The Children’s Guild Alliance, a nonprofit organization serving children, families and child-serving organizations, named Chris Zimmerman vice chair of the organization’s board of directors. Zimmerman is past chair of The Children’s Guild District of Columbia Public Charter School.
Professionally, Zimmerman works for Diligent Corp. in Washington, D.C., a company that provides corporate governance and collaboration solutions for boards and senior executives. Previously, he was associate director for CrossCountry Consulting, director for FTI Consulting and a management consultant for Accenture in Washington, D.C. He holds an MBA in strategy and finance from Washington University in St. Louis and a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Notre Dame.
In addition, The Children’s Guild Alliance elected the following new board members:
- Catherine Buell is vice president for policy and programs for the Greater Washington Partnership. She previously served as the executive director for St. Elizabeth’s East in the office of the deputy mayor for planning and economic development in Washington, D.C., and president and CEO of the Atlanta Housing Authority.
- Keri Lowry is the senior executive consultant, national security, at Guidehouse and the co-chair of the Youth Power, Peace and Security, Community of Practice. Previously, she held senior-level positions on a congressional commission and at the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Department of State, the Peace Corps and the National Security Council.
- Jada McCray is co-owner and chief operating officer of Cornerstone Health Management, founder and CEO of The Inspire Institute for Professional Development and Continuing Education and co-owner and executive director for the BTST Services Outpatient Mental Health Clinic. She started her career as a social worker in child protective services in Baltimore County’s Department of Social Services and became a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and a certified trauma-trained therapist.
- Jake Oliver spent almost 35 years as chairman of the board and publisher of The Afro-American, a family-owned business that has provided news and information to the black and other minority communities for over 125 years. He is publisher emeritus. He has also served as president of the National Newspaper Publishers Association and the Maryland Delaware D.C. Press Association.
- Neil Young is a partner with Finance Forward LLC and serves on the board of the Baltimore Estate Planning Council. He has over 40 years of experience in the insurance and financial planning industry. In addition, he serves on community and church boards and has been active in Rotary International and the Center for Citizen Initiatives, an organization that trains Russian entrepreneurs. Young previously served on The Children’s Guild Alliance board.
The Children’s Guild Alliance is a nonprofit organization serving children, families and child-serving organizations and is dedicated to transforming how America educates and cares for its children through education, behavioral health and national training and consultation services. Affiliates of The Children’s Guild Alliance include The Children’s Guild, Monarch Academy public charter and contract schools, Children’s Guild DC Public Charter School, The Academy for Working Students (TAWS), TranZed Apprenticeships, The Transformation Education Institute, National At-Risk Education Network (NAREN) and The National Children’s Guild Fund. (www.childrensguild.org)
