stephanie_bell-rose_web.jpgMIAMI (BLACK PR WIRE) — The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation announced that philanthropic leader Stephanie Bell-Rose and national investment expert and former NAACP national treasurer Francisco L. Borges are joining its board of trustees.

“These leaders will guide Knight Foundation as it continues to help create a stronger democracy by fostering informed and engaged communities,” said Knight president and CEO Alberto Ibargüen.

Bell-Rose said she will be honored to work with the board of trustees “on promoting a more just and educated society.”

Based in New York City,  Bell-Rose has an extensive background in philanthropy and policy initiatives. She is a managing director of TIAA-CREF and head of the TIAA-CREF Institute, where she focuses on higher education, financial security policy and research and charitable organizations.

She previously served as president of the Goldman Sachs Foundation and also as counsel and program officer for public affairs at the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. There, she directed legal affairs and designed philanthropic initiatives in education and public policy.

For Borges, it will be an opportunity “to seek out the best methods for informing people so that they can take a more active role in their communities and in our nation.”

A former member of the board and treasurer of the NAACP and the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, he is chairman and managing partner at Landmark Partners Inc., an alternative investment firm specializing in private equity and real estate. He is former managing director of GE Capital's Financial Guaranty and treasurer for Connecticut and deputy mayor of the city of Hartford.

According to a statement announcing the appointments, Knight Foundation describes its work as dedicated to the ideal that democracies thrive when communities are informed and engaged. It supports transformational ideas that engage communities, promote quality journalism and media innovation and foster the arts.

Photo: Stephanie Bell-Rose