We are delighted to announce that Melissa Wooten has been promoted to Senior Program Officer. In her new role, Melissa will guide the Foundation’s overarching career development philosophy and strategy, in addition to continuing to oversee the William T. Grant Scholars and Mentoring programs.
Melissa has already played a pivotal role in shaping the future of the Foundation’s career development efforts. From 2023 to 2024, Melissa initiated and led a cross-cutting review of how the Foundation supports career development across all its grantmaking programs. Through this work, she has gathered insights from funders and institutional leaders, cultivated new partnerships, and developed blog posts, presentations, and Digest essays that have served as valuable resources for current and prospective grantees. Her previous experience as a researcher of higher education at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and director and associate vice president of equity at Rutgers University will also inform her approach to advancing the Foundation’s vision for career development.
Career development is a cornerstone of Foundation’s work, and the support and development of researchers is critical to our success.
“The goal is to fund high-quality research, but we should never lose sight of the people carrying out the work and how securing funding fits within the larger context of their careers. Supporting grantees as they seek to build meaningful careers has lasting effects beyond the time-limited research funding of a given project,” said Melissa.
“Career development is a cornerstone of Foundation’s work, and the support and development of researchers is critical to our success. I am excited to continue learning from Melissa as she develops and monitors programmatic activities, guidance, and activities that touch every corner of our grantmaking,” said Kim DuMont, Senior Vice President of Program.
