Today, we announce an exciting leadership transition at Ploughshares Fund — the appointment of Elizabeth Warner as managing director and the departure of longtime Chief Operating Officer Philip Yun, who has accepted a wonderful offer to become president of the World Affairs Council of Northern California.
We are excited to welcome Elizabeth in this new role. Much in the tradition of our founder, Sally Lilienthal, Liz will bring new energy and ideas for advancing and transforming our foundation’s leadership and mission. We will miss Philip greatly, and we are proud that World Affairs has selected him as their new president. He will certainly excel there, as he has at Ploughshares Fund.
Liz’s new duties will encompass executive oversight, administration and advancement of our office in San Francisco, where our foundation was founded. Liz will retain leadership of all our fund-raising with the new title of Chief Development Officer, and we have promoted Bonnie Fisk to Deputy Director of Development.
As Liz says, "Ploughshares Fund has an incredible track record of supporting innovation, tackling gender issues and building partnerships across the field. I am excited and deeply grateful for this opportunity."
In addition to his time as chief operating officer, Philip served eight years on the Ploughshares Fund board of directors, helping to innovate and expand our operations. His regional expertise on Asia and North Korea provided strategic guidance in the face of escalating tensions.
We believe these changes will reinvigorate our commitments and vision. "It has been a joy to see Ploughshares Fund grow from a regional voice to a significant voice in the nuclear security field," says Philip, "I'm thrilled that the foundation is set for new leadership with Liz, who I have been close colleagues with for years. She will take Ploughshares Fund to new heights."