Meet the Grantmakers
Professional Advancement Event
Date: 4/25/2023
Location: Scandinavia House, 58 Park Ave, New York, NY 10016
Trusts and foundations play vital roles in New York City’s philanthropic landscape as grantmakers, advocates, and connectors. Join us to hear from program officers about their core commitments to the city, perspectives on collaboration and community, and strategies to assess evaluation and impact.
AGENDA:
8:15am - Registration and Networking
8:45am - Session start
9:45am - Networking
10:00am - Session end
PRICES:
AFP Member - $50
Non-Member - $75
Emerging Leaders - $25
Guest of Member - $40
PANELISTS:
Erickson Blakney
Program Officer, Pinkerton Foundation
Erickson Blakney presented himself to the Pinkerton Foundation with an impressive background as an award-winning writer, reporter and interviewer for Bloomberg and CBS News. Now those career skills are all important for a successful program officer, but it was his extracurricular activities that set EB–as everyone calls him–apart. After graduating from Hobart College, he did an early career stint at the Daytop Village substance abuse treatment program and later earned a certificate in nonprofit management from CUNY’s Hostos College. While working in journalism, he joined the board of the DreamYard Project, a longtime Pinkerton grantee in the Bronx. That was years ago, and he remains a thoughtful, engaged and effective board member. EB’s philanthropic interests range far and wide. He’s on the board of the Clarksdale Animal Rescue Effort and Shelter in Clarksdale, MS, and The Center for Rural Strategies in Whitesburg, KY. In northern Ohio, where he grew up, he is a trustee of The Needmor Fund, a philanthropic organization that supports grassroots groups working to bring about social and economic justice. In his spare time, EB has also produced award-winning documentary films on the Mississippi Delta’s blues tradition and fair housing policies. His most recent documentary, Zip Code Matters (2021), produced in partnership with The Fair Housing Center-Toledo, examines racial and socioeconomic inequalities in health.
Anna Campbell
Senior Program Officer, Howard Gilman Foundation
As a former ballet dancer and longtime grantmaker, Anna was thrilled to join the Howard Gilman Foundation in 2015. In her role as Senior Program Officer, she has been Co-Chair of New York Grantmakers in the Arts, has been a panelist and speaker at Dance/NYC, Philanthropy New York, and Grantmakers in the Arts, and has led research studies with Americans for the Arts and DataArts. Previously, Anna was the Arts Program Officer at the Educational Foundation of America (EFA), where she developed and managed a portfolio of innovative creative placemaking projects in both urban and rural communities across the country. Prior to EFA, Anna was Assistant Director at the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, where she oversaw programming grants for hundreds of cultural organizations across the city. She also served as Director of Grantmaking Programs at The American Music Center, leading and creating new grant opportunities for music and dance artists to create and perform new work. Anna began her career in philanthropy at the Massachusetts Cultural Council supporting local grantmaking programs throughout that state. Raised just outside of Washington, D.C., Anna studied dance at the Maryland Youth Ballet and pursued training at the Houston Ballet after high school. She attended Indiana University Jacob’s School of Music (Bloomington) to perform with Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux and Patricia McBride in the Ballet program and graduated with a dual degree in Political Science and Music. After dancing in Boston for several years, Anna officially “retired” and received a Masters degree from Boston University’s Arts Administration program.
Sabrina Hargrave (She/Her/Ella)
Director of Programs, Brooklyn Community Foundation
Sabrina joined the Foundation in Fall 2018, bringing over a decade of experience in performance management and program evaluation in both research and nonprofit settings serving youth, immigrant families, and refugees. Born in Argentina and raised in Brooklyn, Sabrina received her Master's in Public Administration from New York University and her Bachelor of Arts from Colgate University.
She resides in Midwood with her husband and son.
MODERATOR
Elz Cuya Jones
Deputy Director, North Star Fund
In 2015, Elz began her career in philanthropy as Deputy Director at North Star Fund, a community foundation that supports grassroots organizing led by communities of color in New York City and the Hudson Valley. Elz has been a fundraiser for 20 years. She currently serves on the board of MADRE, an international human rights organization on the frontlines of war and disaster. Prior to working in the nonprofit sector, Elz spent a decade working in newsradio. She is an MFA candidate in the Creative Nonfiction program at Hunter College and lives with her family in Washington Heights, Manhattan.