Carol A. Goss

Carol A. Goss is president & CEO of The Skillman Foundation, a private independent foundation whose mission is to improve the lives of children in metropolitan Detroit by strengthening their schools and neighborhoods.

Involved in philanthropy for the past 20 years, Goss joined The Skillman Foundation in March 1998 as a senior program officer. She was named President & CEO of the Foundation in 2004. She has also worked as a program officer at the Stuart Foundation in San Francisco and as program director at the W. K. Kellogg Foundation in Battle Creek, Mich. Goss was named the 2007 James A. Joseph Lecturer (watch Carol's speech here) by the Association of Black Foundation Executives. Crain’s Detroit Business cited her as one of Southeast Michigan’s Most Influential Women, an honor that the respected weekly bestows every five years to the region’s most dynamic and powerful women.

Goss' professional career also includes nearly 20 years' experience in child welfare, family services and youth development in Detroit and Oakland, Calif. A native Detroiter, Goss has a BA in sociology and an MSW from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

In 2008, Goss was selected as the Eleanor Josaitis "Unsung Hero" recipient as part of the Shining Light Awards. The Shining Light Awards, launched in 2007 and sponsored by the Detroit Free Press and Metropolitan Affairs Coalition, "honor individuals who are making important contributions to regional cooperation, progress and understanding in metropolitan Detroit."

"Family is very important to me," Goss says. "My husband, Tom, and I have more than 30 children in our extended families. I am passionate about children - especially children who never get the opportunity to succeed."

In addition to running The Skillman Foundation, Goss is active with numerous nonprofits and philanthropy organizations. In her free time, she sings in her church's choir and is an avid runner. "Running helps me stay healthy and also helps me put things into perspective."

The Skillman Foundation recently fine-tuned its program areas to focus efforts on six impoverished neighborhoods in Detroit and on identifying and supporting innovative schools throughout the city of Detroit.

“We want to make Detroit work for children,” Goss says. “Despite all the hardships this city – my hometown – has faced over the past 40 years - ordinary Detroiters are incredibly eager to roll up their sleeves and work with us to make Detroit work for children. We have a long road ahead, but I am emboldened by the good will and enthusiasm in the neighborhoods and in the schools, and I know that if we can keep marching ahead together we will reach our destination.”