Bell-McCoy leaves Associated Black Charities after 16 years – Maryland Daily Record

Diane Bell-McKoy came to Associated Black Charities after completing an 18-month term as a Senior Fellow at the Annie E. Casey Foundation. (The Daily Record/File photo)

Associated Black Charities of Maryland announced the departure of its CEO, Diane Bell-McKoy, who leaves the public foundation after 16 years for new professional and personal endeavors.

The Associated Black Charities (ABC) board has hired a search firm to identify candidates for the organizations next CEO. The search process will be led by board chair Tawana Bhagwat. Heidi Arndt, chief of staff, will serve as interim CEO.

Bell-McKoy came to ABC after completing an 18-month term as a senior fellow at the Annie E. Casey Foundation. During that time, in partnership with Brookings Institution, the fundamentals of More in the Middle were birthed. More in the Middle was based on research that identified the regions persistent challenges of low asset outcomes for African Americans, ranging from no-wage earners to high-wage earners and the consistent disparities when compared to the regions white citizens.

Prior to her timeat Casey, Bell-McKoy was president and later chair of Empower Baltimore Management Corporation (EBMC), the nonprofit that managed the empowerment zone in Baltimore. Since the empowerment zone designation in 1994, more than 15,000 residents were placed in jobs and more than 12,000 jobs came to the zone through new business development and/or business expansions.

EBMC used outside data tools such as the State Wage Record data to verify its outcomes. And long after the zone designation, as a result of investments, the Baltimore empowerment zone was able to yield a $16 million return on their various loans.

Bell-McKoy has also held positions in the nonprofit sector of Baltimore, where she created one of the first family development programs in the field of substance abuse. She also worked in the Kurt Schmoke administration as director of the Mayors Office of Children and Youth and as a member of Schmokes senior staff.

The public will have an opportunity to join ABC in celebrating Bell-McCoys tenure at its in-person fundraising gala on Friday at Port Covington at the Sagamore Spirit distillery campus. The dinner program will also boast a refreshed format and an event theme of A Night to Remember Elevating & Celebrating Baltimores Black Workers.

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Bell-McCoy leaves Associated Black Charities after 16 years - Maryland Daily Record