Posted on October 9, 2011

People in the News (10/9/11): Appointments and Promotions

The Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers in Arlington, Virginia, has announced the appointment of NINA STACK as chairperson. Stack, president of the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers, previously served as director of external affairs for the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and held marketing and communications leadership positions within several New Jersey nonprofit organizations. Her new appointment includes an ex-officio seat on the board of the Council on Foundations.

Washington, D.C.-based National Public Radio has announced the appointment of GARY E. KNELL as president and CEO. Knell, president and CEO of Sesame Workshop, has a career in public broadcasting that spans three decades, including executive roles at Manager Media International and WNET/Channel 13. Earlier, he served as counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary and Governmental Affairs Committees and worked in the California state legislature and governor's office. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations as well as the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO, serves as a director of the executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles, is on the board of governors of the National Geographic Education Foundation, and is a board member of AARP Services, Inc., the Jacob Burns Film Center, and Save the Children.

The Rand Corporation in Santa Monica, California, has announced the appointment of MICHAEL D. RICH as president and CEO. Rich, a member of the think tank's senior leadership team for two decades, succeeds James A. Thomson, who has led the organization since 1989 and announced his decision to step down this April.

In other news, PND notes the passing of PAULA LOUISE ETTELBRICK, 56, after a long fight with ovarian cancer. Ettelbrick, a lifelong LGBTQ rights crusader, stepped down as executive director of the Stonewall Community Foundation this August. Earlier, she served as executive director of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission and as legal director at Lambda Legal, and held positions at the National Center for Lesbian Rights, the Empire State Pride Agenda, and the National Lesbian and Gay Task Force. She also taught courses on law and sexuality at Barnard, Columbia Law School, the University of Michigan Law School, New York University School of Law, and Wayne State University.