Edward W. Hazen Foundation Welcomes New Board Members
NEW YORK – The Hazen Foundation, a private foundation supporting communities of color fighting for education and racial justice, has elected three new members to the board of trustees: Alberto Retana, Rukia Lumumba and Lorella Praeli, who will begin their terms immediately.
They will join the board leadership at a critical time when the foundation is going all in to support young people of color, their families, and communities rising up to challenge racist, homophobic, and xenophobic sentiment and policies. As long time campaigners and community organizers, these new board members will provide insight and guidance to align the foundation’s grantmaking with insights from the field. All of these new board members are younger leaders of color who stand out from typical foundation trustees: a national survey of Foundation board members found that 85% of board members were white and 68% were over the age of 50.
“The Hazen Foundation is committed to sharing leadership with the field, and the selection of Rukia, Alberto and Lorella as trustees is an important testament to our institution living out our values,” said Lori Bezahler, president of the Hazen Foundation. “All three new trustees have been personally affected by the issues central to our work, and they are impressive leaders, organizers, and advocates for racial justice.”
As young people and communities of color continue to build their power to fight against structural inequity based on race and class, those who oppose them continue to scale up their attacks. Hazen’s new board members are leaders in their communities and the national movement for racial and education justice, and their appointment to the Hazen Foundation board comes at a crucially important moment both for the foundation and the country...