The Skillman Foundation

The Foundation has been moving and grooving into our People Powered Education strategy, supported by each member of the team. Fresh ideas and diverse skills are being offered by new staff members as well as those who have been with the organization for years. We’re learning, growing, and doing together.

The Skillman Foundation is excited to announce two new team members:

Jen DeNeal, Ph.D. is our new director of policy & systems. In this role she will lead the Foundation’s Policy & Systems grantmaking while helping to maximize opportunities to strengthen education policy at the city, county, region, and state levels to accelerate the positive transformation of Detroit’s education system.

Before joining the Foundation, Jen was the director of policy and research for EdTrust-Midwest, where she led the organization in developing policy research and recommendations with strong potential to raise student achievement and close opportunity gaps.

Believing strongly that zip codes should not determine educational outcomes, Jen began her career as a K-12 music teacher in rural eastern Arkansas. She then moved on to hold positions at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and the North Carolina State Board of Education, where she focused on teacher quality. She was instrumental in the launch of the North Carolina Professional Educator Preparation and Standards Commission to craft and revise educator and principal preparation policies. Jen also served as the associate director for ethics and policy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Sarah Jane Ocker is our new front desk concierge. In this role, she supports the Foundation in managing its front office logistics and meeting spaces, ensuring a welcoming space for our grant partners, community partners, and staff who reserve our conference rooms for meetings and events.

With over 15 years in hospitality, retail, and project coordination, Sarah Jane is passionate about creating spaces where people feel seen, heard, and valued—working to foster trust, connection, and meaningful experiences wherever she goes. Grounded in empathy, equality, and open communication, she brings a well-rounded and strategic approach to her work, having devoted time to multiple different industries throughout her career, including floral design, hospitality management, and estate transition services. 

When you visit the Foundation, be sure to say hello to Sarah Jane at our front desk!

Staff updates:

As our team gets into steady formation to support our mission and organization, some areas of need emerged, like: expanding how we plan and support cross-organizational work; innovatively thinking about our staffing model—from how the organization supports team members to how the team is structured to support changes and evolution in our organization; ensuring strategy and external relationships are carried across the organization; and more. To support the Foundation in this moment and to strengthen us going forward, we are excited to announce two staff changes.

Maria Woodruff-Wright transitioned from vice president of operations and CFO to serve as chief operating officer. As COO, Maria directs all aspects of the Foundation’s day-to-day operations, including accounting, staffing strategy and human resources, office management, investment, information technology, and grants management.

Lenise McWhorter has been promoted from director of organizational design & development to vice president of organizational design & development. In this role, Lenise leads the design of the Foundation’s process and practices, oversees cross-team alignment and collaboration, and supports the president & CEO with select projects and initiatives. 

Other announcements:

We are in the process of hiring a Youth Philanthropy Fellow in partnership with the Council of Michigan Foundations. This is a brand-new role focused on deepening youth engagement in philanthropy.

Punita Dani Thurman, who most recently served as a vice president supporting strategy development, and Carmen Kennedy-Rogers, who served as our director of Ground Building, have both departed from the Foundation. We’re grateful for their tremendous contributions and know they will continue to be fierce advocates for students.