Fay Twersky, vice president of the Hewlett Foundation and a leading voice on the practice of effective philanthropy, has been named the next president of The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation in Atlanta, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation announced today.
“Fay is an incredible leader, whose knowledge of strategic philanthropy and commitment to strengthening the charitable sector as a whole have been invaluable to Hewlett, our peer funders, and our nonprofit partners,” said Hewlett Foundation president Larry Kramer. “She has been a wonderful colleague who brings head and heart to our work in equal measures—a thoughtful partner in building a culture of learning and continuous improvement, and a vocal champion of efforts to more systematically listen to the people that philanthropy seeks to serve. We wish her the greatest success as she moves into her new role, and will work to ensure a smooth transition for grantees of our philanthropy program.”
Twersky, who will remain at the Hewlett until the end of the year, will join the Blank Family Foundation next February. Formed in 1995, the Blank Family Foundation promotes innovative solutions to transform the lives of youth and their families, seeking results that move communities beyond what seems possible today.
“I have loved every minute of my nine years at Hewlett, working inside and outside the foundation to support knowledge for better philanthropy, diversifying our portfolio of philanthropy-serving organizations, and catalyzing feedback systems to amplify the voices of citizens and nonprofit participants,” Twersky said. In an announcement from the Blank Foundation, she said, “I am deeply honored to be joining the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation as its next President. We’re at a time in our history when the needs of our people and planet call for the kind of generosity, open-mindedness and commitment to healing and repairing the world that the Blank family embodies. I look forward to working with the family, the foundation team, and the Blank Family of Businesses to support the communities and nonprofits making positive difference for people and the planet.”
Since 2012, Twersky has served as the founding director of Hewlett’s Effective Philanthropy Group, supporting the development of grantmaking strategies, evaluation, and philanthropic practice, while also overseeing the foundation’s philanthropy grantmaking program. As vice president, she has managed special initiatives to improve the foundation’s grantmaking operations and discrete projects that fall outside our traditional programs. She serves on the board of The Center for Effective Philanthropy and as a trustee of the Van Leer Group, and is the founding co-chair of the Fund for Shared Insight, a funder collaborative working to improve philanthropy by elevating the voices of those least heard. She previously served in leadership and strategy roles at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Yad Hanadiv (Rothschild Family Foundation).