CEO Melanie R. Bridgeforth to Step Down at Women’s Foundation of Alabama; Will Remain a Catalyst for Change

By Barnett Wright | The Birmingham Times Described as “one of the most consequential leaders in Alabama,” Melanie R. Bridgeforth, will step down as President and CEO of the Women’s Foundation of Alabama in 2025, her organization announced on Monday. Named chief executive in 2018, Bridgeforth grew the organization from the former Women’s Fund of Greater Birmingham to a philanthropic powerhouse and statewide influencer advancing women’s economic power. “Melanie is one of the most consequential leaders in Alabama,” said Lajuana Bradford, Board Chair, Women’s Foundation of Alabama and head of Corporate Philanthropy for Regions, in a statement. “For the past six years, her vision and leadership has not only inspired, but activated a broad base of thousands of philanthropists, business and civic leaders, and elected officials to build, invest, and scale proven initiatives and public policies that grow economies by removing barriers to women.” Bridgeforth told The Birmingham Times Tuesday she didn’t come to the WFA six years ago “for what it was, I came for what it could be …,” she said, “a powerful influencer in this state that had the authority, and the audacity, to not just pick up the pen and write a new story for women,...