Press Release
Contact:
Matt Bach
Director of Communications
Michigan Municipal League
(734) 669-6317; C: (810) 874-1073
[email protected]; www.mml.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Nov. 15, 2019
Michigan Municipal League Foundation Selects New President
Helen D. Johnson to Lead Philanthropic Organization
LANSING, Michigan – Helen D. Johnson has been named president of the Michigan Municipal League Foundation.
For the past two decades, Johnson has worked with communities across the country to leverage assets and approach challenges with boldness and creativity. Her work has sought to recognize the power of place, support individuals, leverage the power of philanthropy to advance equitable opportunity, and create community wealth. She was officially recognized as the Foundation’s president during the Foundation Board of Directors regular meeting today, Friday, Nov. 15, 2019.
“We are very excited to have Helen lead the Foundation,” said Pat Lockwood, Fenton Mayor Pro Tem and Chair of the Michigan Municipal League Foundation Board of Directors. “She comes to the role with vast experience in philanthropy in both the for-profit and non-profit sector. She understands and cares about cities, large and small. We are at an important point in time for the MML Foundation and look forward to the opportunity for Helen to lead the charge as we write our next chapter.”
Prior to coming to the League, Johnson founded CityLove Collaborative to combine her passion for cities, creativity, and collaboration with a persistent desire to help others achieve their goals. For more than 20 years, including as the Vice President at the Quicken Loans Community Fund, as a Program Officer for the Kresge Foundation, and Co-Founder of CreateHere, Johnson built and implemented bold, entrepreneurial and innovative nonprofit and philanthropic work that improves the quality of life for culturally and economically diverse community residents, nurtures place-based opportunity, and drives equitable impact.
Solutions-oriented and entrepreneurial, Johnson’s experience also includes the successful development of organizational strategy, marketing and communications, cross-sector initiatives and public/private partnerships. Her work has been featured in FastCompany, ModelD, Media, Garden and Gun, to name a few.
Helen and her husband Bill, live in Oakland County and have two children, Emma and William.
Johnson said she is pleased to have joined the League.
“The Michigan Municipal League is an extraordinary organization that is committed to the success of Michigan communities,” she said. “The MML Foundation now has an opportunity to both support the innovative work of the League and to create additional opportunities for a diverse array of people in places across Michigan. I look forward to what’s next.”
For more information, please visit www.mmlfoundation.org.
For additional information contact Matt Bach, communications director for the Michigan Municipal League, at 810-874-1073 and [email protected].
The Michigan Municipal League Foundation helps create and maintain vibrant communities in Michigan by funding placemaking projects and educating community leaders and advocates. We recognize that communities are economic drivers, so the Foundation plays a key role in connecting communities to opportunities to help them grow and thrive.