Douglas Nelson is the retired President and CEO of the Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF). He is a leading advocate for children and a widely recognized expert on state, local and national policies to improve the lives of low-income families. He is also regarded as one of America’s leading thinkers on the strategic role of philanthropy in advancing racial justice and positive social change. He assumed the presidency of the Casey Foundation in 1990 and, for 20+ years, led AECF through one of the most remarkable and innovative transformations of a philanthropic organization—from a moderately-sized regional institution providing foster care services to disadvantaged children to one of the nation's most influential and respected large foundations. Mr. Nelson currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of the CDC Foundation; Program Chair for Health, Peace and Human Rights on the Board of Trustees of the Carter Center; Vice Chair of the Heart Mountain Foundation; Senior Advisor to the Race to Equity Project, a groundbreaking initiative to reduce the state of Wisconsin’s exceptionally wide racial disparities between whites and populations of color. Nelson is also a director of Case Commons, Inc. (New York City). He previously served as Chair of Living Cities, a national collaboration of America’s major foundations and corporations involved in equitable urban development; Vice Chair of the Foundation Center; and Chair of the East Baltimore Development Initiative. Closer to home, Nelson serves on the boards of the Urban League of Greater Madison and Forward Community Investments.