Gary Cunningham Email & Phone Number

• Sever as chief program strategist for the Foundation’s grantmaking program to alleviate poverty in eight states.• Working with the Board of Directors, lead the creation and implementation of the Foundation’s new strategic framework • Led a reduction in force effort to reorganize and realigned program staff and internal processes to improve efficiency and effectiveness of operations• Rebuilt and significantly enhanced relationships with key stakeholders, foundations partners, grantees and the public• Improved internal organizational cultural of the Program staff as measured by the independent Great Places to Work Survey. Staff scored the Program department 89 out of 92 on the GPWS Trust Index that measures management credibility, respect, fairness, staff pride and camaraderie in October 2011. • Significantly improved grantee perceptions of foundation staff as measured by independent surveys• Created new funding partnerships which has leveraged $20-25 million in funding to low-income communities. • Created the American Indian Funders Roundtables, which led to increase understanding of and funding in Reservation communities by 27 philanthropic organizations in the past two years • Created the African American Leadership Forums (AALF) in the Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota; Portland, Oregon; Seattle, Washington and Des Monies, Iowa. This civic engagement effort of over 2,000 volunteers has increased personal and social responsibility for African Americans to improve life outcomes for low-income youth and adults. • In 2011, the Northwest Area Foundation received the Association of Black Foundation Executive’s Institutional Award for Philanthropic Leadership for its work in creating and implementing AALF. This award recognizes exemplary grantmaking institutions that model effective and responsive grantmaking practices. • Successfully managed grant portfolio of approximately $18-20 million per year

• Successfully led organizational change effort to improve financial and operational performance of the states largest community health center• Implemented a Balanced Scorecard strategic planning and management system, which improved organizational performance, staff satisfaction and the quality of clinic care.• Successfully conceived, implemented, and managed three organizational mergers, a primary care clinic, a mental health clinic, and a multifaceted social service agency.• Improved financial condition from $1,000,000-per-year deficit to a $2,000,000 annual surplus• Increased clinic base revenues by over 35% in three years• Increased patient volume from 36,000 patient visits to 72,000 visits in three years• Developed a joint powers agreement between NorthPoint, Inc.’s Board of Directors and the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners that provides joint ownership of clinic outcomes and risk.• Increased health providers’ productivity by 59% in two years• Increased patient satisfaction rate from 70% to 97%• Implemented a new scheduling policy that reduced average patient lobby wait time from 25 minutes to less than 12 minutes, increased patients’ ability to see their own doctors, and decreased the number of days to next available appointment

Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area

Provided strategic and policy guidance to Hennepin County Board of Commissioners, county administration, and departments.Managed and administered the Hennepin County Housing and Redevelopment Authority which includes Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), the HOME Program, the Affordable Housing Incentive Fund, and all housing-related activities for the county.Managed relationships with federal, state, and local governments on housing and economic development issuesDeveloped a countywide strategic framework, which included scenario planning and implementation of The Balanced Scorecard Managed GIS, planning, and analysis services for the county.Conceived of the Affordable Housing Incentive Fund, a public/private partnership to increase the development of affordable housing throughout Hennepin County. The Affordable Housing Incentive Fund program has led to the creation of thousands of new units of affordable housing and has received local and national recognition.Conducted and published research on numerous subjects; homelessness, social and economic trend analysis, welfare policy, legislative proposals, health care, and many others.Conducted and implemented a comprehensive analysis and program related to young African American men in Hennepin County - the African American Men Project. This project's research, implementation, and final report, entitled Crossroads: Choosing a New Direction, received national and local recognition.

Masters In Public Administration, Public Policy

Bachelor Of Arts, Public Policy