Khalilah Burt Gaston

Khalilah Burt Gaston is a proven leader, skilled strategist, and passionate advocate for inclusive communities with more than 20 years of experience in social sector leadership, governmental relations and cross-sector partnerships.  Featured in Next City, Dwell Magazine, The New York Times, Huffington Post, Chicago Public Radio, and the Harvard Family Research Project, her work centers on helping organizations thrive.

Khalilah is serves as the inaugural Executive Director of the Song Foundation whose vision is to create thriving community where all can prosper. In this role, Khalilah is responsible for managing the daily operations of the foundation and an extensive network of relationships to support the foundation’s strategic pillars. Khalilah also serves as an advisor to Song United, the Song’s family office, where she supports its principals on range of civic and philanthropic efforts.

Previously, she served as Founder of Glidepath Strategies, a boutique consulting firm, where she helped clients clarify strategic priorities, measure and communicate impact and build effective governance infrastructure. Khalilah was also a Program Officer at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation where she managed a $200 million grant portfolio spanning maternal child health, early childhood education and workforce development.

Khalilah currently serves on the board of Council of Michigan Foundation and Michigan College Access Network.  She received a Bachelor of Sports Management and Communications degree and a Master of Urban Planning degree from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.