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December 16, 2025
Announcing Zoë Stemm-Calderon as the Next Executive Director of the Raikes Foundation
We’re excited to share an important leadership update for the Raikes Foundation. After a comprehensive and competitive national search, we’re delighted to announce that Dr. Zoë Stemm-Calderon will serve as our next Executive Director. Zoë currently serves as our Senior Director of Youth Serving Systems and will assume her new role on January 1, 2026. We are grateful to the many advisors and committee members who contributed their time, insight, and judgment throughout this process. Their perspectives helped ensure a thoughtful and rigorous review, grounded in what this moment and our organization requires. We also extend our sincere appreciation to Fatima Gulamali, who has served as Interim Executive Director with steadiness and clarity. Her leadership during this transition upheld the integrity of our work, and we are grateful that she will continue to serve as Chief of Staff. A Proven Leader Committed to Building the Future Young People Deserve Zoë brings a rare combination of field experience, systems-level leadership, and deep alignment with the values that guide our work. She began her career as an elementary teacher in Houston, where she saw firsthand that the path to the American dream is not paved the same for every child. She went on to serve in district leadership as Assistant Superintendent at Houston ISD, as a Fellow at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and in senior leadership roles at Teach for America. Zoë holds a doctorate in education leadership from Harvard University and a B.A. from the University of Washington. Over the past decade at the Raikes Foundation, Zoë has led our Youth Serving Systems portfolio, overseeing $20 million in annual investments to strengthen K-12, postsecondary, and youth homelessness systems. She and the Youth Serving Systems team have helped mobilize more than $500 million in philanthropic co-investment through projects and funder collaboratives that they’ve co-founded and stewarded, including the Education Future Fund and Resource Equity Funders Collaborative. This work reflects a focus not only on grantmaking, but on building durable fields and partnerships that outlast any single institution. Beyond the numbers, Zoë brings a clear point of view about what young people need to thrive. She has consistently emphasized that when schools are adequately resourced and students feel safe, respected, and supported, learning follows. She understands that this is foundational not only to individual opportunity, but to a healthy and resilient democracy. While her portfolio has centered on education and youth homelessness, Zoë has approached these issues as deeply interconnected with civic life, public trust, and who has voice and power in our systems. She brings a clear-eyed understanding of the choices facing our country and how emerging technologies, including AI, will shape learning, work, and opportunity in the years ahead. As trustees, we have experienced Zoë as a thoughtful strategic partner who translates vision into action and leads with clarity, rigor, and authenticity. The Path Ahead Zoë’s deep institutional knowledge positions her to lead from day one, particularly as we continue the work of a spend-down foundation and focus on ensuring that the progress we support endures well beyond our final grant. She knows our people, strategy, and commitments. We're excited about the leadership she will bring, the relationships she will deepen, and the impact we will continue to advance together. Thank you for your partnership and trust. With gratitude, Jeff and Tricia RaikesNovember 05, 2025
Beyond Elections: Investing in Strategic State Alignment
Democracy doesn’t begin or end at the ballot box. It takes root when people have the voice, choice, and power to shape the decisions that affect their lives — not just during elections, but every day. That’s the heart of our Resourcing Democracy portfolio—a long-term effort to build lasting power—so communities can stay engaged, organize, and lead long after campaigns end. Yesterday’s local elections—taking place in towns, counties, and states across the country—reminded us that some of the most meaningful decisions about our future are made closest to home. And with midterm elections now a year away, attention and funding will soon shift toward congressional candidates and campaigns. But building a healthy democracy takes more than winning elections. It requires steady investing in the people, relationships, and organizations that keep communities engaged long after the votes are counted. That’s why we invest in state and local organizations that work year-round to bring people together to identify problems, develop solutions, and take collective action that improves the daily lives of working people. And it’s why we’re inviting other funders to join us in supporting the conditions for lasting change—rooted in communities, led by lived experience, and designed to outlast any one election cycle. Building Lasting Power Across the country, local organizations are working year-round to meet their neighbor’s needs—helping families find housing, supporting immigrant communities, or strengthening local schools. Groups like this—rooted in trust and deep local knowledge of the challenges, opportunities, and people driving change—are the foundation of our Resourcing Democracy strategy. We’re partnering with leaders in Michigan, Washington, and North Carolina, as well as national networks, to help everyday people come together to shape a fairer future. Our role is simple: to listen, learn, and resource. We don’t set agendas—we invest in our partners’ ability to do so. Across our priority states, trusted, community-rooted organizations are joining forces around shared goals and long-term priorities through state alignment tables. With multi-year support, they’re strengthening local leadership, identifying challenges, and building the relationships that turn near-term wins into long-term change. As Megan Hess, Co-Director of We The People Michigan, shared during a recent funder briefing we hosted last month, this kind of deep collaboration is about more than coordination. “It’s about trust,” she said – the kind that allows leaders to move together and deliver shared wins for their communities. Megan and her co-panelists, Roxana Norouzi, Executive Director of OneAmerica and Jenn Frye, Co-Director of the Carolina Federation, shared why alignment tables are a powerful model for lasting change. By coordinating across organizations, partners, and coalitions, alignment tables: Bring people together across race, class, and experienceBuild trust and foster collaboration across issues and sectorsStrengthen and sustain strategic partnerships among community-rooted organizationsSet collective state agendas that deliver tangible results for communitiesSustain momentum beyond any single election, issue, or policyCreate the long-term conditions for systems change Alignment tables ensure that no matter who is in office, communities maintain the power to hold their leaders accountable and shape the future they deserve. From Election Day to Every Day Our democracy underpins everything we care about. It is the foundation for strong public schools, safe and stable homes, and real opportunity for every family. Sustaining it requires long-term commitment, not just campaign-season engagement. By investing in the people and organizations building lasting civic power, we can help ensure our democracy works the way it should—for all of us, every day. Learn more about our recent Resourcing Democracy grants here. ###