Meyer Foundation Board Appoints Janice Thomas as President and CEO  

Today, we’re excited to announce that our board of directors has named Janice Thomas (she/her) as our next president and chief executive officer, a decision finalized by board vote on June 18, 2025.  

Janice has twice served as interim president and CEO, navigating the Foundation through executive leadership transitions, periods of economic uncertainty for the Greater Washington region, and critical conversations around how the Foundation should meet the moment while remaining focused on funding long-term systems change in pursuit of racial justice.  

Janice has led the Foundation’s finance and operations functions since 2013, working closely with senior leadership to integrate racial equity into all our practices and policies. 

Read more about Janice’s notable appointment and join our board and staff in congratulating her! 

Meyer Foundation Board Appoints Janice Thomas as President and CEO 

Historic appointment reflects the Foundation’s commitment to grantee partners’ long-term stability 

Washington, D.C. – July 21, 2025 – The Meyer Foundation board of directors announced today the appointment of Janice Thomas as the foundation’s next president and CEO, a decision finalized by board vote on June 18, 2025. Thomas becomes the first Black woman to lead the private foundation in its 80-year history.   

An experienced leader in Greater Washington philanthropy and nonprofit finance and operations, Thomas has twice stepped in as the Foundation’s interim president and CEO, serving during pivotal periods including the lingering aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and again amid recent growing threats to the nonprofit sector and Greater Washington’s local economy. Most recently, she served in the role of chief operating officer. 

Her appointment reaffirms the board’s commitment to sustaining the long-term work of grantee partners to transform unjust systems and the board’s deep desire to promote stability in an especially turbulent time for the nonprofit sector and marginalized communities in the Washington region.  

“Janice is the right leader for this moment and into the future,” says Meyer Foundation board chair Tram Nguyen, who is also co-executive director of New Virginia Majority. “She brings a deep commitment to equity, integrity, and a belief that our values must live not only in our mission statement but also in our actions and decisions. Janice has a gift for guiding teams through uncertainty while staying grounded in purpose. Her combination of financial acumen and strategic thinking fosters trust and brings people together through clarity and compassion.”   

 Under Thomas’ leadership, the foundation will tap into its recently board-approved increase to its annual payout by resourcing grantee partner organizations and their staff with support for organizational infrastructure and sustainability, advancing narrative power, opportunities for meaningful rest and wellness, rapid response grants, and more.  

“In the tradition of my predecessors throughout Meyer’s 80-year-history,” says Janice Thomas, “I am honored to lead the Foundation with humility, imagination, and a profound belief in the collective power that has always existed in our region.”  

Previously, Thomas held key leadership roles including director of finance and administration at Consumer Health Foundation (now iF, a Foundation for Radical Possibility); chief financial officer at the National Housing Conference; and both chief financial officer at the Freddie Mac Foundation and director of reporting and operations for the Freddie Mac community relations department. She is a certified public accountant and holds a master’s degree in social work from Smith College and a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Hampton University.  

She succeeds George L. Askew, M.D., who led the foundation through the latest iteration of its strategic plan.  

About the Meyer Foundation  
The Meyer Foundation is one of the Washington area’s largest and oldest locally focused philanthropies, typically awarding over $11 million annually to organizations advancing racial and economic justice. For 80 years, Meyer has evolved to address the Greater Washington region’s most pressing community issues by investing in solutions that dismantle systemic racism and build an equitable community where everyone thrives. Learn more at www.meyerfoundation.org.  

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