Poetry Foundation Appoints Five New Trustees to Join Board

The Poetry Foundation is pleased to announce the addition of five new members to its Board of Trustees: Marc Bamuthi Joseph, Deborah Gillespie, Marguerite Griffin, Andy Jacobs, and Parneshia Jones.  

“We are so pleased to welcome our new Board members, all of whom bring decades of leadership, experience, and creative energy to their roles,” said Poetry Foundation Board chair, Caren Yanis. “The Foundation has undergone some exciting changes, including a new Strategic Plan, and having diverse backgrounds in finance, publishing, poetry, performance, and philanthropy deepens the skill set of our Board.”

Marc Bamuthi Joseph is vice president and artistic director of Social Impact at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. A 2017 TED Global Fellow, an inaugural recipient of the Guggenheim Social Practice initiative, and an honoree of the United States Artists Rockefeller Fellowship, Joseph’s artistic career has been recognized across the US. In 2017, his libretto We Shall Not Be Moved was named one of the “Best Classical Music Performances” by The New York Times. Joseph also proudly serves as chief of program and pedagogy at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. His community development philosophy, “The Creative Ecosystem,” has been implemented in cities across the US and has been the subject of critical writings, including one published by Harvard Education Press.

Deborah Gillespie is a principal at the DGCB Group, serving as a consultant to executive leadership and rising executives, with more than 35 years in nonprofit management. Gillespie was the Joyce Foundation’s vice president of finance and administration from 2000–2019. During 30 years of her career, she had responsibility for chief financial officer and chief operating officer functions for three grant-making organizations; Gillespie is also experienced in the function of chief technology officer. Her current service to the nonprofit sector includes serving as director and chair of New Moms, an advisory board member of Project Unloaded, a member of the Finance & Investment Committee of the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation, and an emeritus member and past president of the Foundation Financial Officers Group.

Marguerite Griffin serves as the director of Philanthropic Advisory Services at Northern Trust, which she joined in 1999 as a vice president; she previously held ranking positions at First Chicago, Bank One. Before her career in finance, Griffin practiced law at Vedder, Price, Kaufman & Kammholz. A member of the Chicago Bar Association, the Chicago Council on Planned Giving, and the Chicago Estate Planning Council, Griffin is an active volunteer, advisor, and board member with several charitable and cultural institutions.

Andy Jacobs is principal and senior investment advisor at AllianceBernstein, providing investment planning, analysis, and wealth management for private clients, foundations, and endowments. Previously, Jacobs was the executive director of the Gus Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to funding pediatric brain tumor research. As one of the founders of Jacobs Bros. Bagels, he served as chief executive officer for 16 years. Jacobs is a Brown University graduate and a certified financial planner.

Parneshia Jones is an award-winning poet and publisher. Jones serves as Director for Northwestern University Press and acquires poetry for the TriQuarterly Books imprint; her acquisitions have garnered some of the highest literary honors, including the National Book Award, the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award, and Hurston/Wright Legacy Award. Jones is the author of Vessel: Poems, winner of a Midwest Book Award and featured as one of “12 Books to Savor” by O, The Oprah Magazine. She has been honored with a Gwendolyn Brooks Poetry Award, a Margaret Walker Short Story Award, and an Aquarius Press Legacy Award. Named one of the “25 Writers to Watch” by the Guild Literary Complex and one of “Lit 50: Who Really Books in Chicago” by Newcity, Jones has been featured on PBS Newshour, the Academy of American Poets, espnW, and a poetry exchange in Seoul, South Korea sponsored by DreamYard. She previously served as Board President for the Cave Canem Foundation and currently serves on the advisory board for Shorefront Legacy Center.

The new Board members  join as the Foundation bids farewell to the following members, and thanks them for their years of care, dedication, and service: Susan Noyes, David Ormesher, and Andrea Wishom.