Dr. Celeste A. Clark elected as board chair for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation

Board of trustees also re-elects trustees and officers at annual meeting

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Dec 19, 2019, 15:00 ET

BATTLE CREEK, Mich., Dec. 19, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) announces the election of Dr. Celeste A. Clark of Battle Creek, Michigan, as its board chair. Clark will serve a one-year term as chair and assume the role in January. She replaces Rick Tsoumas of Battle Creek, Michigan, whose term as chair expires.

"Given Celeste's long tenure at the Kellogg Company and her years of service as a W.K. Kellogg Foundation trustee, she has a deep connection to the values of our founder," said La June Montgomery Tabron, president and CEO of the Kellogg Foundation. "As board chair, Celeste will bring that insight to our work on behalf of children, families and communities. She will be a great partner in stewarding Mr. Kellogg's legacy to create transformational change for children."

Clark joined the WKKF Board of Trustees in 2011. She is principal of Abraham Clark Consulting, a health and regulatory policy consulting firm in Battle Creek and is recognized internationally as an expert in food and health policy. She is the retired senior vice president of global public policy and external relations, and chief sustainability officer of the Kellogg Company. Joining the company in 1977, Clark held many executive and management positions in nutrition communications, marketing, marketing services and communications. She also served as president of the Kellogg Corporate Citizenship Fund and was responsible for the company's corporate responsibility initiatives.

She has served on the boards of several public and privately-held companies, and currently serves on the boards of Wells Fargo & Co., The Hain Celestial Group and Kate Farms, Inc. She holds a bachelor's degree from Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, a master's degree in nutrition from Iowa State University and a doctorate in food science from Michigan State University.

WKKF also re-elected three trustees to new three-year terms: Ramón Murguía of Kansas City, Kansas; Cathann Kress of Columbus, Ohio; and Christina Hanger of Plano, Texas. Other board members include: Milton Chen of San Francisco, California; Roderick D. Gillum of Detroit, Michigan; President and CEO La June Montgomery Tabron of Battle Creek, Michigan; Khan Nedd of Grand Rapids, Michigan; and the new Board Chair Celeste A. Clark.

In addition to Tabron, the following staff were re-elected as foundation officers: Kathryn A. Krecke, general counsel and corporate secretary; Carla D. Thompson Payton, vice president for program strategy; Donald G. Williamson, vice president for finance and treasurer; and Joel Wittenberg, vice president and chief investment officer.

Appointed to the board's development committee were Kress (chair), Chen, Hanger, Nedd, Tabron (ex-officio) and Clark (ex-officio). Appointed to the CEO compensation committee were Clark (chair), Kress and Tsoumas.

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF), founded in 1930 as an independent, private foundation by breakfast cereal innovator and entrepreneur Will Keith Kellogg, is among the largest philanthropic foundations in the United States. Guided by the belief that all children should have an equal opportunity to thrive, WKKF works with communities to create conditions for vulnerable children so they can realize their full potential in school, work and life.

The Kellogg Foundation is based in Battle Creek, Michigan, and works throughout the United States and internationally, as well as with sovereign tribes. Special attention is paid to priority places where there are high concentrations of poverty and where children face significant barriers to success. WKKF priority places in the U.S. are in Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico and New Orleans; and internationally, are in Mexico and Haiti. For more information, visit www.wkkf.org.

SOURCE W.K. Kellogg Foundation