The St. Paul and Minnesota Foundation announced Tuesday that its board of directors has selected a new leader for the organization.
Chanda Smith Baker will take over as the next president and CEO of the Saint Paul and Minnesota Foundation, the organization announced July 15, 2025. (Courtesy of the Saint Paul and Minnesota Foundation)
After a national search, the board has selected Chanda Smith Baker to serve as its next president and CEO, the foundation announced.
“I am deeply honored and humbled by the opportunity to serve as President and CEO of the St. Paul and Minnesota Foundation,” Smith Baker said in the announcement. “As someone whose family roots run deep in Minnesota, this moment feels both personal and profound. What has always moved me about the Foundation is its unwavering commitment to listening — with compassion, humility and intention.”
Smith Baker has served on several boards and previously held roles including chief impact officer at the Minneapolis Foundation and CEO of Pillsbury United Communities, per the release. She also helped launch the Black Collective Foundation MN, the state’s first Black community foundation, and North Market, a full-service community grocery store and wellness center in Minneapolis.
Most recently she led her own leadership company, called Smith Baker, that offers business solutions like executive coaching, strategic consulting and community engagement initiatives.
Past clients of Smith Baker include Treasure Island Resort and Casino, the Minnesota Freedom Fund, which seeks to end discriminatory jailing and pays pre-trial bail and immigration bonds for those who can’t afford it, and the St. Paul-based Sanneh Foundation, which aims to empower youth through access to education, programming and resources.
Since its inception in 1940 following the Great Depression, the St. Paul and Minnesota Foundation has given out nearly $2 billion and last year distributed over 9,500 grants, making it the largest community foundation in the state.
The foundation has also been at the forefront of initiatives like GiveMN, a first-of-its-kind website that launched in 2009 that gave Minnesotans a simple way to donate to their favorite causes.
Eric J. Jolly, the current president of the foundation, announced his retirement earlier this year after a decade at the helm of the foundation.
Related Articles
Beacon Interfaith weighs in on Bimosedaa, Kimball Court homeless housing
Ramsey County investigating alleged role of 2 directors in hotel business caring for homeless
Science Museum of Minnesota to end its popular summer camps
‘Stuff the Bus’ collects school supplies for Stillwater area students
Science Museum of Minnesota lets go 43 people, downsizes by $7 million
Jolly oversaw the merger between the St. Paul Foundation and the Minnesota Community Foundation and said he focused on generosity, advancing equity and investing in community-led solutions.
“The Foundation’s vital work will not just continue, it will undoubtedly flourish under Chanda’s leadership,” Jolly said in the release. “I’ve long admired her ability to work in collaboration with a broad range of stakeholders to create enduring solutions and outcomes. Her distinguished career, bridging sectors and geographies, illustrates her embodiment of the Foundation’s central value: Community is our compass.”
Jolly plans to remain in Minnesota once retired and will continue to serve the community through his involvement with organizations including Augsburg College, National Academy of Engineering and Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, according to his retirement announcement.
Smith Baker is expected to begin her new role Aug. 25.
Leave a Reply