MINNEAPOLIS (January, 2022) — Jeremiah Program (JP), a national nonprofit with one of the most successful strategies for disrupting generational poverty among single mothers and their children, is proud to welcome new leaders to its national governing board of directors. The highly accomplished team of business and nonprofit leaders and activists complement an already impressive board cohort during a time when the organization continues to respond and provide critical support to a demographic profoundly affected by the pandemic. The board will be instrumental in JP’s renewed commitment to the role of public policy and social justice within its programmatic framework. 

“We are proud to add these distinguished individuals to the team and are excited to leverage their perspectives and expertise,” said Chastity Lord, President and CEO, Jeremiah Program. “This pandemic has been a national case study and reminder of the role public policy must play in JP realizing our mission of disrupting generational poverty through a social justice lens.”

The JP board plays a critical role in helping to shape strategies as the organization sits at the nexus of everything we are navigating as a country – supporting 100% women, 100% single moms experiencing poverty, 100% parents in pursuit of a college degree and 80% BIPOC. 

New members of Jeremiah Program’s National Governing Board of Directors are:

• Dr. C. Nicole Mason, President and CEO, Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR): Recently named one of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders by Fortune Magazine, Dr. Mason is the youngest person currently leading one of the major inside-the-Beltway think tanks in Washington, D.C., and one of the few women of color to do so. Prior to IWPR, Dr. Mason was the executive director of the Women of Color Policy Network at New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and is the author of Born Bright: A Young Girl’s Journey from Nothing to Something in America. She has written hundreds of articles on women, poverty, and economic security and been featured in the New York Times, MSNBC, CNN, NBC, CBS, the Washington Post, among others. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from Howard University. “I am privileged and honored to join the Governing Board of the Jeremiah Program. JP is doing the work of our times–at the intersections of poverty and social justice–in this historic moment. I am eager to roll up my sleeves to change systems and advance public policies that help moms, and their children to reach their full potential.”
• Monique Miles, Vice President of The Aspen Institute: Miles is the Vice President of The Aspen Institute and was previously Chair and Managing Director of the Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions. Prior to joining the Aspen Institute, she was director of postsecondary achievement at National Youth Employment Coalition, which supported community-based organizations across the country to design and implement postsecondary programming for students disconnected from education. She has led development initiatives for Dartmouth Medical School and board development work for Diploma Plus. Miles began her career in education reform at Youth Opportunity Boston. She holds a Bachelors of Science from Springfield College and a Master’s in Education, Policy & Management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. “Joining the JP National Governing Board of Directors is one of the greatest honors of my life, as it presents two critically important opportunities. It is an opportunity to honor the vision of my mother — a single mom who worked tirelessly to provide me with a life changing education and an opportunity to deepen my commitment to ending poverty. I am excited about and look forward to supporting and advancing the important mission of JP.”

• Mike Ruetz, Deputy Chief Investment Officer at Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies:  Ruetz joined Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies (MACP) in December 2012 as director of risk management and asset allocation for the grant-making entities under the MACP umbrella. In 2017 Ruetz was promoted to Deputy Chief Investment Officer. In addition to his expanded role working with the Chief Investment Officer, Mike continues to manage the Risk Management and Asset Allocation team. Mike earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from Colorado State University, his MBA in finance with high honors from Loyola University Chicago, and his master’s degree in applied economics from the University of Minnesota. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. “As a new Jeremiah Program board member, who was raised by a single mom, I am very much looking forward to serving an organization that is committed to narrowing the achievement gap and disrupting the cycle of poverty.”

For more information about Jeremiah Program and its board leadership, visit the JP website. 

About Jeremiah Program: Jeremiah Program (JP) is a national organization whose mission is to disrupt the cycle of poverty for single mothers and their children, two generations at a time. JP believes the impacts of generational poverty require the centering of the family unit through a two-generation (2Gen) approach. By investing simultaneously in a mother’s vision for her personal and professional goals and the education of her children, she simultaneously reauthors her family’s outcome as well her community’s –proof points matter. In 2021, JP supported 1,100 moms and children across seven cities in Austin, TX; Boston, MA; Brooklyn, NY; Fargo, ND-Moorhead, MN; Minneapolis, MN; Rochester, MN; and St. Paul, MN.