NEW YORK (AP) — It is rare, the Ms. Foundation's next leader acknowledged, for a Black woman to take the helm of a major nonprofit from another Black woman. It is even rarer, she noted, for that organization to be financially healthy.
And yet that is the position Tracy Sturdivant will enter when she succeeds Teresa Younger as the president and CEO of the first national philanthropy run by and for women. The Ms. Foundation introduced Sturdivant on Tuesday at its annual New York City gala, where feminists such as #MeToo founder Tarana Burke were honored.
The foundation is “not in crisis,” but “ready for what’s to come” with Sturdivant in charge, Younger said in a statement shared ahead of the announcement. The foundation built a $100 million-plus endowment and explicitly centered women and girls of color during her tenure.
With that strong footing Sturdivant sees an opportunity to expand the coalition of people who see gender justice as their charge, too. As many funders disinvest from Black-led nonprofits, she is committed to “unapologetically” supporting marginalized groups while simultaneously inviting others to join the fight for economic equality and bodily autonomy.
“We need all hands on deck to make sure that we're supporting women in the midst of what I call this perfect form of instability that they're experiencing,” Sturdivant told The Associated Press in an interview.
The Detroit native comes to the foundation from The League, the nonprofit she founded to inspire civic engagement through culture. She credits past Ms. Foundation president Marie Wilson — who helped start “Take Our Daughters to Work” day to boost adolescent girls' self esteem — with showing her the power of large-scale narrative change campaigns. They worked together on the White House Project, a nonprofit that aimed to advance women's leadership across all sectors.
Narrative change has become a more necessary part of the foundation's work, she said, as conservative movements nationwide seek to prohibit funding for diversity, equity and inclusion. Sturdivant sees the Ms. Foundation, a legacy institution that she said has weathered “many cultural shifts” since its 1973 founding, as poised to engage this next generation of feminists through more modern storytelling.
She pointed to Blair Imani, a historian and creator honored at Tuesday's gala, as an example of the new voices she wants to elevate. Imani's viral web series “Smarter in Seconds” offers a progressive education on issues of race and gender in short-form videos.
“They are leading the culture and being able to take some of our cues from them, I think, is gonna be really helpful," Sturdivant said.
She's also considering ways to increase grantmaking around equal pay, family leave and childcare — issues she championed as the co-founder of the Make it Work Campaign, a three-year initiative to improve women's economic lives in the United States.
Men’s earnings are rising faster than women’s, and the gender wage gap has widened for two years in a row, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. A recent AP-NORC poll found that most working women in the U.S. believe they are disadvantaged when it comes to earning competitive wages — though the country is deeply divided over how to confront those disparities, with many men holding a different view.
“We're really talking about what does it mean for folks to be able to lead a life where they are not just surviving but thriving, they feel safe and they're secure," Sturdivant said. “That's going to be the work of the foundation under my tenure.”
Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.
Teresa Younger, left, and Tracy Sturdivant pose for photos together on the red carpet before the Ms. Foundation's Women of Vision Awards Gala, Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Tracy Sturdivant, center, poses for photos on the red carpet before the Ms. Foundation's Women of Vision Awards Gala, Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
BOSTON (AP) — Joel Embiid was even better in his second game back.
And that was good enough for the Philadelphia 76ers to avoid elimination in their first-round playoff series against the Boston Celtics.
Less than three weeks after an emergency appendectomy knocked Embiid out for the end of the regular season and the start of the playoffs, the Sixers center scored 33 points as Philadelphia beat Boston 113-97 in Game 5 on Tuesday night.
“He was dominant. Especially the second half, he was extremely dominant,” said Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey, who had 25 points and 10 rebounds. “He did a really good job of just inserting himself. I was proud of him tonight, man. That's the dominance that you go into a playoff game with: He did that.”
After scoring two points in the first quarter on 1-of-6 shooting, Embiid scored 13 in the second, 10 in the third and eight in the fourth, when the Sixers went on a 12-0 run to turn a three-point lead into a 15-point runaway.
“I feel like he had too many easy baskets," said Celtics guard Jaylen Brown, who scored 22 points. "We’ve got to make him work. ... Tonight he got a bunch of easy baskets, and I feel like that propelled him.”
Paul George had 16 points and nine rebounds for the seventh-seeded Sixers, who lost Games 3 and 4 at home to fall behind 3-1 in the series before returning to Boston to keep their season alive.
Jayson Tatum had 24 points and 16 rebounds and Neemias Queta had eight points and 14 boards for the Celtics, who will try again to eliminate the Sixers back in Philadelphia in Game 6 on Thursday night. Game 7, if necessary, would be back in Boston on Saturday.
“No need to put any extra pressure on ourselves,” Brown said. “There’s enough of that as it is.”
Earlier Tuesday, Celtics president Brad Stevens was named NBA Executive of the Year for the second time in three seasons after disassembling the team that won it all two years ago and getting Boston back to the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.
The Celtics did it despite missing Tatum for all but 16 regular-season games as he recovered from a torn Achilles tendon.
The Sixers missed the playoffs last year after seven straight postseason appearances, but earned the No. 7 seed this year with a victory over Orlando in a play-in game. After losing by 32 in Game 1, they coasted to a win at Boston in Game 2 but then lost both at home — with another 32-point blowout in Game 4 on Sunday, despite Embiid finishing with 26 points and 10 rebounds in his first game since April 6.
“Our fans deserve a win at home. We lost a tough one, then we got blown out of the water,” Maxey said. “After that performance that we put on last time in front of our fans, that was a disgrace and it was unacceptable.”
The Celtics led by 11 in the second quarter and held a 13-point edge early in the third. Both times Philadelphia rallied within a basket, using a 15-3 run to make it 66-65 Boston midway through the third.
It was still a one-point Celtics lead heading into the fourth, when George hit a 3-pointer to give Philly its first lead since the first quarter. After a pair of 3-pointers by Sam Hauser kept Boston close, Hauser fouled Quentin Grimes while he was shooting a 3; the three free throws started the Sixers on a game-ending 19-5 run.
“We got a little rocky start there in the third,” Sixers coach Nick Nurse said. “But then we really, really got going. And then once we closed the gap, we we’re pretty solid.”
Boston scored just 10 points in the fourth quarter on 3-of-22 shooting after making almost half its shots in the first 36 minutes.
“When you have empty possession, empty possession, and you’re not getting stops, it’s frustrating," Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said.
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Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) takes a shot over Boston Celtics center Neemias Queta (88) during the second half of Game 5 of a first-round NBA playoffs basketball series, Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey (0) takes a 3-point shot over Boston Celtics guard Derrick White (9) during the first half of Game 5 of a first-round NBA playoffs basketball series, Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown, left, drives to the basket against Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey (0) during the first half of Game 5 of a first-round NBA playoffs basketball series, Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) takes a 3-point shot over Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid, left, during the first half of Game 5 of a first-round NBA playoffs basketball series, Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey (0) takes a shot over Boston Celtics guard Jordan Walsh (27) during the first half of Game 5 of a first-round NBA playoffs basketball series, Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
