Flint, MI, September 21, 2015 – The Ruth Mott Foundation has hired Rafael C. Turner of Grand Blanc, Michigan as a Program Officer. Turner will join the Foundation on October 19. 

“Rafael brings great experience from the public, private and volunteer sectors to his new role at the Foundation. He has worked to champion policies, education and resources designed to improve community conditions in Flint and the region and we are excited for him to join our team,” said Raquel Thueme, Program Director of the Ruth Mott Foundation.

The Flint Native earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Eastern Michigan University in Communications and a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Michigan-Flint. He resides in Grand Blanc, Michigan with his wife and three children.

Prior to joining the Ruth Mott Foundation, Turner served as a Senior Consultant with the Flint Area Reinvestment Office where he was responsible for identifying new federal and state funding opportunities and sharing those opportunities with various local nonprofit organizations throughout Flint and Genesee County. The bulk of Rafael’s career has been as a key congressional team member, most notably for more than a decade in the office of (retired) U.S. Congressman Dale E. Kildee, beginning as an intern in his Capitol Hill office and later in his Flint District office, where he served in a variety of roles including Constituent Services Representative and ultimately Deputy District Director.

For the past four years, he has served on the Board of Trustees of Mott Community College and is a national board member on the Association of Community College Trustees, as well as the organization’s Diversity and Public Policy Committees. He was recently appointed to the Board of Trustees for the Community Foundation of Greater Flint.

The Ruth Mott Foundation, located in Flint, currently grants about $6 million annually to support new ideas in arts and culture, beautification and health promotion in Flint and Genesee County.

For more information please contact Andrea Bergstrom at 810-396-3401.