David Porter will step down as executive director of The Walter Kaitz Foundation effective April 13, the diversity organization announced Friday.
Longtime Kaitz executive and deputy executive director Michelle Ray will serve as interim executive director upon Porter’s departure, according to Kaitz.
Porter joined Kaitz in August 2006 and during his tenure raised more than $20 million – mostly through the organization’s annual autumn fundraising dinner -- to fuel cable industry initiatives implemented by the National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC), Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT), and the Emma L. Bowen Foundation.
READ MORE: Diddy Uses Kaitz Moment For Diversity Message
Under Porter’s leadership, Kaitz has also pioneered bi-annual industry-wide surveys -- conducted jointly with WICT and NAMIC -- to identify and track diversity within the industry’s employment ranks. Here is a link to a story about the 2017 survey results.
"Under David's leadership, the Walter Kaitz Foundation has reached new and sustained levels of achievement, becoming the bedrock for efforts across our industry to enhance and embrace diversity as a core operating principle," said NCTA President & CEO Michael Powell in a statement. "David's leadership has brought out the best in us, in our efforts to shape our industry into a national leader on diversity and inclusion. His passion for, and commitment to, this work is unsurpassed. We will miss his vision and presence, and we wish him all the best in future endeavors."
