Human Rights of Women
Source: PR Newswire
The Ford Foundation today announced the selection of Nicolette Naylor as head of its Southern Africa office, which is based in Johannesburg and serves South Africa and the Southern Africa region.
Ms. Naylor will succeed Achmat Dangor in leading the regional office upon his retirement in June. She is currently the senior program officer in Johannesburg and has been with the foundation since 2007.
A highly regarded human rights lawyer, Ms. Naylor previously worked within the public interest law sector in South Africa and at the International Center for the Legal Protection of Human Rights in London. Her writing on violence against women and HIV has been published widely and her recent talk on affordable housing in South Africa at the Meeting of the Minds in Detroit drew wide acclaim.
At the Ford Foundation, Ms. Naylor has focused her grant-making on realizing the progressive rights enshrined in the region's constitutions, and advancing the human and socioeconomic rights of poor and vulnerable populations.
"Nicolette is a fierce champion of human rights and has an incredible passion for the inclusion and participation of all citizens," said Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation. "Her voice has continued to call attention to the most marginalized populations, and she will come to this role at a critical moment for social justice philanthropy in Africa."
The foundation's work in Southern Africa aims to reduce socioeconomic inequalities and HIV/AIDS vulnerabilities by working with civil society and the public sector on a variety of fronts to advance human rights, good governance, educational opportunities and economic fairness.
"I am grateful to the foundation for the role it has played in shaping my social justice career trajectory for many years as a grantee partner and consultant and more recently as a program officer," said Ms. Naylor. "I have learnt an enormous amount about the complexities of social change and philanthropy from the foundation and its partners over the years and look forward to continuing to work on these challenges in this new role."
Ms. Naylor completed two law degrees—a B.Proc. and an LL.B.—in South Africa, and she went on to earn an LL.M. degree with distinction in international human rights at the University of London. She has been appointed to a number of boards, including the South African Ministry of Education's Committee on Gender Equity, a Nigerian committee of experts on violence against women, and the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights' expert committee for the protection of the rights of people living with HIV. She will begin her new position on July 1, 2015.
The Ford Foundation is an independent, nonprofit grant-making organization. For over 75 years it has worked with courageous people on the frontlines of social change worldwide, guided by its mission to strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote international cooperation, and advance human achievement. With headquarters in New York, the foundation has offices in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.