Ricshawn Adkins Roane

Ricshawn Adkins Roane works at the intersection of philanthropy, public opinion, and policy for economic, racial, and gender justice.  Her philanthropic vision is to lead the return of resources extracted by colonialism, exploitation, racism, exclusion, and sexism to the communities most impacted.  She is a values-driven leader with high emotional intelligence, an impactful communicator with strong management skills, and a strategic thinker with public policy background and training in systems-level change.

Since late 2021, Ricshawn has served as Executive Director of the Weissberg Foundation, a family foundation rooted in Virginia that believes building the power of those most negatively impacted by racism is the central path to dismantling structural racism.

Over the past 3 years, Ricshawn led the foundation through a strategic reimagining process which resulted in 3 strategic commitments (People, Power, and Place) and 4 strategic pillars (Innovative Grantmaking, Investing for Impact, Internalizing Racial Equity, and Influencing Philanthropy) designed to activate 100% of the Foundation’s $200 million endowment in support of its vision, mission, and values.

Ms. Roane has over 25 years of experience in private and corporate philanthropy, higher education, management consulting and the non-profit sector. Immediately prior to joining the Weissberg Foundation, Ms. Roane served as Vice President, Philanthropy & Chief of Staff at the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, a national education-focused private foundation where she launched the foundation’s HBCU endowment program and its Program-Related Investment strategy.  She previously served as a college access and success counselor for BIPOC and Pell-Eligible community college and university students, as Manager of National Volunteerism for Capital One Financial Services Corporation, as Executive Director of a public interest non-profit organization, and as a Business Analyst at McKinsey & Company.

Ms. Roane was a Luce Scholar in the Philippines, has lived in Tokyo, Japan and has travelled extensively throughout Southeast Asia.  She holds a M.Ed. in Counseling & Development from George Mason University and a A.B. in Public Policy & International Affairs from Princeton University.