STAFF

Executive Director

Arnold L. Randall

Arnold leads the Foundation. He joined us after serving as General Superintendent of the Forest Preserves of Cook County for 13 years. Arnold made notable strides in guiding the Preserves to being a more transparent, accountable, and strategic agency. He helped increase tenfold the amount of land under active restoration and increased visitors with a focus on inviting a more diverse audience to enjoy the Preserves. A thoughtful and engaged leader, he has a long history in public service including serving as a Director in the Office of Civic Engagement at the University of Chicago, Commissioner of the Department of Planning and Development for the City of Chicago, and in leadership roles with the Chicago Park District. Randall holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Chicago.  A lifelong Chicagoan, Arnold enjoys exploring our rich and diverse local natural areas and traveling with his family.

Lowcountry Program Director

Jason Crowley

Jason is our Lowcountry Program Director, leading our work in coastal South Carolina across all three of our mission areas. Before joining the Foundation in early 2023, he was a Senior Program Director at the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League, advancing local and statewide policy efforts to protect land and working with grassroots advocates to support local communities throughout the coastal plain. Before that, he served as the Preservation Director at the Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities (now known as Preservation Long Island). Jason has Bachelor of Arts degrees in Historic Preservation and Community Planning, as well as Art History, from the College of Charleston and a Master of Science degree in Historic Preservation from Columbia University. In his free time, he enjoys working in his yard, collecting antiques, and exploring the Lowcountry’s public lands with his dog.

Lowcountry Program Associate

Amelia Gasque

Ame manages GDDF’s Lowcountry arts portfolio, working with current and potential grantees to help support their work in the region through grants and technical assistance. In addition, she provides support across all program areas, manages Lowcountry office operations as well as the biannual Lowcountry Land Conservation Symposium.  After working in the nonprofit sector for more than a decade, Ame joined the Foundation in 2017. Prior, she served as Grants Manager and Development Director for the South Carolina Children’s Theatre, Executive Director for the Foothills Trail Conference, and Membership Coordinator for the Lowcountry Land Trust.

 

Originally from South Carolina, Ame lived in Connecticut and Georgia, before returning to SC to earn a political science degree from the College of Charleston. She has served as Program Chair for PEAK Grantmaking Southeast and Advisory Group member for the South Carolina Arts Commissions’ Art of Community – Rural SC. She has also served on grants panels for the South Carolina Arts Commission and Giving Joy. In her spare time, she likes to spend time outdoors gardening, hiking, and kayaking, as well as experiencing the many wonderful arts opportunities in the Lowcountry. 

 

Director of Communications

Kelly Landis

Kelly Landis is an experienced and insightful communications professional with a track record of developing effective and innovative communications and content strategies. Most recently, she was the director of strategic communications for Lawrence University. Prior to Lawrence, she spent her career in policy and advocacy communications in Washington, D.C., including serving as the director of communications for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and director of opinion media at Constitutional Accountability Center. At LDF and CAC, she developed and oversaw comprehensive communications plans around high-profile litigation, including the defense of the Affordable Care Act.  Kelly has a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and a B.A. from Carleton College.  Outside of work, she enjoys travel, Reconstruction history, fiber arts, and spending time with her dog, Sandra Dog O’Connor.

Associate Program Officer Chicago

Abigail Madden

Abigail is an Associate Program Officer in Chicago. She supports the Director of Chicago Arts & Collections in all aspects of grantmaking and related activities for the Chicago arts portfolio. Abigail joined the foundation in 2022, after working as a leader in arts administration for over 10 years. She previously served as Managing Director for A Red Orchid Theatre, where her knowledge and experience in strategic planning, fundraising, marketing, event planning, and budget oversight helped lead the company through a huge period of growth. She also previously worked at the Theatre of Western Springs and 16th Street Theater and worked for 11 years in a management role in the hospitality industry. Abigail grew up in central Illinois and holds a BA in Theatre Performance from Ball State University. She currently serves on the board of Habakkuk Theatre (a company she helped found). In her free time, she enjoys singing with her husband Andy’s band and spending time with him, their baby girl, and their two bulldogs

Operations and Grants Associate

Sydney Murphy

Sydney Murphy is the Operations and Grants Associate at GDDF. She graduated from Oberlin College in 2020 where she received her B.A in Africana Studies with minors in Sociology and Philosophy. Before joining GDDF, she previously served as the Administrative Coordinator at the Chicago Cultural Alliance, supporting and collaborating with arts and cultural organizations across the city. She is a museum enthusiast and cultural advocate and has interned at several art museums including the Studio Museum in Harlem, The Phillips Collection, and the Allen Memorial Art Museum. Sydney grew up in Evanston, IL and enjoys reading, visiting museums and galleries, baking, and exploring Chicago’s food scene.

Program Officer, Conservation

Rebecca Judd

Rebecca leads the Chicago region land conservation program and co-manages the Lowcountry conservation program. She joined the Foundation in 2019 from the Illinois Chapter of the Sierra Club, where she led statewide advocacy work to advance clean energy policies. Previously, she served as Senior Legislative Counsel for Earthjustice in Washington, D.C., overseeing federal legislative and administrative efforts on public lands, national forests, and climate adaptation among other issues. A native Midwesterner, Rebecca hails from Indiana, where she attended Purdue University, studying management and biology. She later attended Tulane University Law School, where she graduated with honors and received a certificate in environmental law. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with family and friends and walking her dogs along the shore of Lake Michigan.

Director, Finance and Administration

Baronica Roberson

Baronica brings extensive experience in financial management and operations to GDDF. Before joining GDDF in 2021, Baronica served for seven years as Deputy Commissioner/Chief Financial and Operating Officer for Chicago Public Library (CPL), where she oversaw budgeting and staffing, as well as stewarding of its endowment. In 2015, she was selected as a part of the inaugural class of the Civic Leadership Academy of the University of Chicago. Baronica serves as Chairman of the board of the African American Legacy Fund of the Chicago Community Trust. She also serves on the boards of Bright Promises Foundation, Chicago Dancemakers Forum, Monarch Awards Foundation, and the Chicago Chapter Charities Foundation, and she is an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and Links, Inc. An alumna of Spelman College, University of Illinois at Chicago, and University of Chicago, Baronica holds degrees and certificates in African American Studies and Public Policy and Administration with a concentration in nonprofit management, accounting, and finance. Chicago raised, Baronica loves, and frequently visits, the natural and cultural resources of Chicago—the lakefront; the parks; and the many museums and art galleries. Outside of work Baronica enjoys reading and family research and genealogy. She and her husband John have three children.

Program Director, Chicago Artistic Vitality and Collections

Ellen Placey Wadey

Ellen leads the Chicago Artistic Vitality and Collections programs. Before joining the Foundation in 2013, she was an independent fundraising coach, serving many arts organizations including the Chicago Cultural Alliance and Ragdale Foundation. She was executive director of the Guild Complex – a literary arts organization – for seven years and in that time built the Guild’s impressive artistic accomplishments on a firm foundation of organizational development. Before that, Ellen was the director of marketing and development for the Marwen Foundation. She has reviewed arts proposals on behalf of Prince Charitable Trust and served as a jurist or panelist for the likes of the Illinois Arts Council and the Third Coast Festival New Audio Competition. An accomplished writer, Ellen has two advanced degrees in fiction writing, is the recipient of the Scott Turow Fiction Prize, and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize.

Executive & Board Assistant

Kara Van Lieu

Kara has a 20-year background in nonprofit and education, serving most recently as Development Associate for PACTT Learning Center, an organization that serves children and adults on the autism spectrum. Kara got her start working in public relations for a national restaurant chain in Los Angeles. She was introduced to the Chicago philanthropic community through her community affairs position at LaSalle Bank and has held positions in the nonprofit sector in major gifts at Rush Medical Center and at the Children’s Memorial Hospital Foundation. Kara also recently has worked in public education and actively supports her three children’s participation in the arts. Outside of work, she enjoys hiking and time with family and friends.

DIRECTORS

Chair

Laura Donnelley

Laura is chair of the Foundation board. She has pursued her lifelong passion for innovative contemporary art in a variety of ways. She founded Art Matters, Incorporated, a nonprofit organization that funds artists taking risks outside the boundaries of the commercial arts culture. She also founded the Good Works Foundation supporting arts, education, and climate resiliency primarily in Southern California. Laura chairs the board of the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (ICALA), and she sits on the board of Sarah Lawrence College. She is the daughter of Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley.

Director

Brian Bannon

Brian is The New York Public Library’s inaugural Merryl and James Tisch Director. He is the chief librarian responsible for directing NYPL’s 88 neighborhood branches, as well as the Library’s educational strategy. Prior to that, he was commissioner and chief executive officer of the Chicago Public Library. Before his tenure in Chicago, Brian was Chief Information Officer at the San Francisco Public Library and worked at the Seattle Public Library and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He has been recognized as an innovator throughout his career: amongst many other accolades, he has been named to Fast Company’s “100 Most Creative People in Business” list and was named one of Chicago’s top 100 innovators by Blue Sky Innovation, a publication of the Chicago Tribune. Brian received his B.A. from Pacific Lutheran University and his Master’s in library and information science from the University of Washington Information School.

Director

Betsy Chaffin

Betsy is the Founder and the past Executive Director of the Spring Island Trust, a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and protection of the environment and cultural history of Spring Island, SC. She is also the co-founder of the Low Country Institute created to provide responsible leadership in the conservation and use of Lowcountry natural resources. Ms. Chaffin is a past trustee of the South Carolina Nature Conservancy, the University of North Carolina Institute for the Environment, and the Aspen Foundation, and is a Life Trustee of the Anderson Ranch Arts Center. She received a B.S. in History and Education from the University of North Carolina. An artist, she lives with her husband in Spring Island, SC, and Snowmass Village, CO.

Director

Ceara Donnelley

Ceara Donnelley, a granddaughter of Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley, is the Principal at Ceara Donnelley Ltd. Co., an interior design studio first founded in Charleston, South Carolina, where Ceara lived for ten years. While her day job is devoted to the pursuit of beautiful and functional interior environments, Ceara’s pursuits beyond work continue her family’s legacy commitment to the natural world. She has served as Board Chair of the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League and she is currently Board Chair of the Center for Humans and Nature, an Illinois-based non-profit founded by her late philosopher-father, Strachan Donnelley. Ceara currently lives in her hometown of New York City with her two children, Rafferty and Hayes. She has a B.A. in History from Yale College and a J.D. from Yale Law School.

Director

Inanna Donnelley

Inanna is currently a seventh-grade math teacher and advisor at the Dalton School in New York, where she and both of her sons were students from Kindergarten through 12th grade. She coaches the seventh-grade Math Team and is an Equity Group facilitator, a position she has held for the past two years. Inanna has served as the Middle School Math Department Chair for grades 4-8 while at Dalton. Inanna has a B.A. in English Literature from Yale College and an M.S.T. in Education from the University of Chicago. She has taught at the University of Chicago Laboratory School, the Latin School of Chicago, and the Brearley School in New York City. She returned to serve on the Foundation board in 2016, having previously served from 2004 to 2007. She is a granddaughter of Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley.

Director

Shawn M. Donnelley

Shawn is President of Strategic Giving, a philanthropy consulting firm. She is a Guild Fellow of Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge and on the boards of the Art Institute of Chicago, Northwestern Memorial Foundation, American Associates of the National Theatre, Cambridge in America, and is past Chairman and Life Trustee of Goodman Theatre.  Her honors include Oprah Winfrey’s Angel Network Award, Outstanding Individual Philanthropist, Treasure Coast Association of Fundraising Professionals, and Crain’s Chicago Business “Forty under Forty.” A member of the Economic Club of Chicago and The Commercial Club of Chicago, she previously served 10 years on the boards of United States Artists, Chicago Community Trust, and Loyola University New Orleans.  The former head of political affairs for R.R. Donnelley, she received a B.A. from Loyola University New Orleans and an M.A. from Emerson College. She is a granddaughter of Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley.

Director

Denise Barnett Gardner

Denise is a retired marketing executive and former president of Insights & Opportunities, a research-based marketing and strategic planning firm. She is also the co-founder of Namaste Laboratories and former VP, Marketing at Soft Sheen Products Company. Denise is Chair-Elect of the Board of Trustees at the Art Institute of Chicago and serves on the Board of Governors of The School of The Art Institute of Chicago. She has served on the Executive Committee of The Chicago Community Trust, the Board of Visitors of Northwestern University’s Weinberg College, Chicago Humanities Festival, and The Chicago Public Library Board. Denise and her husband, Gary, have invested significantly in improving college access in Chicago and have a long-time commitment to supporting critical educational needs at the high school level. Because of their commitment to collecting and promoting art by African American artists, they received the Citizens Advocate award from Arts Alliance Illinois and have been featured in the New York Times. Denise began her professional career at Leo Burnett Company after graduating from Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. She also holds a B.S.J. from Northwestern University in Advertising and Social Psychology.

Director

Laura Gates

Laura is a retired executive with ties to Chicago and the South Carolina Lowcountry. After a 14-year career in the Chicago office of McKinsey & Company, Laura joined the Field Museum where she served as Vice President for Museum Affairs. She served on the boards of directors of the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, The Wetlands Initiative, and Chicago Wilderness Magazine. In Charleston, Laura is an active participant in civic life. She currently serves on the boards and executive committees of The Southern Environmental Law Center and the Preservation Society of Charleston. She chaired the boards of the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League and the Gibbes Museum of Art and served on the board of the Historic Charleston Foundation and as a member of the Tourism Commission. Further afield, she is a board member of the National Archives Foundation. Laura is actively engaged with her alma mater, Wellesley College, where she is a trustee and served as Chair of the Board of Trustees from 2011 to 2018. In addition, she has served as a Director and President of the Wellesley College Alumnae Association and Chair of the Business Leadership Council. Laura received an AB from Wellesley College and an MBA from Harvard University. She lives in Charleston and on Wadmalaw Island.

Director

Wendi Huff

Wendi Huff is the Vice President of Programs & Clinical Care at the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America. She oversees comprehensive disease education, advocacy, public policy, and research programs to improve health outcomes for myasthenic patients. Her diverse healthcare experience has focused on rare disease and health equity. She has held executive leadership positions including Chief Advancement Officer and Senior Director of Industry Affairs at the National Brain Tumor Society Foundation, Vice President at the Morehouse School of Medicine, and Chief Executive Officer of a YWCA chapter. Wendi is a former professional ballet artist, choreographer, and dance educator. Her advocacy and civic work include supporting the arts, youth education, climate action, and women’s rights. She currently serves on the boards of New Morning Foundation and the Charleston Symphony Orchestra. Wendi and her husband live in the South Carolina Lowcountry.

Director

Rick Lowe

Rick Lowe is a Houston-based artist who has exhibited and worked with communities nationally and internationally. His work has appeared in Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston; Museum of Contemporary Arts, Los Angeles; Neuberger Museum, Purchase, New York; Phoenix Art Museum; Kwangju Biennale, Kwangju, Korea; the Kumamoto State Museum, Kumamoto, Japan; the Venice Architecture Biennale; and Documenta 14, Kassel, Germany and Athens, Greece. He is best known for his Project Row Houses community-based art project that he started in Houston in 1993. Additional community projects include the Watts House Project, Los Angeles, CA; the Borough Project, Charleston, SC (with Suzanne Lacy and Mary Jane Jacobs); the Delray Beach Cultural Loop, Florida; Small Business/Big Change, Anyang, Korea; Trans.lation: Vickery Meadow, Dallas, TX; and Victoria Square Project, Athens, Greece. Among Rick’s honors are the Rudy Bruner Awards in Urban Excellence, the AIA Keystone Award, the Heinz Award in the arts and humanities, the Skowhegan Governor’s Award, the Skandalaris Award for Art/Architecture, and a U.S. Artists Booth Fellowship. He has served as a Loeb Fellow at Harvard University, a Mel King Fellow at MIT, an Auburn University Breedan Scholar, and a Stanford University Haas Center Distinguished Visitor. President Barack Obama appointed Rick to the National Council on the Arts in 2013; in 2014 he was named a MacArthur Fellow; and in 2016 he joined the University of Houston as a professor of art. Currently, he is working in Tulsa, OK on the Greenwood Art Project and in Chicago, IL on the Black Wall Street Journey.

Director

Andrés Tapia

Andrés Tapia is a Senior Client Partner and Global Diversity and Inclusion Strategist at global consulting firm Korn Ferry. He has been one of the leading voices in shaping a contemporary, next-generation approach to diversity and inclusion. He has over 25 years of experience as a C-suite management consultant, diversity executive, organizational development and training professional, and journalist. Mr. Tapia is the author of multiple books, as well as a sought-after speaker globally, on diversity, inclusion, and leadership. He currently serves on the boards of Leadership Greater Chicago, Jobs For The Future, and Ravinia Festival. He is also a member of the Highland Park City Council, where he is the council liaison to the Cultural Arts Advisory Group. Mr. Tapia received a bachelor’s degree in modern history from Northwestern University. 

Director

Mark Templeton

Mark N. Templeton is Clinical Professor of Law, Director of the Abrams Environmental Law Clinic at the University of Chicago Law School, and a Research Affiliate of the Energy Policy Institute at Chicago. Previously, Templeton was a Trustee and Executive Director of the Office of Independent Trustees for the $20 billion Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Trust. He previously served as the cabinet-level Director of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Associate Dean and COO at Yale Law School, and at McKinsey & Company, where he worked on sustainability issues. Prior to that, he worked on human rights issues at the State Department and as an adviser to the US Delegation to the UN Commission on Human Rights. Early in his career, he was a financial analyst at Goldman Sachs. Mark has an AB from Harvard College and a JD from Yale Law School.

Director

Alaka Wali

Alaka Wali is curator of North American Anthropology in the Science and Education Division of The Field Museum and Adjunct Professor at Northwestern University. She was the founding director of the Center for Cultural Understanding and Change from 1995- 2010 and co-founder of the Chicago Cultural Alliance. She currently curates the sizeable North American collection which includes a contemporary urban collection. She also works closely with colleagues in the Science Action Center to implement community based environmental conservation efforts in both Chicago and the Amazon regions of Peru. Her current research focuses on the relationship between art and the capacity for social resilience. Alaka received her B.A. from Harvard University and her Ph.D. in Anthropology from Columbia University in New York. She lives with her husband in Evanston, IL and has two children.

Director

Mimi Wheeler

Mimi Wheeler is first and foremost a mother of two living in Venice, California. She is passionate about food and food justice, social justice, environmental action, and the arts. Mimi serves as a board member of Art Matters, supporting artists through individual grants. She is also a board member of the Good Works Foundation, which supports the arts, the environment, social action, and education in Los Angeles. Mimi is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College where is she studied English literature and fine art. She is a granddaughter of Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley.