Sue Santa to Lead Council on Foundations Policy Team

The Council on Foundations announced new hires and promotions today to support the organization’s recent strategic redesign that positions the Council to serve as a more relevant, agile leadership organization.

Effective January 10, Sue Santa will assume the role of senior vice president of public policy and legal affairs. Santa will oversee the Council’s government relations and legal team while providing strategic direction for all advocacy efforts, including working with all branches of government to communicate the value and impact of philanthropy and ensuring a positive environment for charitable giving. 

Santa currently serves as senior vice president for public policy at The Philanthropy Roundtable and is well respected in the philanthropic sector as a strategic leader with deep experience in programming and establishing partnerships and coalitions. Most recently, she has worked closely with the Council and other key organizations as part of the Charitable Giving Coalition, an umbrella organization of more than 40 nonprofits and grantmaking organizations advocating for the charitable deduction.
  
“Sue’s leadership, reputation, and expertise as a strategic thinker and coalition builder will be instrumental in building relationships that galvanize  efforts to work with our partners to advocate on behalf of the philanthropic sector,” said Vikki N. Spruill, the Council’s president and CEO. “As the last few months have shown, this is a critical juncture for the charitable sector and Sue will play a leading role in developing and implementing strategy to effectively demonstrate what philanthropy is and why it matters.” 

The Council also announced that Julianne Sobral will join the organization on January 22 as the director of human resources. Sobral currently serves as the director of human resources for Lotame Solutions, Inc. in Columbia, Md. She is an experienced human resources professional with specific expertise helping organizations with strategic planning and recruitment. 

In addition to these new hires, the Council announced the promotions of Will Heaton to chief of staff and strategic adviser to the president and Renée B. Branch to vice president for programs. Heaton joined the Council in March 2009 as executive assistant to the president and director of board relations. Branch joined the Council in 2007 as director of diversity and inclusive practices and most recently served as vice president, professional development, diversity, and inclusion. 

“These moves present an exciting opportunity for the Council to accomplish the goals established through our strategic redesign and begin delivering on a new business model that positions us as a network hub within the philanthropic sector connecting our members with those within philanthropy as well as the public and private sectors,” said Spruill. “We look forward to working with our partners and colleagues to identify challenges and provide solutions that will ultimately help philanthropy advance the common good.”