The Atlantic Philanthropies has announced the appointments of three new program executives: Sara Kay has been appointed Programme Executive, Ageing and Health; Ben Kerman has been appointed Programme Executive, Evaluation; and Naomi Post has been appointed Programme Executive, Children and Youth.
In her role, Sara Kay will oversee and manage Atlantic’s grantmaking to improve health care delivery models and financing for low-income elders. Kay was the Director of Health Programs at the Nathan Cummings Foundation from 2005 until July of 2012, when she left for a brief assignment as Policy Director for the New York eHealth Collaborative. During her 7 years at Nathan Cummings, she worked in close collaboration with Atlantic on health reform issues and founded the very successful ACA Implementation Fund, a donor collaborative supporting state based advocacy to implement the Affordable Care Act. Prior to her move into philanthropy, she served in several positions in the Office of the New York City Comptroller, including Director of Policy Management and Senior Counsel. She has also been a private litigator on health care and other issues and taught at Brooklyn Law School. She has a J.D. from NYU Law School.
In his role, Ben Kerman will help the foundation and its grantees evaluate progress, measure impact and apply lessons learned. Kerman brings over 25 years of experience in human services, program evaluation and philanthropy. Since 2008, he has been the Director of Family Services and Systems Reform Research at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, where his responsibilities included program evaluation, planning and technical assistance. Prior to that, he was with Casey Family Services for 11 years as Senior Research Associate and Director of Research and Evaluation. He has maintained an academic appointment at the Yale School of Medicine since 1997, where he has worked with psychology, psychiatry and social work trainees, provided clinical services to children and families and consulted on research in applied settings. Kerman has a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Rhode Island, has published widely on children and family issues, and serves on a number of nonprofit boards.
In her role, Naomi Post will oversee and manage Atlantic’s grantmaking related to Elev8, a full-service community school program focused on middle school students and their families. Since 2002, Post managed her own consulting business, supporting major initiatives for a variety of foundations including the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the New Mexico Community Foundation as well as The Atlantic Philanthropies. She brings over 30 years of experience in community-based organizations, government, law and consulting, and has extensive knowledge and skills on effective programs and public/private partnerships. Early in her career, she developed a legal service office in northern Minnesota, which provided representation in diverse civil matters, serving the rural poor in five counties and two Native American reservations. She has served in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, as CEO of Philadelphia Safe and Sound (PSS) and founded her own consulting agency, Practicable Legacy Strategies. She has a J.D. from Cornell Law School.