MIAMI – Susan Patterson and John Williams II join the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation as community liaison program officers to support the continued growth of the Knight Community Partners Program.

As community liaison program officers and Knight’s primary grant making officials in their assigned communities, Patterson and Williams will develop and maintain community contacts and stay abreast of community issues. Working with local Community Advisory Committees, they will identify important local priorities and partner with nonprofit organizations to develop proposals that address both these issues and are eligible for Knight Foundation support. They will also participate in the sharing of knowledge across all Knight communities and with other funders and nonprofits.

Patterson is a former chair of Knight’s community advisory committee in Milledgeville, Ga., where she also served as editor and publisher of the Milledgeville newspaper, The Union-Recorder. The University of Tennessee graduate previously worked with Lake Norman Magazine, The Charlotte Observer and The Charlotte News.

Williams was most recently a program officer for the California Community Foundation. Prior to that, he served as manager of the Community Development Division for the United Way of Greater Los Angeles. Williams earned a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Southern California and a bachelor’s in agricultural economics from Cornell University.

Williams will cover Knight’s Boulder, Long Beach and San Jose communities from his Los Angeles office. Based in Charlotte, Patterson will serve as liaison for Knight communities in Georgia and the Carolinas. As the Foundation’s work evolves some of these assignments may change.

Patterson and Williams will report to Gary Burger, co-director of the Knight Community Partners Program.

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation promotes excellence in journalism worldwide and invests in the vitality of 26 U.S. communities.