Souls Grown Deep announced today that Lola C. West has been elected chair of its Board of Directors. West has served on the board since 2019.
With more than 20 years of experience in financial advising and fundraising, West has infused her passion and advocacy for social justice, racial equity, and gender rights to create spaces of opportunity, helping progressive institutions build a vision for the future. She is a co-founder of leading Black-owned, multi-racial, gender diverse, independent advisory and wealth management firm Westfuller Advisors, where she currently serves as Chairwoman and Chief Culture Officer. In her previous career as an event producer and fundraiser, she worked with clients, including The Studio Museum of Harlem, NAACP, and President Nelson Mandela, leading the United States fundraising strategy for his successful election in 1994. An active philanthropist, West was a founding member of the Council for African American Art at the Brooklyn Museum and serves on boards of the New York Women’s Foundation, Donors of Color Network, and The New 3Rs. She holds a BA in psychology from Brooklyn College and a master’s in urban planning from Hunter College.
“Lola’s contributions to the Board over the past four years have been invaluable, and we look forward to the perspective she will bring as leader of our organization,” said Dr. Maxwell L. Anderson, President of Souls Grown Deep Foundation and Community Partnership. “Her dedication to philanthropy and expertise in mission-aligned finance will stand Souls Grown Deep in good stead as we continue to expand our work in impact investing, economic empowerment, and community development throughout the South.”
West succeeds previous chair Mary Margaret Pettway, a fourth-generation Gee’s Bend quilter who has been a board member since 2017 and chair since 2018. Pettway will continue to serve on the board, and is being recognized henceforth with the title Chair Emerita. Comprising distinguished artists, scholars, curators, activists, and philanthropists, Souls Grown Deep’s Board of Directors serve both the Foundation and the Community Partnership, advancing the dual goals of canonical recognition for Black artists from the South and racial, social, and economic justice in their communities.