William Cordery to Join Surdna's Strong Local Economies Team

 

The Surdna Foundation announced today that William Cordery, an experienced grantmaker with deep roots in social justice work, has been appointed Program Officer for the Strong Local Economies program. He will begin on May 18, 2015, joining a team working on economic development and economic justice issues around the country.

 

William's hire will strengthen the commitment of the foundation's Strong Local Economies program to creating opportunities for upward economic mobility among low-income people, communities of color, women, and immigrants. 

 

For the past three years, William has been a program officer at the Marguerite Casey Foundation in Seattle, WA where he managed a $5 million annual grant portfolio focusing on investments in advocacy, organizing, and education in eight states across the U.S. South. William has a background creating and sustaining donor partnerships, including his efforts to coalesce a network of funders to support projects to improve the lives of boys and men of color in the South.   

 

While at Casey, William also assumed a number of leadership roles in philanthropy and social justice organizations. He has served as co-chair for the program committee for Grantmakers for Southern Progress-a national working group of the Neighborhood Funders Group, and is a member of the steering committee for the Seattle chapter of Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy. William has published on, and advocated on behalf of LGBT equality, and serves on the steering committee of the LGBT Southern Funding Project, a project of Funders for LGBTQ Issues. He is also on the board of the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice and an editorial board member at the Grassroots Fundraising Journal. 

 

William was selected for the 2014-2015 class of the Association of Black Foundation Executives' Connecting Leaders Fellowship--a year-long experience designed to sharpen the skills and strengthen the leadership capacity of foundation staff, donors, and trustees who are committed to assisting Black communities through philanthropy.

 

Phillip Henderson, Surdna's President, said, "William is an ideal fit for Surdna. He is dedicated to advancing our social justice agenda and is not afraid to ask difficult questions to help get us there. He brings passion, leadership and a collaborative way of working to the position. We are thrilled that he is joining Surdna."

 

"William's unique skill set, combined with his deep commitment to under-served populations, experience with grant making in the South, and passion for true social justice work, make him a tremendous addition to our team," said Shawn Escoffery, Program Director, Strong Local Economies, "We are excited to have William partner with grantees, helping them strengthen their fundamentals so they can focus on achieving their missions."