| Native American leader chosen as Hill Fellow
 The Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs has selected Laura Waterman Wittstock
as the fourth Louis W.
Hill, Jr. Fellow in Philanthropy. The one-year fellowship, housed within
the Institute's Public
and Nonprofit Leadership Center, provides financial and administrative support
to an outstanding community leader for the study of important issues in philanthropy.
The year culminates with a public symposium during which the fellow presents
his or her findings.
Laura Waterman Wittstock is president and CEO of Wittstock & Associates,
a media and education consulting firm, and founder and longtime leader of MIGIZI
Communications. She served as president of the Minneapolis Library Board, where
she worked with others on the development and realization of the new Minneapolis
Central Library. Waterman Wittstock has served on the boards of numerous nonprofit
organizations and currently sits on the boards of the Greater Metropolitan Housing
Corporation (GMHC), Southeast Asian Refugee Community Home (SEARCH), the Minnesota
Planetarium Society, Baby's Space, and Change, Inc. A former journalist, Waterman
Wittstock is the author of several publications, including Diverse Populations/Diverse
Needs: Community Foundations and Diversity and Changing Communities,
Changing Foundations: The Story of the Diversity Efforts for 20 Community
Foundations. She is the recipient of several leadership and professional
awards, including the Distinguished IEL Service Award from the Institute for
Educational Leadership, the Finnegan Freedom of Information Award for Minnesota,
a Human Rights Award from the Minnesota Lawyers International Human Rights Committee,
and a Twin Citian Volunteer Hall of Fame citation from Mpls/St. Paul magazine.
"Laura Waterman Wittstock is a strong leader in our community. She has
played a key role in helping to educate and sensitize community foundations-here
and across the country- about diversity issues, strengthening the impact philanthropic
organizations can make," said J. Brian Atwood, dean of the Humphrey Institute.
"Her interest in focusing attention on Native American philanthropy and
giving patterns in communities that are different from American and European
models will provide an interesting and distinctive perspective on philanthropy."
The concept of supporting community leaders to study philanthropy in a university
setting is beneficial, according to Ellis Bullock, executive director of the
Grotto Foundation, one of two
foundations that fund the fellowship.
"Academics can conduct research, develop conceptual frameworks, and help
us to understand trends," Bullock said. "Pairing scholars with philanthropists
and leaders in the giving community yields a fuller view. The Hill Fellowship
provides this special insight for the benefit of the larger Twin Cities community."
The Hill Fellowship selection process is confidential, and candidates are unaware
of their nomination until the decision is announced. The Northwest
Area Foundation and the Grotto Foundation established the fellowship in
2002 to commemorate the 100th birthday of Louis W. Hill, Jr., who founded the
Grotto Foundation. His father, Louis W. Hill, Sr., son of James J. Hill, established
the Northwest Area Foundation. The $1,000,000 gift from the two foundations
supports the fellowship program for five years.
Karl Stauber, president of the Northwest Area Foundation, emphasized the purpose
of the gift. "Philanthropy has been part of the Hill family legacy for
generations," he said. "We hope that this fellowship will engage the
community in considering different facets of and approaches to charitable giving."
Click
here for more information about the Louis W. Hill, Jr. Fellowship.
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