The McGregor Fund in Detroit has announced the hiring of Nikia Washington to serve as the fund’s first director of engagement and communications.
The new role is intended to transform both the fund’s own communications and its support for grant partner organizations. This senior position was created as a direct response to grant partners’ request that the fund elevate its relationship-forward grant partner support, advocacy for rest for non-profit leaders, and unfolding work for racial and economic justice.
“This position marks a new chapter for us. It will bring greater accountability and partner participation to our work, while offering partners a bigger platform for theirs, and the support of additional, essential skills among our team,” says Kate Levin Markel, president of the McGregor Fund. “Kia brings those skills and so much more. We are thrilled to welcome her as a colleague, to introduce her to all our partners, and to support her as she creates this new, experimental role.”
A highly regarded and innovative leader in philanthropy in Detroit and beyond, Nikia is already well known to many of the Fund’s grant partners. In her most recent role as director of member engagement for the Council of Michigan Foundations, Washington has supported CMF members’ network- and relationship-building efforts.
“On behalf of the CMF Board of Trustees and staff, we are deeply grateful to Kia for her leadership, insights and contributions she brought to CMF as our director of member engagement,” says Kyle Caldwell, president and CEO of the CMF. “Kia has a strategic and collaborative approach that is well-aligned with her new role at the McGregor Fund. We look forward to continuing to engage with Kia as a CMF member.”
