Cook-Posley brings more than two decades of experience leading and collaborating with government agencies, private sector businesses, and community-based organizations.
Contact:
John Henry, jhenry@childrensdefense.org, Media Relations Manager, 708-646-7679
Washington, DC— Rev. Dr. Cheryl Cook-Posley will serve as Children’s Defense Fund’s new National Director of Movement Building. CDF President and CEO Rev. Dr. Starsky Wilson selected Cheryl Cook-Posley to take over the position after a nationwide search.
Within the Strategy and Program Division, led by Vice President, Sheri A. Brady, Cook-Posley will steward CDF’s enterprise-wide efforts in community movement building through leadership development, organizing, partnerships, and state-based advocacy.
Wilson believes Cook-Posley will make a profound impact on CDF’s efforts to fight for young people across the nation.
“Dr. Cook-Posley’s deep well of experience in community capacity-building and focus on strategic impact measurement will help to accelerate our work in key areas for children and youth,” said Dr. Wilson. “Her commitment to results has been well-documented and we are pleased to welcome her to CDF’s national leadership team.”
Cook-Posley has an established record of working to improve outcomes for children, youth, and their families. She most recently served as the Chief Impact Officer at the Virginia-based non-profit United Community. She has also held various leadership positions in her work with Central Union Mission, the University of Virginia’s Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning, and ICF International.
Cook-Posley said she is excited to take on her new role with CDF.
“I am a lover of humankind,” Cook-Posley said. “I believe it is a privilege to support, serve, and advocate for the most vulnerable, invisible, and those silenced as they walk in their agency and transform their own destinies and the global future-which is the Beloved Community.”
Cook-Posley earned her Bachelor of Science from Arizona State University before going on to complete the Master of Public Administration and Policy and Evaluation degree from the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government at Virginia Commonwealth University. In further commitment to education and community ministry, she also earned a Master of Divinity from Howard University School of Divinity and Doctorate in Ministry, with an emphasis in Social Justice/Urban Ministry, from Wesley Theological Seminary.
She is currently pursuing her PhD in Instructional Design and Technology-Human Performance Improvement from Old Dominion University, Darden’s School of Education and Professional Studies.
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About Children’s Defense Fund
Celebrating 50 years in 2023, Children’s Defense Fund envisions a nation where marginalized children flourish, leaders prioritize their well-being, and communities wield the power to ensure they thrive. The only national, multi-issue advocacy organization working at the intersection of child well-being and racial justice, CDF advances the well-being of America’s most diverse generation, the 74 million children and youth under the age of 18 and 30 million young adults under the age of 25. CDF’s grassroots movements in marginalized communities build power for child-centered public policy, informed by racial equity and the lived experience of children and youth. Its renowned CDF Freedom Schools® program is conducted in nearly 100 cities across 30 states and territories. Learn more at www.childrensdefense.org.
