MacArthur FOUNDATION
Chris Cardona, Managing Director, Exploration, Discovery, and Programs
Macarthur Foundation
Cardona will drive the identification of MacArthur’s new areas of grantmaking, leading a team to surface practices, programs, and strategies that advance organizational goals and bring about transformative change.
“Chris is widely recognized in the field as a strategic advisor, champion for diversity, equity, and inclusion, and a sector leader,” said MacArthur President John Palfrey. “I’m excited to partner with him as we develop new program areas with our Staff, Board, and broader community guided by our values and a commitment to equity.”
Cardona was most recently Senior Program Officer, Building Institutions and Networks (BUILD) at the Ford Foundation. During his tenure, Cardona shepherded the launch and implementation of a 12-year, $2 billion effort to strengthen the organizational capacity of more than 300 nonprofit organizations around the world dedicated to addressing inequality by providing multi-year flexible support and technical assistance. At the start of his time at Ford, he led a strategy to reboot its Philanthropy sector portfolio, which aimed to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion with an intersectional lens in U.S. philanthropy and promote greater awareness and adoption of participatory grantmaking.
Previously, Cardona led philanthropic services for TCC Group, specializing in strategy, capacity building, and evaluation for the social sector. He led projects for clients including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Echoing Green, and the Margaret A. Cargill Foundation. He also held roles at Hispanics in Philanthropy, where he last served as program director for the Northeast, managing seven grantmaking sites and developing and implementing fundraising strategies.
Cardona earned a PhD and master's degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and a bachelor's degree from Williams College. Cardona serves on the board of Red Hook Initiative, a grassroots youth development agency.