Ebony Wilkinson is a program associate on the Ford Foundation’s Civic Engagement and Government team. She works to advance the foundation’s efforts to use place-conscious strategy to strengthen ecosystems of state-based and regional social justice organizations. Her interdisciplinary background helps her support a cross-thematic team of grantmakers leading the Foundation’s Detroit and US States programming.

Ebony joined the foundation in 2017 as an administrative professional and has since worked with various program staff to drive strategies that center youth opportunities, civic engagement, and community development. Prior to her time at Ford, Ebony worked in curriculum design, implementation, and facilitation in the field of youth leadership and development.

Ebony currently serves as a co-chair of the New York Chapter of the Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy (EPIP), a national network of changemakers who aim to empower emerging leaders and elevate philanthropic practice in order to build a more just, equitable, and sustainable world. She is trained in equity-driven facilitation and holds leadership positions with internal employee resource groups advocating for diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging at the Ford Foundation.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts in interdisciplinary studies from Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina, and a Masters of Science in nonprofit leadership from Fordham University in New York City.