The Doe Fund Announces Executive Restructuring
Harriet Karr McDonald becomes President and CEO; due to a serious health issue, Founder and Former President George McDonald becomes Chief Transition Officer. Isabel Ames McDevitt and John McDonald appointed as Executive Vice Presidents.
New York, NY— The Doe Fund announces that due to a serious health issue affecting George McDonald, Harriet Karr-McDonald will replace him as President and CEO. After founding the organization 35 years ago, George now takes on the role of Chief Transition Officer to focus on developing leadership that positions the organization for future growth.
Additionally, Isabel Ames McDevitt will join as Executive Vice President. In her role as EVP, Isabel will further position the organization as the nation’s foremost reentry model, a solution to homelessness and recidivism that can be—and has been—scaled throughout the United States. She will also help to advance the organization’s robust response to homelessness and continuum of care provided to vulnerable, special needs New Yorkers including seniors and people with HIV/AIDS.
Isabel will be joined on the leadership team by John McDonald who, in his new role as Executive Vice President and COO, will grow The Doe Fund’s housing portfolio through innovative financing and partnerships with City, State, and private entities.
“This is a historic moment,” said Harriet McDonald. “A new administration enters the White House as a pandemic lays bare our nation’s profound racial and socioeconomic inequities. Millions of Americans are unemployed and police/civilian relations are volatile. Through these challenges, The Doe Fund has an opportunity—and a responsibility—to provide solutions.”
Harriet continued, “I will strengthen The Doe Fund’s work-first model in New York City, which empowers formerly homeless and incarcerated men to break intergenerational cycles of poverty, while also offering it as a replicable approach that can address these issues throughout the United States.”
Harriet co-created the Ready, Willing & Able reentry program together with George McDonald in 1990. Today, it has become the gold standard in addressing homelessness, incarceration, and recidivism; under her leadership, the program has been replicated seven times throughout the country. Harriet has worked with elected officials on both sides of the aisle to shape policy on criminal justice reform, poverty, and affordable housing, as well as to secure federal funding streams for The Doe Fund. Harriet is frequently asked to contribute her expertise on the work-first model of solving homelessness by academic, professional, and political entities throughout the country.
As President, George McDonald built a $65 million organization that employs over 500 people, almost half of whom are program graduates, from the ground up. Since its inception, The Doe Fund has generated over $1 billion in revenue, $101 million in taxes paid by its employees, and more than $250 million in earned income provided to clients of Ready, Willing & Able. His role as Chief Transition Officer is to develop future leaders of the model and focus on national scaling.
About McDevitt, President Karr McDonald says, “Isabel will elevate this organization to the next level. She is passionate about our mission and capable of implementing strategies that raise awareness, generate increased public and private revenue, and grow our model.”
Previously part of The Doe Fund’s leadership team from 2000-2006, for the last nine years Isabel has led the Colorado-based Bridge House, where she created the successful Ready to Work program inspired by Ready, Willing & Able.
“I began my career as a job developer at the Harlem Ready, Willing & Able facility in 2000. Now, I am thrilled to return to The Doe Fund to further George McDonald’s legacy and to work with its passionate and experienced staff, Board of Directors, supporters, and community stakeholders. Together, we will transform lives and communities through innovative programs and partnerships that break the cycles of homelessness, joblessness, and incarceration through work-based solutions,” said Isabel.
In her new role as Executive Vice President, Isabel will oversee The Doe Fund’s award-winning programs, including Ready, Willing & Able and The Liberty Fund. Isabel will also lead the effort to further develop and implement a national scaling strategy for the Work Works model based on Ready, Willing & Able.
With 22 years of experience focused on integrating business practices into models to end homelessness across the United States, Isabel is a successful innovator and thought leader. She is well-versed in coalition building, community affairs, and government relations. She developed two transitional residences and multiple social enterprises designed to address the needs of the homeless.
John McDonald has served The Doe Fund for three decades, managing the organization’s rapidly growing portfolio of transitional, affordable, and supportive housing. He is a seasoned corporate leader with expertise in financial analysis, management, and real estate development.
“The Doe Fund has a real role to play in addressing our nation’s housing crisis. As Executive Vice President, I want to redefine what is possible in affordable and supportive housing. We have set the bar for building beautiful, safe, and dignified residences—places in which vulnerable Americans and their families can live and thrive. At a time when millions of people are struggling to keep their homes or find new ones they can afford, our expertise will be invaluable to the nation,” John McDonald said.
Under John’s leadership, The Doe Fund has built energy efficient, state-of-the-art residences that boldly challenge preconceived notions of affordable and supportive housing. His commitment to addressing homelessness across a broad spectrum of the population has led to The Doe Fund developing housing for groups including veterans, families, and people living with disabilities or HIV/AIDS, among many others. He has also focused on providing housing that enriches the local community—such as The Doe Fund’s upcoming Jerome Avenue residence, which features ground floor retail.
As Executive Vice President, John will continue to integrate The Doe Fund’s housing portfolio into the continuum of care that the organization provides, not just for the homeless and formerly incarcerated men in its Ready, Willing & Able reentry program, but for all New Yorkers in need.
