Linetta J. Gilbert
Senior Program Officer, Ford Foundation, Community and Resource Development Unit
Linetta J. Gilbert is well-known and highly regarded in the community development field and the community philanthropy world. For 10 years, she worked as a program officer at the Greater New Orleans Foundation (GNOF), and from 1995 to 2001, she served as Vice President for Programs. At GNOF, she provided strategic direction and developed a grant portfolio for community initiatives in affordable housing, community development, workforce development, violence prevention, youth development and rural development. She worked closely with donors and potential donors to demonstrate the value of community philanthropy in the New Orleans region.
Ms. Gilbert has played a leadership role in community development, both in advancing faith-based community work and in her role as a board member for the Neighborhood Funders Group, where, among other accomplishments, she was instrumental in launching the Rural Funders Working Group and the National Rural Funders Collaborative. She also served for one year as a Lead Consultant to the Annie E. Casey Foundation's Neighborhood Transformation "Making Connections" Initiative. Ms. Gilbert has been an active member of several national philanthropy and affinity groups -- Neighborhood Funders Group (Board member), Association of Black Foundation Executives, Grantmakers for Children,Families and Youth, Black Church and Philanthropy (Board member).
Ms. Gilbert is currently working as a Program Officer in the Community and Resource Development Unit at the Ford Foundation in New York. In this role, she leads the Community Philanthropy, Race and Equity in the American South Initiative, the Border Philanthropy Partnership Initiative, and the World Bank Community Foundations Initiative. She is an experienced strategic grantmaker with a deep commitment to building community leadership and civic capacity. Ms. Gilber is married and the mother of 2 adult women and 1 adult foster son.
