ZSR Announces New Program Officer Hire Darryl Childers to join Foundation staff

Announcements

The Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation is pleased to announce that Darryl Childers will join the Foundation staff as a Program Officer.

The Foundation created a new Program Officer position focused on the organization's Community-Based Strategy, which is part of All For NC, the Foundation’s Framework for Grantmaking and Learning. The Community-Based Strategy seeks to leverage the unique assets, knowledge, experiences and connections in communities to create meaningful change.  In addition to supporting the Framework generally, this new Program Officer position will assume primary responsibility for implementing the three major components of the Community-Based strategy, which are:  a Community Progress Fund, a Collaborative Problem-Solving approach, and supporting capacity building in under-resourced communities across North Carolina.  Childers will begin in this new position in mid-April of 2021.

Childers comes to the Foundation with extensive experience working with underserved communities in-state and abroad. Most recently, he served as policy advisor for North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper. During his time with the governor's office, he advised on policy issues ranging from prison reform and reentry to developing solutions to the opioid epidemic and gun violence. One of his most notable contributions was leading the development of the North Carolina Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice (TREC). TREC focuses on addressing existing policies and procedures that disproportionately affect communities of color and developing solutions to ensure racial equity in North Carolina's criminal justice system.

Childers also spent time serving as community relations manager for the Cumberland Community Foundation in Cumberland County, NC, where he managed its grant process lifecycle and executed program development and research.

Childers, who grew up in China Grove, North Carolina, has a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Davidson College and a Master of Public Policy degree from the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University.

"We're truly excited and thankful to have found such a strong candidate for our Community-Based Strategy program officer position. Darryl's background of service and commitment to the people of North Carolina was particularly appealing. We're ready to launch forward with a renewed sense of vigor to support communities across the state,” said Maurice "Mo" Green, executive director of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation.

"I am humbled to join such a highly regarded organization," said Darryl Childers, incoming program officer. "Service is the bedrock of my personal philosophy, and I am looking forward to continuing to support efforts that create increased access to historically marginalized populations across North Carolina. There's much work to be done, and I'm ready to roll up my sleeves and get started."

The Foundation, which is based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, posted the program officer position in January 2021. This posting received 250 applications. 

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ABOUT Z. SMITH REYNOLDS FOUNDATION

Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation (ZSR) is committed to improving the quality of life for all North Carolinians. ZSR is a statewide, private, family foundation that has been a catalyst for positive change in North Carolina for more than 80 years. In June 2018, the Foundation announced All For NC: Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation’s Framework for Grantmaking and Learning. Headquartered in Winston-Salem, NC, the Foundation has invested $608 million into North Carolina. To learn more about ZSR and its All For NC Framework, visit www.zsr.org.