Senior Program Officer Clark McCain Closes His Coleman Foundation Chapter
By Clark McCain
This summer marked my fifteenth anniversary at The Coleman Foundation and in private philanthropy. With gratitude for the opportunity and awe in our achievements, I announce my plans to depart from the Foundation at the end of November 2021. I move on to care for family needs that have emerged in the pandemic, advance a special personal project, and evaluate opportunities that align with my passions.
During my time at the Foundation, I believe we have employed the distinctive action private foundations can take to carefully catalyze collaboration among people and groups. I am most proud of our work establishing the Intersect for Ability Network, which serves individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities through more than twenty Chicago-area nonprofit organizations; the Coleman Foundation Faculty Entrepreneurship Fellows Program, in which over 800 college faculty infused self-employment education into more than 150 subjects within 33 American colleges and universities; and the Foundation’s Giving Tuesday Matching Grants Programs, which across nine years helped nearly 100 grantee organizations raise in excess of $21 million.
I offer my thanks to my Coleman Foundation family, particularly former president Michael W. Hennessy, who brought me into the Foundation and provided early mentorship; Rosa Berardi, my colleague during my entire time there; R. Michael Furlong, a mainstay on its board of directors; and the other members of our board and staff who have contributed to the work during the past decade and a half. I have learned from each of you and am honored to have joined you in serving the Foundation.
I leave my best wishes to colleagues, collaborators, grantees, and all those central figures who benefit from our work. After November 30th, your new contact at The Coleman Foundation will be our CEO, Shelley Davis (sdavis@colemanfoundation.org). For personal matters, I can be reached at clark@healthytension.com.
