In 2026, Stacey Easterling became the Trust’s vice president of programs. She oversees the Trust’s giving areas, sets grantmaking standards, designs grantmaking infrastructure, directs the program staff and evaluates the impact of various Trust programs on grantees, beneficiaries and the communities of metropolitan Phoenix and Indianapolis.

Since beginning her philanthropic career at The Cleveland Foundation, the nation’s first community foundation, she has held senior leadership positions at several influential foundations. Prior to the Trust, Easterling was the founding executive director of the National Institute for African American Health. As vice president of programs at the Missouri Foundation for Health and later at the Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust, she provided strategic oversight of multimillion-dollar grantmaking portfolios, with a focus on strengthening community infrastructure, addressing health disparities, and enhancing nonprofit capacity. Earlier, as program executive at The Atlantic Philanthropies’ U.S. Aging Program, she directed national initiatives to promote healthy aging and economic security for older adults. Easterling holds a Bachelor of Arts in Human Biology from Stanford University and a Master of Public Health in Health Management and Policy from the University of Michigan.Easterling lives in Phoenix and splits her time between Indianapolis and Phoenix.