Director, Atlanta Civic Site The Annie E. Casey...

LEADERSHIP PROFILE

Director, Atlanta Civic Site

The Annie E. Casey Foundation Atlanta, GA

“Creating life-changing pathways for families.”

THE OPPORTUNITY Since 2001, the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s commitment to

Atlanta has been embodied in the Atlanta Civic Site, one of two such sites in which the Foundation has made a long-term, place-based commitment to improving the futures of at-risk

children.1 “Creating life-changing pathways for families” is not only the theme of the Foundation’s work in Atlanta; it is also

emblematic of the foundation’s commitment to lasting change across the full spectrum of its work.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation was established in 1948 by Jim Casey, one of the founders of UPS, and his siblings, who named the Foundation in honor of

their mother. Today, the Foundation has assets of about $2.7 billion; over the past decade, the Foundation has made qualifying distributions of over $2 billion.

1 Baltimore, home to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, is also home to the Foundation’s other civic site.

Annie E. Casey Foundation

Leadership Profile: Director, Atlanta Civic Site

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Focused on building better futures for disadvantaged children and their families in the United States, the Foundation summarizes its mission thusly:

“…The primary mission of the Foundation is to foster public policies, human service reforms, and community supports that more meet the needs of today's vulnerable children and families.” --from the Annie E. Casey Foundation website In Atlanta, the Casey Foundation’s work is focused on the Atlanta Civic Site, a place-

based philanthropic commitment to children and families in a set of five neighborhoods located just south of downtown

Atlanta in what is known as Neighborhood Planning Unit V (NPU-V). A fuller description of NPU-V can be found here.2

Employing data-driven programs and investments in a two-generation strategy—central to Casey’s work in community change—the Atlanta Civic Site brings together a child’s entire sphere of influence including family, caregivers,

educators, and neighborhood stakeholders.

Working with a range of area partners and government agencies, the Atlanta Civic Site is achieving measurable success within three primary focus areas:

Education achievement, employing a birth-through-third-grade strategy, incorporating multiple evidence-based

programs for vulnerable families with young children; Family economic success, bundling

workforce development, work supports, and asset-building programs for low-income

families; and Neighborhood transformation, utilizing an

investment strategy that combines sustainable and affordable housing, high-achieving schools, well-paying neighborhood

jobs, public safety and opportunities for families to improve their communities,

By capitalizing on bundled services in all three areas, NPU-V families served by the Foundation and its mission-critical partners—The Center for Working

2 http://npu-v.org/

http://npu-v.org/



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Families, The Dunbar Learning Complex and development partners—have benefitted from life-changing results. This holistic commitment is exemplified in the Atlanta Civic Site’s logo, shown nearby.

From the very beginning, the Atlanta Civic Site has been headed by Gail Hayes, a deeply respected philanthropic leader known for both her grasp and her

implementation of place-based philanthropy. With Ms. Hayes’s scheduled retirement later this year, the Foundation has the challenge of appointing a

successor capable of leveraging the Civic Site’s past successes while refining its strategy and strengthening the collaborative relationships necessary to realize the sustainable change that residents and stakeholders expect.

THE ORGANIZATION

As mentioned, the Annie E. Casey Foundation was established in 1948 by Jim Casey, UPS founder, and his siblings, George, Harry and Marguerite, in honor

of their mother, Annie E. Casey, who struggled to raise her children as a young widow. The Foundation’s mission reflected the founders’

core belief that children’s future chances depend largely on what their families are able to provide emotionally, ethically and

materially.

From its early focus on programs in Seattle, the Foundation’s reach broadened to encompass a nationwide footprint. At about

the time the UPS moved its corporate headquarters to Atlanta, the Foundation made

its home in Baltimore. The deep commitment to Atlanta and Baltimore is evidenced in part by the Foundation’s establishment of a Civic

Site in each city—places where grantmaking is not restricted to specific initiatives and where the Foundation “anticipates maintaining significant leadership roles for years to come.”

Before establishing the parameters of the Atlanta Civic Site, the Foundation

reviewed data that showed the majority of children living in poverty were concentrated in five historic neighborhoods just south of downtown Atlanta: Adair Park, Mechanicsville, Peoplestown, Pittsburgh, and Summerhill/Capitol

Homes. These neighborhoods collectively comprise Neighborhood Planning Unit V (NPU-V), one of 25 such neighborhood designations in the City of



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Atlanta. (A fuller description of Atlanta’s neighborhood planning units, with an interactive map, can be found here.3)

The Foundation has made a commitment to support strategic, evidence-based programs that benefit families in these neighborhoods, while also actively seeking opportunities and partnerships to support the replication and

expansion of the work in NPU-V to other struggling communities throughout metro Atlanta and beyond.

In Atlanta, the Civic Site Director oversees a staff of twelve and a programmatic budget that in recent years has leveraged about $10 million annually.4 Among other efforts, Atlanta Civic Site funds contribute to the operation of three

mission-critical neighborhood centers and initiatives which support the Foundation’s goals in NPU-V:

The Center for Working Families, Inc.5 is a private nonprofit

organization which helps focuses on workforce development, work supports, and asset-building programs for parents.

The Dunbar Learning Complex6 encompasses the Paul Dunbar

Elementary School and Educare Atlanta (operated by Sheltering Arms Early Education and Family Center)r), a full-service learning complex

serving children six weeks old through fifth grade, operated in partnership with Atlanta Public Schools and Sheltering Arms. While parents hone their workforce skills, many of their children attend a state-

of-the-art learning complex that is helping them reach the critical milestone of reading on grade level by the end of third grade.

3 http://www.atlantaga.gov/index.aspx?page=739

4 Except for the Director, who is a Casey Foundation employee, Atlanta Civic Site staff members are employees of

the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, supported by periodic grants from the Casey Foundation. 5 http://www.tcwfi.org/

6 http://dunbarlearningcomplex.org/

http://www.atlantaga.gov/index.aspx?page=739

http://www.tcwfi.org/

http://dunbarlearningcomplex.org/



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Neighborhood Transformation Partnerships.7 In collaboration with the

Pittsburgh Community Improvement Association and other mission-

critical partners, the Foundation is focusing on catalytic development of a vacant 31.4 acre tract on University Avenue and the redevelopment of vacant and abandoned homes in the Pittsburgh neighborhood.

THE LOCATION

The Annie E. Casey Foundation Atlanta Civic Site is headquartered in

Mechanicsville, an historic neighborhood just south of Atlanta’s Central Business District. Its location next to the Dunbar Learning Center and Center for Working Families

is symbolic of the continuing commitment the Foundation has to the area’s residents.

Metro Atlanta is widely regarded as a highly favored location in which to work, play, learn and

raise a family. Ranking 9th in the list of the country’s largest metro cities and home to over five million residents, Atlanta is also

headquarters for the world’s busiest airport, six major institutions of higher learning,8 fifteen

7 http://sndsi.org/pittsburghpreservation.html

8 Agnes Scott College, Emory University, Georgia Tech, Morehouse College, Oglethorpe University, and Spelman

College

http://sndsi.org/pittsburghpreservation.html

http://sndsi.org/pittsburghpreservation.html



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Fortune 500 companies9 and some of the world’s most visible public-benefit and nonprofit organizations.10

Despite such indicators of success, Atlanta also ranks high on less attractive scales. For example, Pittsburgh, one of the neighborhoods within the Civic

Site’s service area, had one of the nation’s highest mortgage foreclosure rates during the recent recession, affecting fully 866 of 1800 properties during one two-year period.

THE RELATIONSHIPS

Reports to

Vice President, Civic Sites and Community Change,

Annie E. Casey Foundation, Baltimore

Manages

A staff of twelve astute, well-educated and highly committed professionals focused mainly on evaluation

and operations, educational achievement, community-building and project management. At present, core

admin/HR functions are handled by the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta

Other key

relationships

The Site’s three mission-critical partners (cited

above) and their core leaders (whether paid or volunteer) and funders

Neighborhood residents, collectively and individually

Local, regional and national funders with interests intersecting those of the Atlanta Civic Site

Business, civic and governmental leaders in a position to influence policy relevant to the Civic

Site’s work

Thought-leaders in such place-based themes as

two-generation strategies, neighborhood development and revitalization, early childhood education and family dynamics

Peers and colleagues at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, wherever located

9 The four largest being The Coca-Cola Company, Delta Air Lines, The Home Depot and UPS

10 Such as the American Cancer Society, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, CARE, the Centers for Disease Control,

The Carter Center, and Habitat for Humanity International



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THE RESPONSIBILITIES As the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s most visible representative in Atlanta, the Director of the Atlanta Civic Site must balance with humility and care the roles

of leader, neighborhood advocate, working families champion, philanthropic steward and foundation executive. The role is a highly nuanced one, emblematic of the concept that “leaders are chosen by the led.”

The Director of the Atlanta Civic Site can expect to be evaluated against five

key priorities: 1. Defining success. Defining success for the Casey Foundation’s Atlanta

Civic Site may be the hardest role of all, not least because the challenges with which it chooses to grapple are both large and systemic. Nevertheless,

there is an appetite across the stakeholder base for Casey to articulate its future agenda for investments in Atlanta. Part of this relates to funding, of course, but part also relates to priorities, expectations and the placement of

energies. The Casey Foundation is a highly credible

funder, and bold visions inform much of its work across the country. In Atlanta, Casey and

the Civic Site’s staff are widely applauded for investing with tenacity and creativity in some of the area’s most challenging issues and

neighborhoods, and the impact has been tangible. Articulating an implementable vision

for the next decade—defining success, if you will—in ways that invite ownership by a variety of stakeholders, resident and nonresident alike,

will have enormous impact on the Site and the people it serves.

2. Management. While guiding with a light hand, the Director must ensure

that the Civic Site’s people, assets, protocols and reputation are structured,

managed and developed in a manner consistent with Foundation-approved strategy, sound philanthropic practices and optimal community impact. In the post-recessionary economy, the Director must manage the Civic Site’s

programs and budget in ways that support the mission, promote sustainability, and model the same stewardship of assets that the Foundation expects of its grantees. Managerial clarity, both internally and

externally, will be key, and attention to infrastructure will support that clarity handsomely.

http://datacenter.kidscount.org/



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The founding Director has built a solid team at the Atlanta Civic Site, several members of which are frequently cited across the broader community for their programmatic leadership and engagement, but much of

the staff has joined the team within the past couple of years. While the staff treasures the free hand it is given to pursue the Site’s mission, the high degree of autonomy given individual members may have consequences for

integration and collaboration.

As the team matures and the Site’s initiatives evolve, the Director must ensure that the staff also evolves,

learning from individual and collective experiences, engaging fully with one another and profiting from exposure to

best practices across the spectrum. Strengthening the management culture

of the Atlanta Civic Site while respecting its neighborhood-friendly ambience will require a deft hand.

Everyone involved with the Atlanta Civic Site has high aspirations. The impending leadership change provides the opportunity to expand the vision

further—as one staffer put it, increasingly focusing “on big impact.” Place-based change requires a broad vision, and a clear management agenda will provide integral support to that vision.

3. Community credibility: Place-based foundations are rarely run well by

desk-bound leaders. The departing leader is regarded exceptionally highly

within NPU-V and beyond, not least because she has been a present and visible force for change. While being ever-attentive to managerial

necessities, the next Director is also likely to have the most impact when he or she is engaging with community in community.

Given the nature of the Casey Foundation’s work in Atlamnta, it is essential that the Director also be seen to be of the community. A realistic view of

neighborhood challenges combined with an abiding respect for the people most affected by those challenges—and their ability to influence their own futures—must come naturally to the Director. This does not imply that the

Director must live in NPU-V or mirror its demographics, but it does require that the Director be able to build lasting relationships of trust and

consequence with the people of the neighborhoods.

4. Stakeholder engagement: Similarly, the Director must be comfortable

building, sustaining or strengthening relationships with a wide array of



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stakeholders. At present, many of the initiatives supported by the Civic Site are broadly seen as Casey initiatives rather than, say, Atlanta initiatives. A number of people in Atlanta’s programmatic and philanthropic

community worry that a change in local leadership may portend a reduction in Casey’s commitment to the Site, its programs or the neighborhood it serves.

Accordingly, the new leader will have a special challenge not only to

maintain the credibility already established but to strengthen that credibility through appropriate messaging, conversations and relationships that reflect the Foundation’s continuing commitment. Clarity—of goals,

expectations and actions—will be rewarded handsomely in a strengthened spirit of stakeholder collaboration and support.

5. Program management and sustainability: Casey’s current programs in

Atlanta are highly regarded, and many of them have attracted national

attention for their impact. Sustainability is always an issue, of course, and the new Director must be attentive to ways to broaden support not only for activities in NPU-V but also for ways to replicate those activities as

appropriate in other venues. Without diminishing the importance of success to date, the Director will be encouraged to look for ways in which

other communities can benefit from Casey’s local experience.

PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS In broad terms, the Annie E. Casey Foundation seeks a seasoned Director who combines an abiding commitment to the mission and goals of the Atlanta Civic Site with the values, passion and professional experience to lead the

Foundation’s Atlanta-based initiatives through its second decade and beyond.



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The Foundation is prepared to be creative in making this appointment. While the ideal candidate will likely be a proven leader in community-based philanthropy, we are open to considering other backgrounds that encompass

exceptional leadership accomplishments, passion for the work, creativity in execution and a superior fit with the Foundation’s objectives.

Competence: The ideal candidate will offer…

Leadership experience and established

credibility in subjects or environments relevant to the Foundation’s work at the

Atlanta Civic Site. Examples might include neighborhood development, workforce planning, social enterprise, and community

building broadly construed.

Strong collaborative skills applied in

multifaceted communities

Experience implementing sound management

practices

Demonstrated affinity for at least one of the

Site’s primary focus areas (educational achievement, family economic success and

neighborhood transformation)

Leadership experience within organizations known for their commitment to

excellence, transparency, integrity and community impact

The financial and managerial skills to lead a robust organization of

exceptionally bright team members with a spirit of collaboration, engagement and growth; an entrepreneur’s attitude paired with a manager’s toolkit

Excellent people skills, whether dealing with staff, community members, funders or critics

Excellent communication skills

Savviness in understanding how to bring together disparate funding

streams, both private and public; working knowledge of the small-p political environment would be helpful

Competence that is place-based but not place-bound.

Culture: The foundation seeks a Director who exhibits…

Entrenched respect for the people we serve and the work we undertake

The skill and presence to promote the work of the Atlanta Civic Site and the

residents and partners who make it possible



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A commitment to this community, meeting the residents where they are while supporting their ambitions for lasting change

An appealing balance of confidence and humility

A penchant for policy. The best candidate will be someone comfortable with

data and who can make judicious use of best practices on

generational poverty, community improvement and the like

Deep affinity for the politics of race

(without being bound by those politics)

The ability to hire, guide and develop capable, smart people in a

common cause; the capacity to articulate expectations and hold

people accountable without stepping into micromanagement

The willingness to make tough

choices—what Casey should do more of, and what it should do less of. As one staffer put it, “Don’t just

blend into the culture; help build it.”

Comfort with ambiguity.

Character: The foundation expects to hire…

A flexible and caring change agent of integrity; a leader committed to long-

term, generational change and the power of the possible

A creative, innovative and politically astute leader

A consensus-builder who can subordinate his/her ego for the good of the mission

An energetic and articulate champion for progress who is realistic about, but undaunted by, the inevitable hurdles to progress

A leader with a strong personal sense of community

A careful steward of assets, whether of people, finances, reputation or clout

A first-rate people manager quick to promote staff strengths and linkages; a

confident leader who engenders and reciprocates trust, without abdicating core managerial responsibilities

A trustworthy leader who can balance the intimate work in the

neighborhood with a vision for long-term, sustainable change.

http://vimeo.com/10177090



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Everyone involved knows that the Atlanta Civic Site is a real gem, where bold ideas are incubated, tested, implemented, refined and scaled. Leading a “smart and proud team,” supporting residents who represent “an unmatched vision of

what a community can be,” the next Director of the Atlanta Civic Site of the Annie E. Casey Foundation will inherit a marvelous opportunity to effect real change in concert with residents, like-minded funders and committed

stakeholders.

For potential consideration or to suggest a prospect,

please email appropriate materials to

[email protected]

or call

Sam Pettway or Joan Schlachter at (404) 262-7392

mailto:[email protected]

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