Amy Kingman of Essex, Dr. Kiame Mahaniah of Andover and Jonathan Payson of Manchester were recently elected to Essex County Community Foundation’s board of trustees.
Kingman and Mahaniah are new to the regional organization’s board, while Payson returns after previously serving on the board from 2011-2020.
Kingman, who was serving on Foundation’s County Leadership Council before being elected to the board, has more than 15 years of experience in philanthropy and the nonprofit sector. Prior to launching her own consulting firm, Kingman spent four years as chief executive for both the Learning by Giving Foundation and the Letters Foundation, two organizations launched by the Buffett family.
Kingman also serves on the board of trustees at Gloucester-based Wellspring House, a nonprofit that inspires families and adults to achieve employment and financial security through stable housing, education, job training and career readiness.
Mahaniah, born in Philadelphia, spent much of his childhood in the Democratic Republic of Congo. His work has been influenced by the poverty he witnessed there and by his parents, who were dedicated to community-based nonprofit work. After returning to the states to attend Haverford College, where he received a bachelor’s in Political Economy, Mahaniah attended medical school as a National Health Service Corps Scholar and credits the organization with launching his career in community health.
Following a decade of clinical leadership in the Essex County communities of Lawrence and Salem, Mahaniah became the chief executive officer of the Lynn Community Health Center. Mahania also served on County Leadership Council for two years and, during the COVID-19 pandemic, played a critical role in helping to deploy more than $10 million in to local nonprofits.
Payson, a retired Wellington Management Company executive, helped launch the Creative County and Empowering Economic Opportunity initiatives that paved the way for additional systems work, including Advancing Digital Equity, which aims to bridge the digital divide in Essex County.
A former Marine Corps Reserve officer and Gulf War Veteran, Payson serves as a volunteer pilot for the Veterans Airlift Command. He is also a dedicated member of the boards of trustees at Endicott College and the Northeast Hospital Corporation, as well as at Root NS, a nonprofit offering youth training and employment opportunities in the foodservice industry.