Carol A. Goss
President
Carol A. Goss was a 2014 fellow in the Advanced Leadership Initiative program at Harvard University. Prior to joining Harvard, Goss served as president & CEO of The Skillman Foundation, a private independent foundation whose mission is to improve the lives of children in metropolitan Detroit by strengthening their schools and neighborhoods. She is currently working to improve the lives of our most vulnerable women and children through a project named, Warrior Women Against Poverty, a coalition of African American women working to change lives one woman one step at a time.
Involved in philanthropy for the past 20 years, Goss joined The Skillman Foundation in March 1998 as a senior program officer. She was named President & CEO of the Foundation in 2004. She retired in December 2013. She has also worked as a program officer at the Stuart Foundation in San Francisco and as program director at the W. K. Kellogg Foundation in Battle Creek, Mich. Goss was named the 2007 James A. Joseph Lecturer by the Association of Black Foundation Executives. Crain’s Detroit Business cited her as one of Southeast Michigan’s Most Influential Women, an honor that the respected weekly bestows every five years to the region’s most dynamic and powerful women.
Goss’ professional career also includes nearly 20 years’ experience in child welfare, family services and youth development in Detroit and Oakland, Ca. A native Detroiter, Goss has a BA in sociology and an MSW from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. She retired from The Skillman Foundation at the end of 2013.
In 2011, Goss won City Year Detroit’s “Idealist in Action” award and Olivet College’s Leadership in Individual and Social Responsibility Award. The Detroit News named Goss a 2010 Michiganian of the Year, and in 2009, Grantmakers for Children, Youth & Families honored her with the 2009 Fred Rogers Leadership Award. In 2008, Goss was selected as the Eleanor Josaitis “Unsung Hero” recipient as part of the Shining Light Awards. The Shining Light Awards, launched in 2007 and sponsored by the Detroit Free Press and Metropolitan Affairs Coalition, “honor individuals who are making important contributions to regional cooperation, progress and understanding in metropolitan Detroit.”
While running The Skillman Foundation, Goss was active with numerous nonprofits and philanthropy organizations. She has served on the board of City Connect Detroit, the Council of Michigan Foundations, the Council on Foundations, the Education Achievement Authority, Living Cities, New Detroit Inc., the University of Michigan Alumni Association, and the Youth Development Commission. She is currently a member of the board of directors of the Detroit Children’s Fund, Safe Routes to Schools the National Partnership, BoardSource, Samaritas formerly known as Lutheran Social Services of Michigan, and Planned Parenthood of Michigan.
Cheryl P. Johnson
Vice President
Ask what Metropolitan Detroit homeless women, corporate executives, nonprofit leaders, and promising young professionals have in common, and Cheryl P. Johnson is the likely answer. A Certified Integral Life Coach and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for the Coalition On Temporary Shelter (COTS), Cheryl P. Johnson is a true servant leader. She not only answers the call and “blooms where she is planted,” Cheryl P. Johnson transforms the constitution of the field.
Purpose-driven and accomplished, Cheryl is dedicated to alleviating suffering in the world wherever she finds it. For the past twenty-five years, she has endeavored to improve the lives of homeless families in Detroit through her work at COTS. Cheryl administers a multi-million dollar budget, leads a staff of approximately 100 people and, most importantly, serves thousands of homeless women, men, and children annually. A staunch advocate for what is right rather than what is easy, Cheryl has led COTS through popular and unpopular transitions – all with the best interests of families in mind.
Perhaps the greatest demonstration of her thought leadership and strategic alliance building on behalf of homeless families is the creation of COTS’s Passport to Self- Sufficiency™ theory of change, which aims to change the legacy of poverty for the next generation and beyond.
Informing her work with families, and at the core of her work with executives and young professionals is Cheryl’s training as an Integral Life Coach. For a decade, Cheryl has applied this holistic approach to coaching that attends to both individuality and social context to increase client self-awareness, intentionality and competence to create long- term success. Keenly aware of how our suffering is often tied to the stories we tell about ourselves and our lives, Cheryl is known for prompting COTS residents and executive coaching clients alike to consider the question: How is my current narrative getting in the way of what’s possible for me? She credits this transformative question with countless breakthrough insights for herself and others, inspiring people to consciously create the future they desire for themselves, their families, organizations, and communities.
Founder and president of her own independent consulting practice CPJ Consulting Group, Cheryl leverages her vast knowledge of the nonprofit sector, Harvard Business School executive education in nonprofit management, and community college teaching experience to provide nonprofit start-up and board development consulting. She develops, adapts and facilitates trainings for senior leadership as well as line staff on topics such as Maximizing the Present, Servant Leadership, Living and Working with Purpose, Strategic Thinking, Jim Collin’s Good to Great, and John Maxwell’s 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.
Of all of her contributions to founding, leading and growing organizations and people, Cheryl is most proud of founding The Circle. A hallmark creative contribution for Cheryl, The Circle’s mission is to provide and nurture a confidential, non-competitive network of intentional African- American women who will advance and advocate for the personal and professional success of its members and create a safe place for them to be their authentic selves, with the objective of uplifting the community, enriching the City, growing the region and impacting the world.
In addition to the profound impact Cheryl has on the individuals, families, and organizations she serves, it is a well-known fact that to work with Cheryl is to respect and love her. Members of her staff who she has mentored and prepared for respected positions in other organizations are often equally excited about their new roles and saddened to leave the unique fold of inspiration, teamwork, and growth opportunities that Cheryl fosters for employees and project team members.
Cheryl also works to further the missions and growth of several local, regional and state nonprofits through committed board service. New Detroit, Inc., Integrated Care Alliance, Healthy Detroit, and the University of Michigan – Dearborn’s Women’s and Gender Studies and Women in Learning and Leadership are among the boards on which Cheryl currently serves.
When she is not working, Cheryl enjoys spending time with her husband Gerald Johnson, Jr., owner of the House of Johnson Funeral Homes, and their four adult children Dominique, Emmanuel, David, and Mercedes.
