The team at Headwaters grows by one today, so please help us welcome our new Associate Director of Program and Grantmaking Bilal Alkatout! 

Bilal is a respected and familiar face in local philanthropy. He started his grantmaking career as a program manager at the Bush Foundation, and most recently was a senior program officer at the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation. He is deeply respected at and familiar to Headwaters, where he served as one of our board members. Bilal has a passion for community-driven initiatives, and he’s an expert at cross-sector connectivity and creative problem solving in the name of organizational development and systems change.  

“Bilal exemplifies the characteristics and experience we’ve been looking for in this role,” shares Director of Program and Grantmaking, Melissa Rudnick. “He’s a compassionate, impactful, and collaborative leader who I just know will bring great care and thoughtfulness to his work." 

Some of the strategic work Bilal now steps into includes leading the day-to-day operations of our Program Team and supporting colleagues to be increasingly responsive to Minnesota’s movements for change. He will lead evaluation efforts and help elevate the ways that Headwaters establishes, builds, and sustains grantee relationships.  

As a first-generation immigrant, Bilal is happy to share his family stories, customs, and recipes for Palestinian sweets (an offer we encourage anyone to take advantage of). He loves to travel just as much as he loves the Minnesotan outdoors. You’ll catch Bilal spending spare time at his potter’s wheel, working in his garden, or baking in his kitchen.