Heather Foster, a former White House staffer, will head
up White House-backed charity My Brother's Keeper.
Photo: The Network Journal
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White House Liaison to the African-American Community Take
Non-Profit Job
Heather Foster, the woman who helped to coordinate President
Obama’s response to the Charleston shooting and Ferguson protests, has left the White House staff in order to
head up a new, White house-backed charity focusing on young men of color.
President Obama helped to launch My Brother’s Keeper Alliance in May to
help boys and young men of color gain access to early education, keep them out
of the criminal justice system, and help them enter the workforce. Foster will
begin working there in the fall, where she will help to coordinate public-private
partnerships for the non-profit, which has corporate backing.
Foster is well suited for the job. She was President Obama’s
lead liaison to the African-American community, where she had a hand in shaping
the White House’s response to a number of issues. Following the Trayvon Martin
trial, Foster developed the administration’s outreach strategy, and went on to
help formulate responses to the Ferguson, Staten Island, and Baltimore protests
against police brutality. She was also involved in the response to the
Charleston shooting, and attended the funeral of Reverend Clementa Pinckney.
Her time at the White House was not all about sad events
though. She also led planning efforts for the 50th anniversary of the March on
Washington, which allowed her to speak to civil rights leaders about their
experiences. For Foster, who grew up in Atlanta, it was kind of a dream come
true.
Foster was moved by the families and communities she
interacted with during her tenure with the White House, and is excited to begin
her new position, which will allow her to directly impact those and other
communities across the country.
She is being replaced by Stephanie Young, who served as the
White House’s associate communications director. Young previous served as the
communications director for the 112th Congress of the Congressional Black
Caucus, so the White House’s relationship with the African-American community
should still be in good hands.
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