News Release: McKnight hires two new staff members
June 9, 2010 - The McKnight Foundation has hired Aimee Witteman as environment program officer and Bile Daad as accounting assistant.
The McKnight Foundation has hired two new staff members. Aimee Witteman will join the Foundation on June 21 as environment program officer, and Bile Daad will join on June 28 as accounting assistant.
Prior to joining McKnight, Bile Daad (pronounced "Bee-LAY Dodd") spent nearly three years as an accountant at Soma Financial Services in Columbus, Ohio. Previously, he worked at two other companies in Columbus — as an interpreter at SGS Inc., one of Ohio's top language interpretation and translation companies, and at Big Lots retail corporation. Originally from Somalia, Daad came to the United States in 2000. With a focus in accounting, he earned a bachelor of science degree in business administration from Ohio State University in 2007.
Aimee Witteman comes to the Foundation with a breadth of experience in the environment field, with particular expertise in federal environmental policy, advocacy, coalition-building, and efforts to build the capacity of community- and state-based organizations. From January 2009 until May 2010, Witteman served as executive director of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) in Washington, D.C., where she also served as director of organizing and outreach for two years. Previously, she held positions at Oxfam America and the Northwest Service Academy and was a W.K. Kellogg Foundation Food and Society Policy Fellow from January 2007 until December 2008.
Witteman has a master of science degree in agriculture and environmental science and policy from Tufts University in Boston. Among her other achievements, she was extensively involved in NSAC's efforts related to the 2008 Farm Bill reauthorization and subsequent implementation, and she also co-authored the group's policy position paper Agriculture and Climate Change: Impacts and Opportunities at the Farm Level. McKnight's environment program works to maintain and restore the water quality and resilience of the Mississippi River Basin, and to promote and develop renewable energy in Minnesota and the Midwest.
ABOUT THE MCKNIGHT FOUNDATION
The McKnight Foundation seeks to improve the quality of life for present and future generations through grantmaking, coalition-building, and encouragement of strategic policy reform. Founded in 1953 and independently endowed by William and Maude McKnight, the Minnesota-based family foundation had assets of approximately $1.8 billion and granted about $98 million in 2009.
Contact
Tim Hanrahan, Communications Director, 612-333-4220