Polk Bros. Foundation celebrates promotion of Divya M. Little to Senior Program Officer

Polk Bros. Foundation Program Officer Divya Mohan Little, who first joined the Foundation in 2018, has been promoted to Senior Program Officer. Divya has led grantmaking in the Foundation’s Health and Strong Families program areas.  She is now leading work to shape grantmaking strategies toward the Foundation’s new goals, using her public health experience as a lens to ensure the Foundation’s future grantmaking toward Closing the Life Expectancy Gap recognizes the intersectional nature of Chicago’s challenges and centers comprehensive, low-barrier, equitable, and community-centered efforts. 

“This promotion is a reflection of Divya’s many contributions to our work and her impressive leadership, both within the Foundation and in external roles that advance our mission,” said Polk Bros. Foundation CEO Gillian Darlow. “When Divya joined the Foundation, she brought a wealth of health and public health expertise in both direct services and policy that she has since channeled into a really solid and thriving portfolio of grantee partners. Her role in external funder collaborations has brought energy, focus, and new resources to important efforts such as strengthening the network of community health workers. And she played a critical leadership role in building out our new grantmaking new goals and framework.”

“I am consistently awed by the passion, commitment, and resilience of the people who work to make our city thrive, and I feel tremendous privilege to get to be a part of it,” said Divya. “I have loved these past six years of learning and growing at Polk Bros. Foundation with my colleagues in philanthropy and  in the community, and I’m grateful to the Foundation’s leadership and Board for the opportunity to deepen our commitment to community partners seeking racial equity and justice in this next phase of grantmaking.”