the Foundation and a long-term commitment to working in partnership with grassroots groups to build women’s collective power to ignite social change.”
“Most recently, Susan and Pat have provided invaluable leadership as we’ve sought to apply a more explicit, movement-building approach to our grantmaking and redouble our efforts to bring about concrete policy change and transformational shifts in cultural attitudes and beliefs,” continued Ms. Gould. “I’m confident that we’re in expert hands as we elevate their responsibility to new levels to guarantee the long-term success of our work on behalf of women and their communities.”
Ms. Wefald joined the Ms. Foundation in 1996. Prior to her appointment as Executive Vice President and COO, she held the position of Vice President for Program. In that role, Ms. Wefald was responsible for guiding the department through the initial phases of the organization’s three-year strategic plan and towards a revised grantmaking structure which prioritizes a movement-building approach. Most recently, she oversaw the Foundation’s first round of Building Movements grants, which awarded nearly $2 million over a two-year period to 18 grassroots and national groups throughout the U.S. These organizations are working across issues and constituencies, and at the intersection of race, class, gender, sexuality, age, ability and immigration status, to ignite policy and culture change across four broad “change” areas: women’s health, ending violence, economic justice, and building democracy.
As Executive Vice President and COO, Ms. Wefald will lead the organization-wide implementation of the Foundation’s new three-year, strategic plan and work closely with the Vice Presidents to ensure that each department realizes the Foundation’s strategic goals. Ms. Wefald will be responsible for the day-to-day management of the Foundation and will work to ensure the internal and external strategic alignment of all MFW departments, programs and systems.
Patricia Eng joined the Foundation in 1999. Prior to her appointment as Vice President for Program, she was the Foundation’s Senior Program Officer for Safety. During her tenure with the Foundation, she has established cutting-edge grantmaking initiatives to address and prevent gender-based violence by supporting grassroots, often youth-led, efforts nationwide. In her new role, she will oversee the Foundation’s strategic grantmaking programs, which offer grants, capacity building, leadership development and networking opportunities to organizations working to shift policy and public debate at local, Tribal, state and national levels across the broad areas of women’s health, ending violence, economic justice and building democracy. In addition, Pat will work with staff to develop and implement effective strategies that support long-term civic engagement, particularly that of low-income women, women of color, youth and others who have been most excluded from public policy and decision-making processes.
Susan Wefald
Prior to joining the Ms. Foundation in 1996, Ms. Wefald ran a community development consulting business, where she developed curricula and conducted training in the United States and Russia. As the former staff director of the Naugatuck Valley Project, Ms. Wefald coordinated the grassroots organizing and economic work of a coalition of unions, churches, and community organizations in Western Connecticut. She is also the former assistant director of the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board, and a former adjunct faculty member of Southern New Hampshire State University, where she taught the course, “Community Organizing and Community Economic Development.”
Ms. Wefald is co-author of Raise the Floor: Wages and Policies that Work for All of Us, a book which presents national minimum-needs budgets for adults and families, proposes a realistic federal minimum wage, and advocates policies to supplement wages to assure that people can meet their basic needs.
Susan Wefald holds a Master’s in Community Economic Development from Southern New Hampshire State University and a BA from Oberlin College. She sits on the boards of the Public Health Institute and Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE). She also serves on the New York Regional Association of Grantmakers’ (NYRAG) Increasing Diversity in Philanthropy committee.
Patricia Eng
Prior to joining the Ms. Foundation in 1999, Patricia Eng founded the New York Asian Women’s Center (NYAWC), the first organization on the East Coast to address domestic violence in Asian immigrant communities. Founding NYAWC while still a student of social work, she guided the Center as its Executive Director for 17 years. Ms. Eng is also the former Senior Vice President of Programs at Safe Horizon, where she managed a portfolio of programs, including 8 shelters, 4 citywide hotlines, as well as one of the most distinguished anti-trafficking programs and batterer intervention programs in the country.
Patricia Eng received a BA with honors from Princeton University and a Master’s in Social Work from Hunter College.
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Founded in 1973, the Ms. Foundation for Women is the first and leading women’s fund and the foundation engaged across the United States to build women’s collective power to ignite change. The Ms. Foundation delivers strategic grants, capacity building and leadership development to organizations at local, state, Tribal and national levels working for policy change and culture change across the broad impact areas of women’s health, economic justice, ending violence and building democracy. With its long history of bringing the leadership and perspectives of women who are most marginalized to the center, and building the capacity of diverse women and their organizations to connect across issues, geography and with other social justice groups, the Foundation strengthens social movements and brings our nation closer to its democratic ideals.
120 Wall Street, 33rd Floor
New York, NY 10005
www.ms.foundation.org
(212) 709-4400
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