Sherece Y. West

Sherece Y. West is the former "Chief Executive Officer of the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation. LDRF is a newly formed foundation committed to promoting equity and inclusion as communities build back in Louisiana. The foundation provides support to equip displaced people with the tools to understand, organize, advocate for, and be involved in the decisions that affect their lives and livelihoods. It strongly believes that inclusive practices must be a hallmark during the process of rebuilding. So, the end result is a better, more equitable Louisiana that offers all people ? regardless of race, economic status, and gender the opportunity for full participation in its economy and society.

"Sherece was the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Carrier Foundation. The Carrier Foundation is a newly formed family foundation dedicated to improving the life chances of disadvantaged children and families in the Southwest region of Louisiana.

"Sherece is formerly of the Annie E. Casey Foundation. With a strong background in affordable housing and community development, Sherece was intrigued by the opportunity to work with the Rebuilding Communities Initiative (RCI) and spent thirteen years partnering with RCI grantees and consultants to help the five RCI sites advance their community building plans and achieve goals they set. When the core work of this seven-year initiative ended in December of 2001, Sherece was involved in documentation and follow-up. Beginning in early July of 2004, she took on a score of new challenges in the Leadership Development unit, developing and managing the Foundation’s investments in youth mobilization, engagement and leadership. Sherece had responsibility for creating a scan of the current investments that support youth as leaders; shaping a framework to advance the work around youth as leaders; and developing strategies to understand what motivates and encourages the engagement, mobilization and leadership of youth in civic engagement.

"Starting her public policy career at the Social Security Administration as a program analyst, Sherece continued to build her knowledge and experiences with the Maryland Municipal League, the District of Columbia Department of Public Health and the Ford Foundation. Just prior to joining the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Sherece was a Housing Researcher/Analyst at The Community Service Society in New York City where she conducted research, contributed policy analysis and provided advocacy on issues affecting New York’s low-income tenant population.

"Sherece earned her Bachelor of Science in Public Administration at Bowie State University and her Master of Public Policy from the University of Michigan. She was also a Fellow with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Policy Institutes. Sherece has earned her Doctorate in Public Policy Sciences from the University of Maryland Baltimore County and has finalized her dissertation on resident engagement in the Rebuilding Communities Initiative. She sits on the boards of the Neighborhood Funders Group and Foundation for the Mid-South and is a member of the Association of Black Foundation Executives. She was elected to the Council on Foundations Board of Directors in May 2006. She is a 2003 -04 Emerging Leaders Fellow – a joint program of Duke University and the University of Capetown."

"Sherece Y. West, Ph.D., President and CEO of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation (WRF), was also elected to NCRP's board of directors. West was the President and CEO of the Carrier Foundation and led the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation prior to her work with WRF. In 2007, she won the Telly Award Bronze for her work as Executive Producer of Power in the People."


 * Director, National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy