New director and three officers announced

Contact: Omar Hussain
269.969.2340
omar.hussain@wkkf.org

BATTLE CREEK, Mich. – The W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) today announced the appointment of Patrick Simpson as a director of programming for WKKF’s Food, Health & Well-being portfolio, Diane Smith and Alana White as program officers supporting the foundation’s Michigan portfolio statewide, and Dr. Kimberly Howard Robinson as a planning, evaluation and research officer.

“We’re tremendously excited about our recent additions to an already talented staff,” said Barbara Ferrer, chief strategy officer of WKKF. “With Patrick, we’re adding a director with tremendous experience and knowledge, especially within the field of public health, to our Food, Health & Well-being work. Diane and Alana will be applying their strong community and economic development skills  to help us continue partnering  with Michigan communities to improve the health, education and well-being of all children. And Kimberly brings a deep understanding of research and evaluation to our organization and will be a fantastic addition.”

Simpson was named as the director of Food, Health & Well-being after leading WKKF’s Maternal and Child Health program work as a program officer dating back to 2010. Prior to joining WKKF, Simpson was the executive director of CityMatCH – University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha where he focused on maternal and child health needs in U.S. urban areas.

Smith and White were named as program officers supporting the foundation’s Michigan portfolio statewide, with particular emphasis in Battle Creek. Smith joined the foundation in May 1994 as a program assistant and most recently was a program manager supporting the Michigan team. White joined the foundation in April 2013 as a program manager, after working with the Living Cities investment in Detroit.

Rounding out the latest additions to WKKF, Dr. Robinson will be responsible for designing, leading and supporting the planning, research and evaluation-related activities across WKKF, collaborating with programming executives and officers along the way. Prior to accepting this new position, Robinson was an independent education consultant working with school districts and education-based nonprofits to help implement system-wide accountability and the use of data to inform decision making. 

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About the W.K. Kellogg Foundation 
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF), founded in 1930 as an independent, private foundation by breakfast cereal pioneer Will Keith Kellogg, is among the largest philanthropic foundations in the United States. Guided by the belief that all children should have an equal opportunity to thrive, WKKF works with communities to create conditions for vulnerable children so they can realize their full potential in school, work and life.

The Kellogg Foundation is based in Battle Creek, Michigan, and works throughout the United States and internationally, as well as with sovereign tribes. Special emphasis is paid to priority places where there are high concentrations of poverty and where children face significant barriers to success. WKKF priority places in the U.S. are in Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico and New Orleans; and internationally, are in Mexico and Haiti.

To learn more, follow WKKF on Twitter at @wk_kellogg_fdn.