Pew Announces Staffing Changes to Increase Programmatic Impact

PHILADELPHIA—The Pew Charitable Trusts announced today the promotion of two staff members to new roles in programmatic leadership. The changes, which take effect March 1, will support Pew’s drive to increase its impact as the organization marks its 75th anniversary this year.

“I am truly excited by the strength, engagement, and passion of our programmatic team,” said Michael Caudell-Feagan, Pew’s executive vice president and chief program officer. “These changes reflect the strengths of Pew’s leadership and position us to increase the scale and impact of our work.”

Donna Frisby-Greenwood will become senior vice president for Philadelphia and scientific advancement, in a new role that brings together Pew’s grantmaking programs that serve its hometown region and those that support scientific communities of biomedical and marine scholars. Frisby-Greenwood joined Pew in 2022 as vice president for Philadelphia programs.

Les Baxter will become a senior vice president, taking on new responsibility for research review and support in addition to continuing his involvement in planning and evaluation and learning. Allowing these teams to work more closely together will help inform decision-making, strengthen the design and implementation of projects, and generate knowledge that can be widely shared across the organization. Baxter, who has been with Pew since 1997, currently serves as vice president for strategy.

In addition to the promotions, Tom Dillon, who is senior vice president for environment, will take on additional responsibility for crosscutting initiatives. In this expanded role, Dillon will draw on his experience leading large-scale environmental partnerships to help leadership across the organization advance shared priorities, with a focus on developing new work. Dillon, who joined Pew in 2017, will also take on responsibility for leading Pew’s conservation science team.