Depelsha McGruder

Depelsha McGruder, Founder and Board Chair of Moms of Black Boys United, Inc. (MOBB United) is a distinguished leader committed to reshaping societal perceptions and policies impacting Black boys and men. She is also the Chief Operating Officer & Treasurer at the Ford Foundation, one of the largest philanthropies in the world, overseeing its global operations and finances. Forbes named her to their "50 Over 50" Impact list in 2023.

Dedicated to positively influencing how Black boys and men are perceived in society, McGruder began MOBB as a Facebook group. Within a couple of hours, it grew to 1,000 members, and by the end of the day, it counted 21,000. Today, that group offers a community for the mothers of boys affected by police violence and advocates for increased accountability for law enforcement. It has grown into two nonprofits: MOBB United and its advocacy arm, MOBB United for Social Change.

Prior to joining the Ford Foundation, McGruder served as COO of New York Public Radio, where she oversaw internal operations and strategic planning for WNYC, WQXR, Gothamist.com, The Greene Space, and New Jersey Public Radio. She also partnered with senior leadership to chart the course of local news, talk, and cultural programming, as well as digital content, to build a sustainable future for NYPR amidst a rapidly changing media landscape.

Before her tenure at NYPR, McGruder spent 17 years at Viacom in senior leadership positions at both MTV and BET Networks. During that time, she launched mobile, broadband, and video-on-demand businesses for MTV. In addition, she developed and operated two new cable television networks with programming designed to serve underrepresented Latino, African American, and youth audiences, resulting in triple-digit growth in both audience and revenue. She started her career as a broadcast journalist, working as an on-air reporter, anchor, and producer for two commercial television stations in Georgia.

She serves on the boards of Howard University, Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, the Billie Holiday Theatre, the Harvard Business School Club of New York, Oaktree Capital Management, and Classy. She holds a BA from Howard University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.