January 14, 2025
Stryker Johnston Foundation Announces William Buster as Next Executive Director
The Stryker Johnston Foundation (SJF) Board of Directors is thrilled to announce that William Buster will serve as the next Executive Director of SJF. In 2024, SJF conducted a rigorous and extensive nationwide search for its next Executive Director. This process was led by a Search Committee of SJF stakeholders and facilitated by executive search firm Good Citizen. The SJF Board of Directors unanimously agreed to offer the Executive Director role to William. The SJF Board of Directors, Staff, and Search Committee are confident that William is the right leader who will enable SJF to meet this moment and propel its mission forward – to change the systems and structures that create intergenerational poverty, particularly among Black people, people of color, and other communities that have been left out and left behind.
With a distinguished career spanning over two decades, William is a talented leader in the field of philanthropy, known for his transformative influence on community development, public health, and healthy equity across the United States. Through his work he has sought to help the field of philanthropy deepen its impact and improve its partnerships with the communities and organizations they invest in and partner with.
William has held numerous leadership roles in philanthropic organizations. He was the founding CEO and President of the New Hanover Community Endowment in Wilmington, North Carolina. At its founding, it was the largest place-based health conversion foundation per capita in the United States. Prior to NHCE he held two successful appointments as the Senior Vice President of the Dogwood Health Trust in Asheville, North Carolina and the Executive Vice President at the St. David’s Foundation in Austin, Texas. For both appointments he led the impact teams and had oversight of all grantmaking and program-related investment strategies.
Over his career, William has directed over $600 million in grants, program-related investments, and mission-related investments towards improving lives and communities across the country, but especially across the American South. He has dedicated his life’s work to improving the social determinants of health and quality of life particularly for children, youth, families, and seniors. William earned his bachelor’s degree from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, his Master of Arts Degree in policy and practice of development from the University of New Hampshire, and an executive certificate in mastering negotiation from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
William Johnston, SJF Founder and Board Member expressed, “We could not be more excited to welcome William Buster to Kalamazoo to join the SJF team as the next Executive Director. William is a thoughtful, empathetic, and strategic leader. He is committed to building relationships and creating spaces that foster growth and transformation. He has a vision for change that perfectly aligns with SJF’s mission and values. He’s spent his career working to drive positive change in every space he enters, and we are grateful he’s chosen to join us at SJF and continue that trajectory.”
William has shared his excitement about stepping into this new role. He is looking forward to meeting the Kalamazoo community’s formal and informal leaders and learning about opportunities to make the community a place where everyone can thrive.
William will begin this role on February 3, 2025. For questions or media inquiries regarding this, please contact SJF at info@strykerjohnstonfoundation.org or 269-488-8484.
