Miami—Susan Patterson, Knight’s community liaison program officer for the Carolinas, has been named director of the foundation’s Community Partners Program. Patterson, who has extensive experience working in Knight communities both as a grant maker and as a newspaper editor and publisher, had served as the program’s interim director since April of this year.

Patterson will also continue to work as program officer for Charlotte, N.C. Linda Fitzgerald, deputy director of Community Partners, will serve as program officer for the South Carolina cities of Myrtle Beach and Columbia.

“Perhaps better than anyone, Susan understands the needs and opportunities of communities that Knight Foundation serves,” said Alberto Ibargüen, Knight president and CEO. “The fact that she’ll also continue working in community grant making will help keep the program grounded in reality.”

Patterson will continue to live in Charlotte but will be a frequent presence in Knight’s Miami headquarters and in support of other program officers in the field. She will continue to report to Mike Maidenberg, vice president and chief program officer, who noted that Patterson’s “energy, leadership and vision will further the work of our grantees and Knight’s efforts to support them.”

Patterson joined the foundation as a program officer for Knight’s Georgia communities in July 2001. She is a former chair of Knight’s community advisory committee in Milledgeville, Ga., where she also served as editor and publisher of The Union-Recorder. Previously, she worked for The Charlotte Observer, The Charlotte News and Lake Norman Magazine. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from The University of Tennessee.

In addition to overseeing grant making in Myrtle Beach and Columbia, Linda Fitzgerald will continue as deputy director of Knight’s Community Partners Program. She joined Knight Foundation in that role in April 2003. Previously, she worked in international economic development for the Brazilian subsidiary of Development Alternatives Inc., a Bethesda, Md., consulting firm. She has a bachelor’s degree in economics from George Washington University and an MBA from the University of Maryland.

Knight Foundation’s community program strives to help local leaders build community. In addition to grant making, Patterson and nine program officers located across the country convene stakeholders, serve as facilitators and help to evaluate and disseminate what they learn.

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation promotes journalism excellence worldwide and invests in the vitality of 26 U.S. communities where the Knight brothers owned newspapers. For more information, please go to www.knightfoundation.org.