Paul M. Angell Family Foundation

We are excited to welcome Mignon McPherson Stewart as the new Director of Performing Arts at the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation! Mignon brings a wealth of experience from her nine-year tenure at Prince Charitable Trusts (PCT), where she served as both Program Officer and later Senior Program Officer for Chicago and Rhode Island. During her time at PCT, she developed impactful programs like Ending Youth Homelessness and Violence Reduction, and led the shift of its environmental funding to focus on environmental justice communities. Mignon also co-created and managed PCT’s Aya Initiative, a participatory grantmaking program that increases funding access for Black-led organizations committed to the environment. After a successful pilot, the Initiative will become a core part of Prince's grantmaking strategy in 2025. Mignon most recently led the reimagining of PCT’s arts program. Before joining Prince, Mignon held leadership roles at notable organizations, including Director of Operations at the League of Chicago Theatres, Director of Resource Development at Muntu Dance Theatre of Chicago, and Project Manager for IMPACT (Inclusion of Multicultural Perspectives in Arts, Culture & Theater) at the Arts & Business Council. She has also served as Administrative Director at the Illinois Caucus of Adolescent Health and Associate Director for CAPE (Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education). With over 20 years of active involvement in Chicago's theater community, Mignon has directed productions across the city, was an artistic associate with MPAACT, and is a Goodman Theatre Maggio Directing Fellow. Outside of work, Mignon enjoys attending concerts, working on jigsaw puzzles, dancing, tending to her many houseplants, and spending quality time with her family. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from Loyola University of Chicago and a Master of Fine Arts in Directing from Roosevelt University. We are thrilled to have Mignon on board and look forward to the wealth of experience, creativity, and innovation she will bring to our performing arts initiatives! 

We are thrilled to announce the newest addition to the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation team! Please join us in welcoming Eilene Ladson (she/her) our new Program Officer for the Social Impact Portfolio. Eilene is an equity-driven professional with a wealth of experience in leading civic and organizational change through systems-thinking and healing-centered frameworks.    Grounded in Black Feminist principles, Eilene has a proven track record of supporting organizational leadership in creating cultures where individuals are valued for their full humanity and lived experiences. Her passion for cultivating social conditions rooted in collective care and intersectional justice aligns perfectly with our mission.   Eilene brings extensive experience from her previous roles, including her work as a Trauma Specialist and Director of Trauma Initiatives at the Illinois Collaboration on Youth. There, she successfully integrated race equity-driven and trauma-informed practices into statewide grantee programs for the Illinois Department of Human Services. Most recently, as Vice President of Program and Clinical Supports at Ada S. McKinley Community Services, she honed her expertise in nonprofit operations, strategic planning, implementation, and evaluation.   In addition to her professional accomplishments, Eilene is deeply committed to community building. She is an active member of a Black woman-owned dance studio, where she serves as a strategic planning facilitator and collective care coach. Eilene is also a member of the 2020 cohort of the New Leaders Council Chicago chapter and a University of Chicago 2022 Civic Leadership Academy Fellow.   Outside of work, Eilene enjoys barre, the Fast and Furious series, traveling, and exploring Chicago with her Staffy, Queenie. Welcome, Eilene! We’re excited for all the impactful work ahead!

We’re giving a huge shoutout to our incredible summer intern, Michael Alexander Urgilez, as he wraps up his time with us! His thoughtful perspective, analytical mind, and can-do attitude has been a breath of fresh air. We’ve been fortunate to witness his growth and development firsthand. Michael has made significant contributions to the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation demonstrating exceptional data analysis, communication, and teamwork abilities. We’re confident that he will achieve great things in the future. Thank you for everything, Michael! We’ll miss having you on the team! #summerinternship #thankyou #goodbye #futureleaders

We are thrilled to plan for our next year of programming with the generous support of the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation. With a $1.3M grant announced last month, TATI is set to sustain and expand our transformative initiatives, including launching Think Tanks for our new Extended Fellowship Program and the potential development of a Teaching Artist Certificate Program. These efforts will provide comprehensive training and accreditation opportunities, enhancing the professional growth of our dedicated Teaching Artists. Our commitment to nurturing Teaching Artists and fostering impactful music education remains stronger than ever. Together, we will continue to create meaningful change for students, educators, and communities across the United States. To read the full press release from last month, visit: https://lnkd.in/envP6JQB #MusicEducation #YouthEmpowerment #TeachingArtists #TATI #ProfessionalDevelopment #SocialImpact

New Exceptional Opportunity that Kay Linder and I have just kicked off! 🚀 Exciting news for environmental attorneys (required) specializing in international marine conservation programs! 🌊🌎 ThinkingAhead Executive Search is collaborating with Amanda Nickson, the Conservation Program team, and the Board Chair at Paul M. Angell Family Foundation to recruit a highly impactful Senior Program Officer. This role will focus on leading (scoping and implementing) the development of a new grant portfolio to deliver significant funding to increase legal support to truly advance and deliver global marine conservation.🐋💙 If you are passionate about marine conservation and have significant expertise working on international marine conservation programs, check out the full Position Prospectus here: https://shorturl.at/eD83X #marineconservation #environmentalattorney #executivesearch

Please welcome to the team, Vanessa Dalpiaz! We are so thrilled to have Vanessa (she/her) joining PMAFF as the Program Associate – Performing Arts. She brings with her a firm belief in the transformative power of the performing arts and in the importance of creating greater access to well-funded and high-quality arts and culture institutions. Vanessa grew up attending Chicagoland theater while on visits to her family and found her passion for performing arts through these experiences. Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, she spent several years there working as a professional actor, director, and teaching artists with performing arts organizations of all sizes and budgets. We are thrilled to have Vanessa join the Performing Arts team where she will take the skills she developed as an artist and administrator and applying them to portfolio as it grows!

The Paul M. Angell Family Foundation is #hiring for a Senior Program Officer, Conservation. This newly created role will be charged with developing and implementing a major new grant portfolio to deliver funding to increase legal capacity to support the delivery of marine conservation. It offers an intellectually stimulating environment and the chance to contribute to far-reaching geographical and temporal impacts. This is truly a once-in-a-career opportunity to be on the ground floor of significant conservation initiatives, helping deliver a healthy global ocean teeming with life, and fostering resilience to climate change. For the full job description: https://lnkd.in/gXM6pCJX #oceanconservation #marine #legal #marineconservation #climatechange #environment #philanthropy

The Paul M. Angell Family Foundation is sharing some bittersweet news: Mike Angell, Board member and Director of Performing Arts at the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation (PMAFF), is stepping down from his roles at the end of this month. As one of the foundation’s three founding board members, Mike was instrumental in getting the PMAFF off the ground. Before the PMAFF had any staff, Mike created a website and put a grants application system in place. Mike also initiated the foundation’s very first grants in both Performing Arts and Social Impact. Mike envisioned and built an extraordinary portfolio of grantee partners in Chicago, the Mid-Atlantic region, Cleveland and Detroit. Mike has been a strong advocate for paid internships, access to quality musical instruments for all youth participating in classical music arts education programs, and the need for large cultural institutions to better connect with historically underserved communities. The PMAFF staff and Board of Directors thank Mike for his incredible work over the last 14 years and for his commitment to the foundation. We will miss Mike’s expertise, spot-on impressions of numerous characters (particularly from The Godfather), his passion for the arts, and his love for all things Chicago. We wish Mike the very best as he enjoys more time with family, travel, and his own artistic pursuits. We are pleased that Mike’s deep involvement in the arts community will provide us with many opportunities to see him around town and beyond. Please read Mike’s farewell letter: https://lnkd.in/gEWQPiwR From everyone at the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation: We thank you, Mike!

The Paul M. Angell Family Foundation continues to grow! We are excited to welcome two new members to the team! Jazsmin Jackson (she/her/hers) has joined our team as our new Administrative and Program Associate. She is a young professional from the West Side of Chicago ready to begin a career in philanthropy. Jazsmin's work experience ranges from data management to administrative work. In her previous role, she was the Administrative Assistant for the College of Health, Science & Technology at Concordia University Chicago, where she worked in several capacities such as data entry, budget monitoring, onboarding, scheduling, event coordinating and etc. We are excited that Jazsmin will be bringing her talents and expertise to the organization and help assist with the big move to our new space!    Michael Alexander Urgilez (he/him) is joining the Foundation as this year’s Summer Intern. Michael is currently a rising college sophomore studying Mechanical Engineering at Columbia University. As a Chicago native, Michael has long been affiliated with Erie Neighborhood House, one of PMAFF'S grantee partners, and is enthusiastic to share his first-hand accounts with the social impact team. Alongside his work, Michael enjoys playing soccer and walking his dog, Rocky.

Teaching Artists Training Institute (TATI) received a $1.3M grant from the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation to further nationwide youth support through the advancement of music educators. TATI is a transformative program that leverages the advancement of music education by serving Teaching Artists nationwide, offering accessible training and furthering education opportunities through year-round virtual training, customized in-person workshops, and an intensive weeklong learning retreat. To date, TATI has engaged over 350 diverse Teaching Artists nationally, subsequently supporting 30,000 youth from underrepresented communities across the US. A national program championed by Miami Music Project, TATI proudly enters its fourth year enjoying sustainable growth and scaling operations, upholding its parent organization's core values. Miami Music Project is very grateful to Mike Angell and the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation for helping take its TATI program to the next level. #MiamiMusicProject #TeachingArtistsTrainingInstitute #TATI #whentheyperformtheytransform #instrumentsofchange #pressrelease #nonprofits #youthsupport #musiceducation #philanthropy #grants