Montgomery

La June Montgomery Tabron is the president and CEO of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation(WKKF) in Battle Creek, Michigan, one of the largest private foundations in the United States.

As a champion for vulnerable children and for creating the conditions necessary for them to thrive, Tabron leads the Kellogg Foundation and its work to ensure the optimal development of young children from birth to age 8, heal the profound racial inequities in communities and cultivate community leaders and community-led solutions that support educated kids, healthy kids and economically secure families.

Prior to becoming the first African-American president and CEO to lead the foundation in its 84-year history, she served in a variety of positions at the Kellogg Foundation after joining the organization as the controller in 1987. Most recently, she was the executive vice president of operations and treasurer, which included oversight of all financial plans, policies and relationships within the financial community and WKKF’s Technology, Human Resources and Administration, Finance, Program Services and Quality & Organizational Effectiveness functions. In this role, she was pivotal in connecting and integrating WKKF’s leadership committees: the Executive Council, Program Leadership Council, Talent Board and Organizational Advisory Team, ensuring unified execution of the organization’s mission and strategic framework across all programmatic and priority place areas. She also provided leadership for WKKF’s place-based grantmaking in Mississippi and New Orleans since 2011, launching a significant effort to help set young males of color on the path to success in 2013. 

Tabron has played an active leadership role in the Kellogg Foundation’s racial equity, diversity and inclusion work for more than two decades – both internally through work with its board and staff – and externally through its work with grantees, partners and vendors.

Other earlier positions at WKKF included: chief operating officer and treasurer; senior vice president/chief financial officer and treasurer; vice president – finance and treasurer; and assistant vice president for finance and assistant treasurer. Prior to joining WKKF, she was an auditor for Plante & Moran CPAs.

Throughout her more than 30 years in philanthropy, Tabron has participated in numerous sector efforts to enhance philanthropy, including: the policy and annual conference committees for the Council on Foundations and the board development and transparency committees for Independent Sector.

As a community and civic leader, Tabron serves the alumni association of the University of Michigan Board and is a member of the Kalamazoo Chapter of the Links, Incorporated. She also serves on the boards of Battle Creek Community Health Partners, Bronson Healthcare Group and the Kellogg Company.  Tabron is also the chair of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation Trust.

Tabron holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor and a master’s degree in business administration from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. She also received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Marygrove College in Detroit and an honorary doctorate from Union Institute & University. She is a certified public accountant and certified management accountant licensed in Michigan. She is also a graduate of the inaugural class of the Council on Foundations’ Career Pathways Program.

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF), founded in 1930 as an independent, private foundation by breakfast cereal pioneer Will Keith Kellogg, is among the largest philanthropic foundations in the United States. Guided by the belief that all children should have an equal opportunity to thrive, WKKF works with communities to create conditions for vulnerable children so they can realize their full potential in school, work and life.

The Kellogg Foundation is based in Battle Creek, Michigan, and works throughout the United States and internationally, as well as with sovereign tribes. Special emphasis is paid to priority places where there are high concentrations of poverty and where children face significant barriers to success. WKKF priority places in the U.S. are in Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico and New Orleans; and internationally, they are in Mexico and Haiti.