Woods Fund Chicago: Can you tell me a little bit about how you came to this work?

Katelyn Johnson: I started off as a canvasser with ACORN twenty years ago, going door to door in North Lawndale and Englewood, asking people what they wanted to see changed. And I fell in love with organizing. In building relationships, I saw these largely Black elder women come into a sense of self and system and society that allowed them to unleash their inner power. And that transformed me, by witnessing them be transformed. If democracy works the way that we think it works, it requires people to lift up their needs to people who are able to make decisions about the policy, and it means people becoming those policy makers themselves. 

After having led many campaigns over the years, I recognized that I wanted people to become more conscious about how they're moving money, and to be more intentional about how we're using our money to put our values into action. And a door opened for me to explore that in philanthropy. 

"If democracy works the way that we think it works, it requires people to lift up their needs to people who are able to make decisions about the policy, and it means people becoming those policy makers themselves."

WFC: In a moment when political pressure is making racial justice and racial equity unspeakable in some rooms, how are you making the case for funding Black-led and Black-allied organizations?

KJ: When we look at the places where pressure is being applied — voting, access to social safety nets — those are historical wins that were accomplished through a mix of public policy and community organizing. When we think of the civil rights movement, we think of organizers: SNCC (The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee), people on the ground who were building relationships across Black communities and leveraging money and people to shape the change. 

And so in order to reclaim the things that are being attacked right now, we have to look back to what got us the win in the first place. It's actually time to double down on this type of support for community organizing, because that is how we got to the wins that we've had, and the lack of funding in community organizing is part of the reason why we were able to be so quickly dismantled. Large basebuilding — history has shown us that that's actually how we sustain the change and continue to build the power to shape it. How do we upgrade that social technology to be relevant for this time and space, but recognize relationships are still relationships, and power is still power?

"In order to reclaim the things that are being attacked right now, we have to look back to what got us the win in the first place."

WFC: What do you wish philanthropy knew right now?

KJ: I see philanthropy understanding community development, and not necessarily understanding the distinction between that and community organizing. The relationships that people build in community organizing, where we're bringing people together to act collectively on their shared self-interest, that’s different than providing services. And both are necessary! But there’s an experience in community organizing that expands on civic engagement; it’s about connecting the dots between lived experience, the public policies that shape your life, and collective civic action that shows you that you’re not alone in working towards change.

I want the work of community organizing to be funded to scale, recognizing that change doesn't happen in a twelve month grant cycle. The funding that allows people to build the foundation that they need, and scaffold upon it, and try new things, and explore relationships is a multiyear commitment: I would love if funders could see that more clearly.

WFC: What's something that you're holding at this moment — a call to action, a caution, a hope?

KJ: I think funders have to stay ready so we don't have to get ready. One of the reflections I have about the pandemic is, the rapid response that was necessary was because there was so much water that people were drowning in. And I think the Pooled Fund provided bridges to be able to get out of that, and also, more is needed. The waves of history have taught us that if we don't learn, we repeat it. So how do we create the conditions now so that we don't have to repeat the harms of the past? I think we're at a point in time where the decisions that we make are going to have ripple effects in our society that we can't even fully foresee: being able to show up in this moment matters.

2026 has felt heavy. The first four months brought deep loss — we said goodbye to Michael Caga-anan Aguhar, Amisha Patel, and Anne-Marie St. Germaine.

Anne-Marie passed in mid-April. We met through Woods Fund Chicago, where she served on the board and immediately supported me as I stepped into the role of President. She was a steady listener, a strategic thinker, and a true friend — one of those rare board members who did the essential, often unseen work of shaping policies and governance.

She told me about her diagnosis in 2022 and faced it with fearless faith, choosing to “roll with the punches.” Professionally, Anne-Marie brought years of communications expertise to city leaders; privately, she was a remarkable artist. I was honored to be welcomed into her home, where her paintings and her garden revealed a rich, creative life. She found joy in friends who cared for her to the end, in her beloved pets, and in traveling, painting, cooking, and gardening.

I remember my last visit: she was in the hospital, weakened by paralysis from the cancer. I walked in without a walker, and she burst into tears — tears of joy for me. In that most vulnerable moment, instead of anger or resentment, she leaned into faith and happiness for others. I will never forget it.

Losing Anne-Marie and Amisha within a month erased a part of my support system of women living with metastatic cancer. I miss them deeply — the shared devastation, the cheering for small victories, the comfort of shared tears. Yet I am profoundly grateful for the lessons they left me and for the blessing of having known them.

I miss Anne-Marie, and I am grateful life brought us together.

Michelle Morales

President

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