Kevin Walker

he/him/his

President and CEO

Joined Northwest Area Foundation: May 2008

EMAIL

See blog posts from Kevin

“Truth and love must prevail over lies and hatred.” — Vaclav Havel

Kevin spearheads the Foundation’s efforts to stand alongside changemakers in our region of eight states and 76 Native nations and fund work that leads to racial, social, and economic justice. At the heart of this approach is the Foundation’s commitment, honored every year since 2012, to target 40 percent of its giving to Native-led organizations.

Other signature aspects of the Foundation’s work during Kevin’s tenure include an expanded commitment to impact investing and an organization-wide drive to advance justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI).

Prior to joining the Northwest Area Foundation, Kevin spent 13 years with the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation in Flint, MI. His career in the nonprofit sector began in the early 1990s with Food Gatherers, a kick-ass community-based anti-hunger organization in Ann Arbor, MI, whose mascot is a giant carrot.

Kevin serves on the board of BoardSource, the national organization dedicated to excellence in nonprofit governance. He previously chaired the boards of Philanthropy Northwest and the Minnesota Council on Foundations.

He lives in St. Paul, MN, with his wife, a public school teacher. He and their adult sons are avid sports fans. Kevin stands by his New York Football Giants through thick and thin. He has celebrated in person at two of their four Super Bowl wins (XXI and XLVI, if you’re into Roman numerals), and he’s thrilled about the arrival of the John Harbaugh era in the Swamps of Jersey. He’s also a fixture in the Supporters Section (a.k.a. The Wonderwall) at Minnesota United soccer games.

Kevin rarely goes a day without listening to music, with a particular interest in cutting-edge jazz. Some favorite recent recordings are Tyshawn Sorey’s The Susceptible Now, Mary Halvorson’s About Ghosts, Brandon Woody’s For the Love of It All, and Julian Lage’s Scenes from Above. Ask Kevin some time about Big Ears in Knoxville, TN, arguably the world’s greatest music festival, where you’ll find him listening up for four days every spring.

Originally from Rye Brook, NY, Kevin is a proud graduate of Blind Brook High School. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and an MFA in poetry from the University of Michigan. He has a lifelong love for poetry, reads constantly, writes often, and publishes occasionally. Here’s a tiny poem meant for people who happen to be children:

Just now I heard the rain

stop.