DETROIT (Aug. 6, 2013) – Katy Locker, a highly experienced philanthropy and policy professional, will join the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation as the program director based in Detroit.

Locker, a Michigan native and Detroit resident, will work with local leaders and other community members to find and invest in opportunities that will build on the city’s vibrancy. She will start on Sept. 16. 

For the last five years, Locker has served as the vice president of programs at the Hudson-Webber Foundation.  Her work has focused on building a grant-making program and cultivating grantee relationships to revitalize greater downtown Detroit. Notably, she helped lead an effort to launch the “15×15” vision, aimed at attracting and retaining 15,000 young, talented households to greater downtown Detroit by 2015.  In addition, she recently spearheaded the release of “7.2 SQ MI,” a report that captures the progress of greater downtown Detroit.

Prior to her work with Hudson-Webber, Locker engaged in policy advocacy and practiced law in Detroit with a focus on land use and community development.  In her first Detroit position, as director of policy projects for Community Legal Resources (now known as Michigan Community Resources), she took on policy projects that focused on revitalization efforts in Detroit. These included reclaiming vacant land and implementing nuisance-abatement programs as a tool for economic development.

“Katy’s commitment to Detroit and its future is remarkable.  She has spent the last 10 years helping revitalize this community whether it be as a grant-maker, policy advisor or lawyer,” said Carol Coletta, Knight Foundation vice president of community and national initiatives. “Her personal stake in Detroit along with her rich experience will allow Knight to get to know Detroit even more closely, both its challenges and many strengths.”

“As a Detroiter, I’m looking forward to working with Knight to build on the momentum of change that is very much alive in in this city,” said Locker. “For me, this move from a local to a national foundation is significant; I can share my on-the-ground perspective while tapping into the expertise and resources that Knight offers to all of its communities, to the benefit of Detroit.” 

David O. Egner, president & CEO of the Hudson-Webber Foundation, said, “The Knight Foundation is an outstanding member of Detroit’s philanthropic community and a terrific partner in a number of collaborative funding initiatives.  The Hudson-Webber Foundation is delighted that Katy, a consummate professional with great understanding of Detroit issues and organizations, will be leading Knight’s grant-making in Detroit.  While I am saddened that Katy will be leaving Hudson-Webber, I look forward to working with her in her new role at Knight.”

Locker, a graduate of Cornell University and the University of Michigan Law School, previously practiced redevelopment and public law in California and served the Judicial Council of California as a policy analyst. She returned to Detroit in 2004.

Locker serves as vice chair of the board of Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan and is a former board member and past chair of the Detroit Artists Market. She is a graduate of Leadership Detroit Class XXVIII and was named in Crain’s Detroit Business “40 Under 40” in 2010. She is a German Marshall Fund Marshall Memorial Fellow.

About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

Knight Foundation supports transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities and foster the arts. We believe that democracy thrives when people and communities are informed and engaged.  www.knightfoundation.org

Contact

Anusha Alikhan, Director of Communications, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, 305-908-2677, [email protected]