Dear Friends,
It is with mixed emotions that I share with you that Natalie Blake, Program Officer, has decided to resign her position with the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation (ZSR), effective August 27, 2021.
As many of you know, Natalie has been an integral member of the Foundation staff for almost nine years. She started as an Associate Program Officer before being promoted to her current role as a Program Officer in 2016, at which time she led the Foundation’s public education portfolio under ZSR’s previous five focus areas. During that time, Natalie focused on building public will to support public education and on recruiting and retaining excellent public school teachers. During the development of the Foundation’s All For NC: ZSR’s Framework for Grantmaking and Learning, Natalie supported the Foundation’s grant cycle related programmatic operations. Since then, she has helped shape the State-Level Systemic Change Strategy “Advancing Public Education” priority area. In addition, Natalie has co-led the development and implementation of ZSR’s Community-Based Strategy, serving as the primary lead for the Community Progress Fund while also supporting ZSR’s Collaborative Problem Solving approach.
Natalie has shared with me that when she leaves the Foundation, she will be focusing her time, at least in the immediate future, on her family, including her three wonderful children. She has been on maternity leave since her most recent baby was born a couple of months ago. Except for working on a very limited basis, Natalie will remain on maternity leave through August 27th. If you need to connect with a ZSR staff person, please contact Jill Ray at [email protected]. If you have a technical question related to the upcoming State-Level Systemic Change Strategy grant cycle, please contact Beth Priddy at [email protected]. If you have a content-related question regarding the upcoming grant cycle, please contact John Francis at [email protected].
As we get closer to Natalie’s last day of work on August 27th, we will provide further updates on how various matters she has managed will be handled. In the meantime, I hope you will join me in thanking Natalie for her excellent service and contributions to the Foundation and to North Carolina and in wishing her well in her future endeavors.
Maurice “Mo” Green
Executive Director
Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation
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