Staff
Dr. Makeeba McCreary
President, New Commonwealth Racial Equity and Social Justice Fund (NCF)
Dr. Makeeba McCreary serves as president of the New Commonwealth Racial Equity and Social Justice Fund (NCF) in September 2021. NCF is a coalition founded of Black and Brown executives from Massachusetts’ leading corporations united to support Black and Brown communities amid the COVID-19 pandemic and in the wake of the brutal killing by police of George Floyd. In its first year, NCF raised $30 million toward its initial fundraising goal of $100 million, which will be used to support eligible nonprofit organizations and to build an ecosystem of area leaders and stakeholders committed to dismantling systemic racism in Boston and across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
McCreary joins NCF after two and a half years with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA). In her role as the Patti and Jonathan Kraft Chief of Learning and Community Engagement, she focused on audience development and integrating diverse perspectives through the lens of art. Under her direction, she expanded the MFA’s annual roster of community celebrations and established the Black Arts and Artists Curators Circle. Working closely with MFA curators, she incorporated community voices into exhibitions and gallery displays, including the critically acclaimed Writing the Future: Basquiat and the Hip-Hop Generation. During the MFA’s pandemic induced closure in 2020, McCreary’s division swiftly moved to transition all programming to a digital platform for more than 1.2 million followers winning Boston magazine’s “Best of Boston award for the best virtual museum experience. Additionally, McCreary, a passionate advocate for young people, lead the charge on improvements to the school group experience and new paid opportunities for high school and college students, including a paid college internship program and Curatorial Study Hall—a high school student-curated exhibition Black Histories, Black Futures.
Prior to joining the MFA, McCreary served as the Managing Director and Senior Advisor of External Affairs for Boston Public Schools, reporting directly to the Mayor and Superintendent of Schools. In addition to building lasting partnerships with the private sector and providing the BPS community with valuable philanthropic tools, she piloted new programs and fundraising that directly improved the educational experience for thousands of students. Previously, McCreary served as Founder and CEO of AbekaM Consulting, as an Educational Policy Consultant for Compass Consulting, and Director of Philanthropic Services for EdVestors Boston. She currently sits on the Board of Directors for a variety of local organizations including the Executive Committee of The Partnership, the Greater Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau, Bridge Boston Charter School Foundation, Boston Plan for Excellence and the Cotting School. A native Bostonian, McCreary received her doctorate in education from the Teachers College at Columbia University, a master’s degree in education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Massachusetts, Boston.
Nadia Harden
Director of Portfolio Impact and Community Building
As Director of Portfolio Impact and Community Building, Nadia is responsible for designing and implementing a comprehensive strategy for engagement with current partners, enhancing how we leverage their collective capacity building as well as managing team members and consultants to deepen current partnerships and coalitions, leverage resources, and strengthen collaboration and leadership.
Nadia joined NCF from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston where she served as the Sr. Manager of Audience Development & Engagement. In this role she designed opportunities to engage new and existing audiences at the MFA by developing, supporting, and maintaining a wide range of relationships with community-and neighborhood-based organizations, with a focus on identifying collaborative opportunities, talent, and reciprocal partnerships for events and programs. Prior to joining the MFA Nadia served as the Campaign & Annual Fund Manager, and the Corporate & Community Engagement Manager for Boston Public Schools, Office of External Affairs. Her work at the Boston Public Schools (BPS) focused on designing and executing engagement opportunities to increase individual, corporate, and institutional commitment to the Boston Public Schools. Nadia also managed the BPS Street Team, the district’s marketing and community engagement teen fellowship. Nadia previously worked with Research for Action (RFA) performing policy research and as a Graduate Student Fellow with the Youth Sentencing and Reentry Project in Philadelphia, PA. Nadia has her B.A. in International Studies from Spelman College and her M.S. in Social Policy from the University of Pennsylvania, School of Social Policy and Practice.
Titi Ngwenya
Director of Investment Engagement and Communications
As Director of Investment Engagement and Communications, Titi’s responsibilities include designing and implementing our operating fund strategy as well as managing donor engagement and cultivation through convenings and strategic partnerships and will lead our donor communications strategy. Titi joins NCF from the Eliot School of Fine & Applied Arts where she worked as Director of Development and Communications, focused on fundraising for the Annual Fund, individual giving, and institutional marketing.
Having worked in the arts (performing and visual) for over twenty years, she devoted ten of those years as Director of Communications at Fuller Craft Museum, the 2020 recipient of an Award of Distinction from the American Craft Council. At Fuller Craft Titi produced strategic content to foster strong audience engagement, promote attendance, and grow membership.
For several years, Ngwenya also lived and worked in New York. She had a dual career honing her analytical, collaborative, and management skills in such financial institutions as Bear Stearns and Morgan Stanley—while producing, booking, and leading her own music ensemble. In 2007, with Founder and award-winning poet Kwame Alexander, she helped expand the curriculum of a young, nonprofit organization called Book-in-a-Day that brought youth literacy/publishing to schools in New York and the mid-Atlantic region. The curriculum was eventually purchased by the Scholastic Corporation. She moved back to Massachusetts from NYC and worked for a creative writing and student publishing organization in Somerville, MA called Books of Hope until she joined Fuller Craft Museum in 2011.
Titi was born in Boston and grew up in Dorchester. She has an English degree from Yale University, a Master’s in Music from the New England Conservatory, and a Core Leadership Certificate from the Institute for Nonprofit Practice. She is a founding member of a vital Yale institution, the co-ed vocal ensemble called Shades of Yale that performs music of the African Diaspora and continues to uplift audiences around the world.
Olivia Chin
Manager, Portfolio Impact
As Manager, Portfolio Impact for the New Commonwealth Racial Equity and Social Justice Fund Olivia works on general fund operations and program development and implementation. A native of Milton, MA, Olivia graduated in May 2020 from the University of Maryland, College Park with a bachelor’s degree in Government and Politics and a concentration in International Relations. At UMD, Olivia served as President of College Mentors for Kids, a national nonprofit mentoring program which help to solidify her desire to positively impact her community upon graduation.