Lutheran leader to assume new job

Lutheran World Relief President Kathryn Wolford announced recently that she will resign her position at LWR to assume the presidency of The McKnight Foundation, a Minnesota-based philanthropic organization. Her last day at LWR will be Oct. 31, and her work with McKnight begins Dec. 1.

Wolford, LWR's third president, has headed the organization since 1993. Under her direction, LWR has sharpened its focus on poverty eradication, sustainable development and advocacy, where efforts have centered on global trade justice, gender equity, and peace-building.

Under her leadership, LWR in 1995 became a founding member of Action by Churches Together International, a global coalition of faith-based organizations working together to respond to disasters. During her tenure, LWR has become a leader among faith-based groups in the Fair Trade movement.

"I am filled with a profound sense of gratitude for the opportunity to have served as LWR's president," Wolford said. "It is very difficult to leave LWR, an organization that I love deeply

and feel so passionately about. I am humbled by what God has accomplished through LWR over these years.

"What attracted me to the McKnight Foundation are many of the same qualities I will miss as I complete 13 years of service as LWR's president: clear and compelling values, a strong mission, a wonderful track record in innovation, and a commitment to positive social change through grant-making, building networks on issues and strategic policy reform."

The McKnight Foundation, founded in 1953, makes grants in support of children and families, the arts, region and communities, and the environment, primarily in Minnesota, and select international and scientific research efforts.

This story provided by ChristianNewsWire.