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Venture Philanthropy Partners Announces New Mario M. Morino Distinguished Fellow

Venture Philanthropy Partners Announces New Mario M. Morino Distinguished Fellow
Author:
Yvonne T. Favors
Date:
February 22, 2019

 

Venture Philanthropy Partners today announced Isaac Hammond-Paul as the second Mario M. Morino Distinguished Fellow. The one-year Fellowship is an investment in visionary leaders in youth development who will strengthen the field and join the next generation of nonprofit and philanthropy leaders.

At VPP, we know that success in the social sector relies on strong leaders of transformative organizations, measurable outcomes and effective philanthropy. The Mario M. Morino Fellowship provides mentorship, programmatic support and opportunities necessary to gain a better understanding of the skills and qualities needed to be a social sector trailblazer of the future.

“The Mario M. Morino Fellowship reflects VPP’s commitment to contribute to building a strong and sustainable pipeline of social change leaders in our region,” said Carol Thompson Cole, President and CEO of VPP. “Isaac Hammond-Paul’s background in measurement and evaluation, experience in both the nonprofit and government sectors, and his deep commitment to young people truly reflects our mission and values. We are thrilled that he is joining VPP.”

The 2019 Fellow will be immersed in VPP’s investment process to identify, articulate and shape catalytic opportunities that make our region and the future better for young people facing systemic challenges. The Fellow will have access to VPP’s network of thought leaders, practitioners, investors and nonprofit partners and will work side-by-side with the VPP team on operational projects. The combination of professional development and hands-on projects will ensure that the Fellow has deep exposure to the day-to-day operations of a philanthropic investment organization and develops an understanding of the core competencies required to manage an investment in social good and achieve desired outcomes.

“I’m excited about joining VPP because it fundamentally understands that investments in young people and communities must be sustained over a long period of time for meaningful change to happen,” said Isaac. Over the past eight years, I’ve worked in a variety of institutions, from Chicago’s jail, to a violence prevention program, to a DC Government program that works with youth who never completed a high school credential.  In each of these experiences, the young people I worked with were constantly experiencing the effects of historical and structural inequality. I’m looking forward to joining an incredibly passionate staff and community of stakeholders in order to address these critical issues.”

Venture Philanthropy Partners’ Mario M. Morino Distinguished Fellowship is supported by private contributions and the generous support of major donors The Atlantic Philanthropies, Peter and Adrienne Barris, Lauren and Jack Mencia and The Sage Foundation/Roberta and Steve Denning.

Please join us in congratulating Isaac Hammond-Paul and welcoming him to Venture Philanthropy Partners!

About the 2019 Mario M. Morino Fellow: Isaac Hammond-Paul

Prior to joining VPP, Isaac Hammond-Paul was the Deputy Director at the DC ReEngagement Center. There, he managed new and existing partnerships with community partners and District agencies, carried a caseload of young people, and oversaw data collection and evaluation. Hammond-Paul grew up in New York and attended the University of Chicago for both his undergraduate degree and Master of Public Policy. While studying criminal justice policy in graduate school, he worked at CeaseFire, a Chicago-based organization that aims to reduce gun violence by mediating street level conflicts. Upon graduation, Hammond-Paul worked as a high school teacher at the Cook County Jail’s Day Reporting Center, an intensive supervision program that offers substance abuse treatment services, cognitive behavioral therapy, and education for non-violent offenders. From there, he moved to a Chicago-based child welfare agency, where he worked on program development for a violence prevention program. When Hammond-Paul relocated to the District in 2013, he worked for the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services in the Office of Education and Workforce Development.

About the Mario M. Morino Fellowship

The Mario M. Morino Fellowship honors the philanthropic legacy of Mario M. Morino, co-founder of Venture Philanthropy Partners and chairman of the Morino Institute. In 1973, Morino co-founded a software and services firm that became one of the industry’s 10 largest firms by the early 1990s. Since his retirement from the private sector in 1992, he has sought to “level the playing field” for children of low-income families, focusing almost exclusively on economic, social and educational issues. Since 2000, Morino has been an implementer and thought leader in adapting relevant principles of venture and growth equity investment to help build stronger, high-impact, lasting nonprofit institutions. In 2013, he helped launch the Leap of Reason Ambassadors Community, a private community of nonprofit thought leaders, leading practitioners, progressive funders and policymakers aiming to convince the broader field that mission and performance are inextricably linked. Morino serves as a member of the VPP board of directors, the board of The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, the Aspen Institute Future of Work Initiative Advisory Council, the Partnership for Public Service Government Leadership Advisory Council and is a Senior Trustee of The Brookings Institution. He continues his affiliation with the growth equity firm, General Atlantic, LLC. At the request of Morino, VPP President and CEO Carol Thompson Cole was named the inaugural Mario M. Morino Distinguished Fellow to serve as an example of exceptional leadership in nonprofit management and community impact.

 

 

Yvonne T. Favors
Author
Yvonne T. Favors