Walton Family Foundation names new general counsel

The Walton Family Foundation (WFF) announced Monday (Nov. 1) the appointment of Christie Yang as general counsel.

According to a news release, Yang most recently served as the foundation’s interim general counsel following the departure of Lisa Montez. Montez took a similar position with Chicago-based Builders Vision, an investment platform headed by Walmart heir Lukas Walton, a grandson of Sam and Helen Walton. The philanthropic organization is described as an impact platform to help organizations and people “build a more humane and healthy planet.”

Before joining the WFF in 2019, Yang was associate general counsel at the Brookings Institution. She also was a litigator at Morrison & Foerster LLP, representing numerous Fortune 100 tech and financial services clients.

“Christie brings deep legal expertise and experience working in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors to her new role,” Walton Family Foundation executive director Caryl M. Stern said in a statement. “Her extensive knowledge and understanding of the foundation’s operations give her unique insight in the issues we work to solve and are essential to fulfilling our mission to create access to opportunity for the people and communities we serve.”

Yang received her law degree from the University of Texas School of Law and a bachelor’s degree from Yale University. She serves on the leadership team for the Association of Corporate Counsel Nonprofit Organizations Network.

The Walton Family Foundation was created in 1987 and is led by the family of Walmart Inc. founders Sam and Helen Walton. Annie Proietti, who is one of their granddaughters, chairs the board of directors. The Walton’s youngest son, Jim Walton, is Proietti’s father.

The foundation awarded more than $525 million in grants in 2019. It has more than 100 employees working from Bentonville (headquarters), Washington, D.C., Jersey City, N.J. and Denver.

Yang is based in the foundation’s Washington, D.C. office.