The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation recently named Rev. Starsky Wilson as the next chair of its Board of Trustees and Ryan Haygood as a trustee.
Wilson, the CEO of the Children’s Defense Fund, has served as a trustee since 2020. He will become the Foundation’s eighth chair, and the first Black person and faith leader to chair the Board in the Foundation’s 52-year history. He succeeds Kathryn Fuller, whose term will expire on Jan. 29, 2025.
Haygood, a civil rights lawyer and president & CEO of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, will become a new trustee, effective Oct. 23.
RWJF CEO Rich Besser applauded the announcement.
“I am thrilled to welcome Rev. Dr. Wilson as the next Board chair of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation,” he said. “He brings a legacy of inspired leadership and transformative policies that have enhanced the health of children and communities. His dynamic vision will be instrumental in driving our mission forward and ensuring a future where health is no longer a privilege but a right.”
Wilson is the CEO of the Children’s Defense Fund and CDF Action Council, which works to advance child-centered public policies and envisions a nation where marginalized children flourish, leaders prioritize their wellbeing, and communities wield the power to ensure they thrive.
At the N.J. Institute for Social Justice, Haygood leads a staff of racial justice advocates who use cutting-edge racial and social justice advocacy to empower people of color by building reparative systems that create wealth, transform justice and harness democratic power — from the ground up — in New Jersey.
“I am honored to welcome Mr. Haygood to our Board of Trustees,” Bessar said. “I’ve had the pleasure of serving with him as part of the New Jersey Reparations Council, which was created by the Institute in 2023. I am excited to have a leader proximate to the communities we serve in the Foundation’s home state joining the Board.
“His dedication to racial and social justice and passionate advocacy of civil rights will propel RWJF, and the communities and institutions we work with, to get to health equity faster and pave the way together to a future where health is no longer a privilege, but a right.”
Outgoing chair Kathryn Fuller agreed.
“There is no greater champion for social and economic justice in New Jersey than Ryan Haygood,” she said. “His tireless efforts to bring greater equity to one of the most diverse states in the nation has led to real change, and I am delighted that he will bring that skill and enthusiasm to the RWJF Board.”
“Rev. Dr. Wilson is an impressively skilled and visionary leader,” said Kathryn S. Fuller, RWJF Board chair. “Not only has he driven equitable change throughout his lifetime, but he also brings deep experience in board governance. I look forward to working closely with him over the coming months.”
About the New Chair
Before joining CDF in 2020, Dr. Wilson was president and CEO of Deaconess Foundation, a faith-based philanthropy for child wellbeing and racial justice in St. Louis. During most of his time at Deaconess, he also served as pastor of St. John’s Church, a multiracial congregation in the city.
Under his leadership, Deaconess constructed and established the Deaconess Center for Child Well-Being, a community action tank engaging more than 15,000 citizens annually. After the 2014 police killing of Michael Brown Jr. in Ferguson, Mo., Dr. Wilson was named co-chair of the Ferguson Commission, which released the “Forward Through Ferguson: A Path Toward Racial Equity” report that called for sweeping changes in policing and the courts and for improved child wellbeing systems and economic mobility.
Rev. Dr. Wilson is chair of the Board of Visitors for Duke Divinity School. He previously served as board chair for the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy and the Forum for Theological Exploration.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Xavier University of Louisiana, a Master of Divinity from Eden Theological Seminary, and a Doctor of Ministry from Duke University.
“I am honored to serve the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and my colleagues on the Board of Trustees at this critical time for achieving health equity for children and families in America,” Rev. Dr. Wilson said. “RWJF is leading the field of philanthropy in confronting structural racism as an impediment to health and its tradition of healthy governance helps to make this possible. I’m pleased to partner with Dr. Besser and the board to continue this progress.”
Haygood
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) announced today that it has elected Ryan P. Haygood, Esq., as a new Trustee, effective October 23, 2024.
Haygood is a civil rights lawyer and president & CEO of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice. In that role, he leads a staff of racial justice advocates who use cutting-edge racial and social justice advocacy to empower people of color by building reparative systems that create wealth, transform justice and harness democratic power—from the ground up—in New Jersey. “I am honored to welcome Mr. Haygood to our Board of Trustees” said Richard Besser, MD, president and CEO of the Foundation. “I’ve had the pleasure of serving with him as part of the
New Jersey Reparations Council, which was created by the Institute in 2023. I am excited to have a leader proximate to the communities we serve in the Foundation’s home state joining the Board. His dedication to racial and social justice and passionate advocacy of civil rights will propel RWJF, and the communities and institutions we work with, to get to health equity faster and pave the way together to a future where health is no longer a privilege, but a right.”
“There is no greater champion for social and economic justice in New Jersey than Ryan Haygood,” said Kathryn S. Fuller, RWJF Board chair. “His tireless efforts to bring greater equity to one of the most diverse states in the nation has led to real change, and I am delighted that he will bring that skill and enthusiasm to the RWJF Board.”
About the New Trustee
Ryan P. Haygood, Esq., is president & CEO of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice. Under Ryan’s leadership, the Institute’s racial justice advocacy has become a model for states as places to build community power from the ground up.
“I am thrilled to join RWJF’s Board of Trustees and am excited at the opportunity to do social justice with such an esteemed group of leaders,” said Ryan P. Haygood, president and CEO of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice. “Especially in this critical moment, RWJF’s commitment to dismantling structural racism, one of the biggest barriers to health in New Jersey and America, is essential. I look forward to working with RWJF to ensure that our communities, state and country better understand, as Rich Besser often says, that health is more than the absence of disease. It is, as the World Health Organization said, a state of physical, mental and social wellbeing—which we all deserve.”
The Institute led historic campaigns to strengthen and expand New Jersey’s democracy, including restoring the vote to 83,000 people on probation and parole, a right denied since 1844; establishing online voter registration and early voting; ending prison-based gerrymandering; and lowering the voting age to 16 for Newark School Board elections.
The Institute is also a leading voice on New Jersey’s staggering racial wealth gap, publishing original data and championing policies like the $15 minimum wage, universal basic income and baby bonds. The organization also works to expand homeownership opportunities, establish fair home appraisal policies, and cancel student loan debt.
As part of its economic justice work, the Institute convened the first-of-its-kind New Jersey Reparations Council to finally confront and repair the enduring harm from slavery in the Garden State.
Under Ryan’s leadership, the Institute has also been at the forefront in the movement to reduce the footprint of law enforcement and help keep communities safe, including championing a statewide First Amendment policy to protect the right to record police conduct; a historic closure announcement for two of New Jersey’s youth prisons; and a nearly $10 million investment in youth restorative justice hubs in communities most impacted by youth incarceration.
As a member on the Independent Monitoring Team overseeing the Newark Police Division’s Consent Decree with the Department of Justice, the Institute has led the effort to center community engagement in the development of 16 new policies urged by Newark residents since the 1967 Newark Rebellion.
Prior to leading the Institute, Ryan served as Deputy Director of Litigation at the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF), where he litigated some of the most important civil rights cases of our time.
Ryan speaks and writes regularly on issues concerning race, law, justice, democracy and power.
He received his J.D. from the University of Colorado School of Law and B.A. in American History and Political Science cum laude from Colorado College, where he was nominated for a Rhodes Scholarship and received an honorary doctorate. He also earned academic and athletic All-American and hall of fame honors as a football player.
