By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium
The Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle (ULMS) recently announced the appointment of Josalyn P. Ford as the agency’s new Chief Advancement Officer. With her appointment, Ford joins the ULMS executive leadership team alongside President & CEO Michelle Merriweather, Chief Finance Officer Mansour Camara, and Chief Impact Officer Donna Moodie.
A native of Seattle, Ford attended Zion Prep Academy before graduating from Forest Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Bellevue, Washington. After graduating from Forest Ridge, Ford attended Clark Atlanta University, where she received her undergraduate degree in Business Administration before earning a master’s in Public Administration from Seattle University.
Ford, widely known for her advocacy in community wellness, racial, and social justice, brings 20 years of experience in developing strategic initiatives and community-centric fundraising. Over the course of her career, Ford has successfully raised over $30 million, ensuring that racial equity and social justice are integral to Seattle’s philanthropic efforts. Her dedication to transformative change and equitable growth has enabled local organizations to make a generational impact within their communities.
According to Ford, the work at the Urban League allows her to impact the community that she holds dear to her heart.
“What drew me to community engagement and philanthropy, the work I do with the Urban League now, is spearheading their philanthropic space and connecting them to the community,” Ford explains. “My grandmother lived on 32nd and Cherry; I’m a member of Tabernacle and have been a member for 40 years. A lot of my meaning in working at the Urban League is because the community is what I’ve been a part of and what I grew up around.” Ford sees her role at the ULMS as a continuation of her life’s commitment to her community.
Ford’s approach to her work is deeply personal and rooted in a sense of collective responsibility.
“It’s super cheeky, but that whole ‘it takes a village to raise a child’ is who I am. I would not be the professional and the person I am without that village. The Urban League represents that village. Their programs, all of their platforms, even their leadership style, are about making sure Black families and Black individuals have access to the resources they not only need but deserve. So why not be a part of a mission-driven organization that does that.”
In her role as Chief Advancement Officer, Ford will focus on aligning the message and financing of ULMS to their overall vision.
“Advancement is a fun way of putting fundraising and communication together,” she says. “When you think about fundraising, how you market in the community for good. So that good is investment. Marketing has a lot to do with how you communicate the mission into the community so that it is understood, and that knowledge is respected and invested in.”
Ford will be the lead strategist in moving the mission work forward on behalf of investment and ensuring that messaging and branding align with the work on the ground, and her focus will primarily be on defining the Urban League’s philosophy in philanthropy and communication to strengthen the organization’s mission-driven efforts.
“From a fundraising perspective, which I have been doing for well over 20 years, that is literally just making sure we are good stewards of the investment people make into the mission,” Ford reflects. “I lead all strategies on that. I envision what the world of philanthropy will look like at the Urban League. That is what advancement is. It is making sure that the messaging out there is dignified and a well-represented message on behalf of the voice of the agency but also on behalf of the community.”
Legacy is another driving force for Ford, honoring the struggles of ancestors to ensure their efforts were not in vain.
“The biggest why is legacy,” she states. “When you think about legacy, you think about the amount of blood, sweat, and tears, literally, that our people have endured just so we can have access. We owe it to that legacy to really move within that access boldly and courageously on behalf of the next generation.”
“When you think about the Urban League, the NAACP, United Negro College Fund, Black-led churches, that is legacy at all times,” Ford adds. “What matters to me is that I don’t sit on the sideline and idly do nothing when I benefited from that legacy.” Ford’s sense of duty is not just to the ULMS but to the broader narrative of black leadership and legacy building in the community.”