(WASHINGTON, November 26, 2025) – Today, Independent Sector announced the selection of its Board of Directors for 2026, including the election of two new directors.
The announcement and election of new board directors by Independent Sector members followed the national nonprofit organization’s Annual Business Meeting during its 2025 National Summit in Atlanta, October 27-29.
The new directors are Nishka Chandrasoma, Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, and Secretary of the Ford Foundation; and John Miller, President and CEO of Guide Dog Foundation and America’s VetDogs.
Independent Sector’s 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.
Independent Sector, its board, staff, and members also thanked retiring Director Sonya Campion, President and Trustee of Campion Advocacy Fund, for her outstanding service to the organization.
“I’m thrilled to welcome Nishka Chandrasoma and John Miller to our Board of Directors, and am grateful to our returning board members for their enduring commitment to our work. I also extend my deepest appreciation to our departing board member, Sonya Campion, for her generous service and visionary leadership,” 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.”
Chandrasoma and Miller join the following returning board members:
- Rev. Adam Russell Taylor, President, Sojourners (Chair)
- Dr. John Brothers, President and CEO, Charles and Margery Barancik Foundation (Vice Chair)
- Lysa Ratliff, CEO, KABOOM! (Treasurer)
- Dr. Manuel Pastor, Distinguished Professor, Equity Research Institute, University of Southern California (At-Large)
- Richard E. Besser, MD, President and CEO, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
- Phoebe Boyer, President and CEO, Children’s Aid
- Ann Mei Chang, CEO, Candid
- Janeen Comenote, Executive Director, National Urban Indian Family Coalition
- Jacqueline Martinez Garcel, CEO and Co-Founder, Murado Entertainment
- Julie Gehrki, President, Walmart Foundation and Senior Vice President of Philanthropy, Walmart
- Suzanne McCormick, President and CEO, YMCA of the USA
- Isaiah M. Oliver, President, The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida
- Hilary Pennington, Executive Vice President for Programs (Retired), The Ford Foundation
- Jose Antonio Tijerino, President and CEO, Hispanic Heritage Foundation
Learn more about the newest members of Independent Sector’s Board of Directors:
Nishka Chandrasoma
Nishka Chandrasoma is Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, and Secretary of The Ford Foundation. She is responsible for managing the overall legal affairs of the foundation relating to its governance, grantmaking, global operations, and investments.
Nishka joined the foundation in 2015 as assistant secretary and deputy general counsel before being named vice president in 2019. Prior to joining the foundation, she practiced law with the tax-exempt organizations group at Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler, where she represented clients ranging from universities and museums to private foundations and community foundations.
Nishka serves on the boards of Philanthropy New York and the Foundation for Detroit’s Future. She is a member of the Nonprofit Forum of the National Center on Philanthropy and the Law at NYU School of Law, the American Bar Association’s Exempt Organizations Committee, and the Government Relations Committee of Nonprofit New York. She is a frequent speaker at programs for tax-exempt organizations on topics including social media and nonprofits, fiscal sponsorships, international grantmaking, and foundation governance.
John Miller
John Miller joined the Guide Dog Foundation and America’s VetDogs as President and CEO in March 2018. Under his leadership, the nonprofits have seen an expansive growth in national recognition and public awareness, resulting in both an upsurge in demand for their services and significant revenue increases. In fiscal year 2019, the organizations placed the most guide and service dogs with people with disabilities in their history. In 2024, America’s VetDogs was the recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society’s Community Service Award.
Previously, Miller was the national president and CEO of the Tourette Association of America (TAA). Prior to TAA, he served with honor and distinction as CEO of the American Red Cross on Long Island, which included overseeing local responses to high-impact national events including Hurricane Irene and Superstorm Sandy, the two largest disasters in recent Long Island history. He has been recognized nationally for his strong leadership and has been acknowledged as one of the most influential businessmen on Long Island, including being named winner of the Certilman Balin Leadership Excellence Award held by the Long Island Imagine Awards and inducted into the Long Island Business News Hall of Fame.
###
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: Chloe Kessock, media@independentsector.org, 727-433-2972
