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Person

Kesi Foster

Nationality:

American
Occupation(s):

Co-Executive Director, Partners for Dignity and Rights

Board Member, NEO Philanthropy

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Kesi Foster is a political activist that has previously advocated for left-of-center policies on education and criminal justice. 1 As of 2024, Foster is the co-executive director for Partners for Dignity and Rights (formerly National Economic and Social Rights Initiative (NESRI)) and sits on the board for NEO Philanthropy (formerly Public Interest Projects). 2 3 Prior to this, Foster worked as a community representative for several New York City-based legal task forces. 4 5

Education and Early Career

Kesi Foster graduated from the City College of New York in 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in English. 1 Before earning his degree, Foster worked as a national project coordinator for the William J. Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law from 2005 until 2006. 6

After graduating in 2012, Foster joined the Coalition for Educational Justice and the Fortune Society, the latter of which advocates in favor of left-of-center prison reforms such as alternatives to incarceration. 6 7 In 2013, Foster joined the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University as a community engagement specialist and organizer. Foster later worked as a coordinator for the Urban Youth Collaborative, a student-led, youth advocacy organization that promotes “social, economic, and racial justice” in New York City school and communities. 6

Between 2017 and 2022, Foster was the lead organizer for community organizing group Make the Road New York (MRNY). 8 9 In 2017, following the first election of President Donald Trump, MRNY was one of several groups to organize protests and demonstrations in major airports following passage of the Trump administration’s Executive Order 13769, which restricted travel and admissions of citizens from several Muslim-majority countries. 10

Partners for Dignity and Rights

In 2022, Kesi Foster became co-executive director of the Partners for Dignity and Rights, 2 which advocates for left-of-center policies regarding the economy, health care, housing, education, and labor. 11 The organization operates several community projects including the Dignity in Schools Campaign, the Worker-Driven Social Responsibility Network, and the Healthcare is a Human Right Collaborative, and promotes a broad set of left-of-center policies it calls “The New Social Contract.” 12 13 14

Partners for Dignity and Rights has received funding from left-of-center grantmaking groups including the Atlantic Philanthropies and the Morton K. and Jane Blaustein Foundation. 15 16

New York City Advocacy

Foster has previously participated in several local groups and organizations within the New York City government. In 2018, he served on a task force for then-NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) to advise on reforming the New York Police Department’s policy of interacting with NYC schools. 17 Also in 2018, Foster served as a committee member of the Justice 2020 Initiative, a program started by then-Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez (D) to improve community trust with the city’s criminal justice system. 4

In 2021, Foster worked as the lead organizer for community activist group Make The Road New York (MRNY), where he filed an initial petition for a judicial inquiry regarding the 2014 death of Eric Garner following an altercation with NYPD officers. 18

Board Memberships

In 2024, Foster became a board member for left-of-center “clearinghouse” NEO Philanthropy.  19

References

  1. “Kesi Foster.” LinkedIn. Accessed October 27, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/kesi-foster-b7627b8/
  2. “Kesi Foster.” Partners for Dignity and Rights. Accessed October 27, 2024. https://dignityandrights.org/team-member/kesi-foster/
  3. “NEO Philanthropy Announces Election of Kesi B. Foster as New Board Member.” NEO Philanthropy. Accessed October 27, 2024. https://neophilanthropy.org/neo-philanthropy-announces-election-of-kesi-b-foster-as-new-board-member/
  4. “DA Eric Gonzalez Announces Justice 2020 Initiative.” Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office. January 24, 2018. Accessed October 27, 2024.  http://www.brooklynda.org/2018/01/24/da-eric-gonzalez-announces-justice-2020-initiative/
  5. Closson, Troy. “Officers to Testify About Eric Garner’s Death in Long-Delayed Inquiry. ” New York Times. October 25, 2021. Accessed October 27, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/25/nyregion/eric-garner-death-inquiry.html
  6. “Kesi Foster – Experience.” LinkedIn. Accessed October 27, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/kesi-foster-b7627b8/details/experience/
  7. “The Fortune Society.” LinkedIn. Accessed October 27, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-fortune-society/
  8. Bragg, Chris. “Car-wash owners hit bumpy ‘Road’.” Crain’s New York Business. May 25, 2014. Accessed October 27, 2024. http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20140525/POLITICS/140529917/car-wash-owners-hit-bumpy-road.
  9. Rubinstein, Dana. “Bill de Blasio thinks Occupy Wall Street could be a good thing, with some refining.” Politico PRO. October 06, 2011. Accessed October 27, 2024. http://www.politico.com/states/new-york/albany/story/2011/10/bill-de-blasio-thinks-occupy-wall-street-could-be-a-good-thing-with-some-refining-000000.
  10. Suebsaeng, Asawin. “These Are the Groups Behind Those ‘Spontaneous’ Anti-Trump-Ban Protests.” The Daily Beast. February 02, 2017. Accessed October 27, 2024. http://www.thedailybeast.com/these-are-the-groups-behind-those-spontaneous-anti-trump-ban-protests.
  11. “Five Questions for a Green New Deal.” Partners for Dignity and Rights. Accessed October 27, 2024. https://dignityandrights.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Five-Questions-for-a-Green-New-Deal.pdf
  12. “Healthcare.” Partners for Dignity and Rights. Accessed October 27, 2024. https://dignityandrights.org/initiative/healthcare/
  13. “Objectives.” Partners for Dignity and Rights. Accessed October 27, 2024. https://dignityandrights.org/about/#objectives
  14. “Dignity in Schools.” Partners for Dignity and Rights. Accessed October 27, 2024. https://dignityandrights.org/initiative/dignity-in-schools/
  15. “NESRI.” Atlantic Philanthropies. Accessed October 27, 2024. https://www.atlanticphilanthropies.org/grantees/national-economic-and-social-rights-initiative
  16. “NESRI.” Blaustein Fund. Accessed October 27, 2024. https://blaufund.org/national-economic-social-rights-initiative-2/
  17. Zimmerman, Alex. “Officials promised to update a Giuliani-era agreement between the NYPD and city schools almost a year ago. So where is it?” Chalkbeat New York. July 20, 2018. Accessed October 27, 2024. https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2018/7/20/21105389/officials-promised-to-update-a-giuliani-era-agreement-between-the-nypd-and-city-schools-almost-a-yea/
  18. Closson, Troy. “Officers to Testify About Eric Garner’s Death in Long-Delayed Inquiry.” New York Times. October 25, 2021. Accessed October 27, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/25/nyregion/eric-garner-death-inquiry.html
  19. Callahan, David. “Inside NEO Philanthropy: An Unusual Funding Group Works to Unify the Social Justice World.” Inside Philanthropy. June 30, 2015. Accessed October 27, 2024. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2015/6/30/inside-neo-philanthropy-an-unusual-funding-group-works-to-un.html
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