This Week's Speaker: Zenith N. Houston
Zenith Houston is an inspired nonprofit leader and fundraising professional with more than 20 years of experience in nonprofit management and fundraising who joined The Posse Foundation in December 2011 as the Director of Posse Atlanta. The Posse Foundation identifies public high school students with extraordinary academic and leadership potential who may be overlooked by traditional college selection processes. The Foundation extends to these students the opportunity to pursue personal and academic excellence by placing them in supportive, multicultural teams—Posses—of 10 students. The Foundation’s partner colleges and universities award Posse Scholars four-year, full-tuition leadership scholarships. In Atlanta, Posse Scholars attend Bard College, Boston University, Brandeis University, The College of Wooster, The George Washington University, Syracuse University, and Texas A&M University.
Zenith's nonprofit tenure includes leadership roles at National Jewish Health in Chicago as the Regional Development Director in Chicago/Midwest Region, Meharry Medical College and the Center for Women's Health Research, Doris and Alex Jewish Community High School where she led a $24 million capital campaign, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) leading corporate development, and numerous consulting roles with national and local nonprofit organizations including The Wonder Foundation (Stevie Wonder).
Zenith has served on several national and local boards including Hands on Network (now Points of Light Institute), Holyfied/Warren Boy and Girls Club, Chicago Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professional, Friends Against AIDS- Cromer Children’s Hospital, University of Chicago, Circle Urban Ministries, and the Chicago Council on Planned Giving. She currently serves on the board of Leadership Buckhead, Ferst Foundation for Childhood Literacy, and the Friends of East Lake First Tee. In 2014, she received the Harvard Business Club of Atlanta Scholarship to attend the week-long, Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management (SPNM) program at Harvard Business School. Most recently, she was recognized in November 2015 by Golf Women Mean Business for Outstanding Work in Youth Leadership Development. Zenith Houston holds both a Bachelors and Master’s degree from the University of South Carolina in Criminal Justice.