FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MEDIA CONTACT: Sarah Weatherby April 7, 2023 sweatherby@wawf.org | 202–469–3673
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Washington Area Women’s Foundation announces the appointment of Dr. Tamara Wilds Lawson as its new President and CEO, effective May 8, 2023.
Dr. Lawson will lead The Women’s Foundation’s efforts to improve the economic security and well–being of women and girls of color throughout the Washington metropolitan region. Her appointment follows an extensive search led by The Women’s Foundation’s Board of Directors.
“We are thrilled to welcome Tamara as our new President and CEO,” said Loribeth Weinstein, Board Co–Chair. “Her longstanding commitment to women and girls, as well as her deep knowledge of the D.C. metropolitan community, make her an ideal leader at an exciting time in the foundation’s history.”
“I, too, am delighted that Tamara has joined The Women’s Foundation as its next CEO, said C. Lynn McNair, Board Co–Chair. “She brings tremendous skillsets to the foundation including her ability to build and lead teams. As a top–notch visionary leader her experience in the nonprofit and political arenas will be a great asset as we continue to tackle issues of gender and racial equity.”
Dr. Lawson currently serves as the Movement, Issue, and Charitable Organizations (MICO) Director at ActBlue, where she leads a 20–person team that supports nonprofits raising funds on the platform and develops strategic partnerships with nonprofits.
Prior to her work at ActBlue, Dr. Lawson spent over a decade in nonprofit leadership as Chief Community Impact & Inclusion Officer for Washington Nationals Philanthropies and Director of the Posse Foundation’s Washington, DC office. She also gained national political organizing experience as Director of African–American Outreach for the Democratic National Committee during the 2000 election cycle.
“I am thrilled and honored to join the Washington Area Women’s Foundation, an organization I have long respected, as its next CEO, said Dr. Lawson. “I look forward to working with the Foundation’s wonderful staff and board to continue advancing its critical investment in women and girls of color.”
As a proud Washingtonian, Dr. Lawson is actively involved in her community and currently serves on the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) Executive Committee and the Board of Directors for the Academy of Hope Public Charter School, which serves adult women.
She received her B.A. from Occidental College and Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Maryland, College Park. In 2019, she was selected as a Washington Business Journal 2019 Women Who Mean Business Honoree and is a member of Leadership Greater Washington.
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About Washington Area Women’s Foundation
Washington Area Women’s Foundation is the only community–supported foundation that invests in the economic security of women and girls of color in the Washington, D.C. region. For 25 years, The Women’s Foundation has worked to remove the structural barriers that prevent women and girls from achieving economic stability and has awarded more than $15.2 to more than 215 local community–based organizations and individuals through grantmaking and advocacy efforts. For more information or to donate to improve the livelihood of women and girls of color, visit thewomensfoundation.org.
