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Battle Creek, Mich. – The W.K. Kellogg Foundation today announced that Sharnita C. Johnson has joined the foundation as a program officer. Johnson is experienced in serving the needs of vulnerable youth in Detroit and will apply her insights and expertise to help lead collaborative and place-based work there.
In this role, Johnson will work with the Education and Learning team to develop programming priorities as well as identify and nurture opportunities to affect positive change within communities. Her responsibilities include reviewing and recommending proposals for funding, conducting site visits and maintaining strong relationships with grant seekers and external partners. She will manage and monitor a portfolio of active grants, and provide technical assistance to grantees on model development, partnership negotiations, leadership capacity building and coaching.
“The W.K. Kellogg Foundation is committed to improving the lives of vulnerable children and families throughout our home state of Michigan, and in Detroit in particular,” said Sterling K. Speirn, president and CEO, W.K. Kellogg Foundation. “As a Detroit native and champion for Detroit’s children, Sharnita is a value asset in our efforts to create conditions that propel Detroit’s children to realize their full potential in school, work and life.”
Johnson has almost 20 years’ experience in the nonprofit sector. Most recently she served as a senior program officer at the Skillman Foundation, since 2004, where she managed a multi-million-dollar grant portfolio in the program areas of neighborhood development, arts and culture, and youth development. Prior to that, Johnson held positions at the Ruth Mott Foundation, Detroit Public Television, Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, Children’s Hospital for Michigan, Music Hall Center for Performing Arts and the Museum of African American History. She has a Bachelor of Arts from Marygrove College and a Master’s of Public Administration from the University of Michigan-Dearborn.
About the W.K. Kellogg Foundation
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation, founded in 1930 by breakfast cereal pioneer Will Keith Kellogg, is among the largest philanthropic foundations in the United States. Based in Battle Creek, Mich., WKKF engages with communities in priority places (Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico and New Orleans), nationally and internationally to create conditions that propel vulnerable children to realize their full potential in school, work and life. To learn more, visit http://www.wkkf.org or follow WKKF on twitter at @wk_kellogg_fdn.
