Paula Sammons is Senior Program Officer at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation in Battle Creek, Michigan, with expertise in family economic security. She has over 25 years of experience in philanthropy, with the majority of her career focused in family economic security. She is currently leading a portfolio of $53 million.

Paula has led multiple national family-centered programmatic and policy change initiatives, including “A Whole Family Approach to Jobs,” “Parents and Children Thriving Together,” and “Supporting Transitions to Employment for Parents.” She also led the development of family-centered coaching, a trauma informed coaching toolkit based on the latest brain research and behavioral economics that is being scaled across the country. Additionally, she was also co-chair of the Working Families Success Network. She is a licensed master’s social worker by training with 7 years’ experience in counseling and therapy.

Earlier, Paula worked in various sectors including the banking industry, secondary education, higher education, retail sales, and nonprofits. She currently serves on the Children, Youth, and Families Funders Roundtable, as well as previously on Workforce Matters, Economic Opportunity Funders, and the Earned Income Tax Funders Network. She has over 15 years serving on boards.