National organization that unites nonprofits and philanthropy also elected new board officers and thanks retiring Board chair and directors.
(WASHINGTON, October 25, 2024) – Today, Independent Sector announced its Board of Directors for the coming year, including five new directors.
The announcement and election by Independent Sector members of the new board directors followed the national nonprofit organization’s Annual Business Meeting and Town Hall, held in-person and virtually on Thursday, October 17, 2024.
The new directors are Richard E. Besser, MD, president and chief executive officer of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; Janeen Comenote, an enrolled member of the Quinault Indian Nation and founding executive director of the National Urban Indian Family Coalition; Jacqueline Martinez Garcel, former chief executive officer of the Latino Community Foundation; Isaiah M. Oliver, president of The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida; and Jose Antonio Tijerino, president and chief executive officer of the Hispanic Heritage Foundation.
The Board of Directors has strategic and fiduciary oversight of Independent Sector and is composed of a diverse group of leaders representing nonprofits, philanthropies, organizers, universities, and corporate social responsibility groups that together participate in and contribute to America’s civil society. Directors are elected for a term of three years.
Also elected are new officers to guide board activities and ensure good governance. They include Rev. Adam Russell Taylor, president, Sojourners (Chair); Dr. John Brothers, president, T. Rowe Price Foundation and president, T. Rowe Price Charitable (Vice Chair); Lysa Ratliff, CEO, KABOOM! (Treasurer); Sonya Campion, president, Campion Advocacy Fund (Secretary); and Dr. Manuel Pastor, distinguished professor, Equity Research Institute, University of Southern California (At-Large).
“I’m thrilled to welcome our new board directors, and our returning directors, as well,” said Dr. Akilah Watkins, Independent Sector president and CEO. “This is a time of great consequence for our sector and our nation. I look forward to working with our distinguished board to strengthen our sector, support our workforce, and advance a charitable sector that is healthy, trusted, and equitable to help all people in the United States thrive.”
Independent Sector, its board, staff, and members also thanked Fred Blackwell, retiring board chair, and retiring board directors for their outstanding service to the organization, including Sarah Kastelic, executive director, National Indian Child Welfare Association; Jen Ford Reedy, president, Bush Foundation; Michael McAfee, president and CEO, PolicyLink; and Nicole Anderson, AVP Social Innovation and President, AT&T Foundation.
Following are the new board directors’ biographies:
Richard E. Besser, MD 
Richard E. Besser, MD, is president and chief executive officer of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), a position he assumed in April 2017. RWJF is dedicated to taking bold leaps to transform health in our lifetime and committed to paving the way, together, to a future where health is no longer a privilege but a right. In his role, Besser is a leading voice on the importance of healthy and equitable community conditions, the need for economic inclusion for the well-being of families, accountable public health and healthcare systems, and for dismantling one of the biggest barriers to health in America, structural racism.
Before joining the Foundation, Besser served for eight years as chief health and medical editor for ABC News, and as a leader at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), where he worked for 13 years. He served as acting director of the CDC during the initial response to the H1N1 influenza pandemic. Besser is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and serves on the Board of Trustees of Howard University. He is a champion of disability inclusion in philanthropy.
Besser received his Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Williams College and medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He completed a residency and chief residency in pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore. He practiced as a volunteer pediatrician at several community clinics across the nation for more than 30 years.
Janeen Comenote 
Janeen Comenote is Quinault and Oglala on her father’s side and Hesquiaht and Kwakiutl First Nations on her mother’s side. Comenote is the founding executive director of the National Urban Indian Family Coalition (NUIFC). The NUIFC is a national coalition representing 38 urban Indian centers in 26 cities and more than two million Native Americans living away from their traditional land base. The NUIFC remains one of only a few national organizations dedicated to “Making the Invisible Visible” and providing a platform and voice for this underrepresented population in America.
Janeen is a graduate of Leadership Tomorrow, a regional leadership program; is a 1999 alumni of the prestigious Americans for Indian Opportunity Ambassador program; and was chosen and highlighted in O (Oprah) magazine for her participation in Women Rule: 80 Women Who Could Change America. She is a recipient of the Potlatch Fund Fran James Cultural Preservation Award and the prestigious Eco Trust Indigenous Leadership Award for her work with urban Indians. She has presented urban Indian issues at The White House, the United Nations, and as a keynote speaker at numerous conferences.
Jaqueline Martinez Garcel
Jacqueline Martinez Garcel most recently served as the CEO of the Latino Community Foundation (LCF), and previously served as vice president of the New York Health Foundation (NYHealth). She is a visionary leader who is passionate about elevating the voices of communities; pursuing equity; and using philanthropy as a catalyst for tangible, enduring social change. Prior to joining NYHealth, Garcel served as the executive director of Community Voices in New York, part of a national initiative of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. During her tenure, she developed, evaluated, and expanded programs to advance equity, improve health, and improve quality of life for communities of color.
Jacqueline has served as a NIH fellow for the Merida Department of Public Health in Yucatan, Mexico; a faculty member for the Social Science Department of the Borough of Manhattan Community College; and an invited-adjunct professor at the New York University Global Institute of Public Health. Jacqueline has been appointed to several boards, including the Institute for Civic Leadership, NAMI-NYC Metro, and Grantmakers in Health. She holds a Master in Public Health from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Science from Cornell University.
Isaiah M. Oliver 
Isaiah M. Oliver is the third president of The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida, Florida’s oldest and largest community foundation, established in 1964. He oversees an experienced 30-person staff that manages $655 million in assets and distributed more than $75 million in grants in 2023. Prior to leading The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida, he served as the CEO of the Community Foundation of Greater Flint (MI), a top 100 community foundation, with peak assets of $350 million.
Oliver’s dedication to local community development and leadership is evident in his roles on the Jacksonville Civic Council, as co-chair of the Jacksonville Transformation Coalition, as trustee member of the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, and as vice chair of the city of Jacksonville Homelessness Commission.
Oliver serves as chair of the CFLeads National Board of Directors, on the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy’s Leadership Council, on the ABFE Board of Directors, and as a member of the Council on Foundations Public Policy Advisory Committee. He serves on the Board of Trustees at his alma mater, Central Michigan University, and is a fellow of the inaugural class of the Civil Society Fellowship, a partnership of ADL and The Aspen Institute, and member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network
Jose Antonio Tijerino 
Jose Antonio Tijerino is president and chief executive officer of the Hispanic Heritage Foundation (HHF), a national nonprofit focused on education, workforce, social impact, and culture, through the lens of leadership, which he describes as a “malleable mission.” Under Tijerino, HHF has been honored by The White House, US Congress, Fortune 500 companies, other nonprofits, and the Government of Mexico. Tijerino is also executive producer of the Hispanic Heritage Awards at the Kennedy Center, which are broadcast on PBS. Previously, Tijerino was an executive at Fannie Mae Foundation, Nike, Burson Marsteller, and Cohn & Wolfe.
Tijerino was recognized by FWD.us for his work with migrant families on the border, including his support of the Humanitarian Respite Center in McAllen, TX, and has helped build a center on the Mexico side. He also co-founded the American Project; #WeDreamAmerica campaign; and #Masks4Farmworkers, which provided more than 2 million masks for farmworkers during the pandemic; DREAM LEAD for DACA recipients. And, he supported Imagination Stage’s Theatre for Change featuring the Oyeme! Project portraying the plight of migrants, among other efforts.
Tijerino earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Maryland’s School of Journalism, was honored with a Doctorate of Humane Letters from The Chicago School, and is a Salinas Fellow at the Aspen Institute.
Learn more about Independent Sector’s 2024 Board of Directors: https://independentsector.org/about/leadership-and-staff/
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Independent Sector is the only national membership organization that brings together a diverse community of changemakers at nonprofits, foundations, and corporate giving programs to ensure all people in the United States thrive. Learn more at independentsector.org.
Media Contact: Nina Ford, media@independentsector.org, 202-467-6113
