Zhang joined the Endowment as controller in 2010. A graduate of Salem College in Winston-Salem, N.C., and Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, she is a certified public accountant in the states of North Carolina and Delaware.
Before joining the Endowment, Zhang worked as group controller in the Institutional Trust and Retirement Department at Wachovia/Wells Fargo in Charlotte. Before that, she spent five years at PricewaterhouseCoopers and three years at PFPC Global Mutual Fund Services.
Director of Evaluation William Bacon said Zhang’s new role will allow the Endowment to deepen and broaden its use of data to support grantmaking.
“Lily has extraordinary skills in data analytics and visualization that she has honed while working in the financial side of the Endowment,” Bacon said. “We are excited to take advantage of those skills in the grantmaking areas to help us measure and maximize our social impact.”
Based in Charlotte and established in 1924 by industrialist and philanthropist James B. Duke, The Duke Endowment is a private foundation that strengthens communities in North Carolina and South Carolina by nurturing children, promoting health, educating minds and enriching spirits. Since its founding, it has distributed more than $3.7 billion in grants. The Endowment shares a name with Duke University and Duke Energy, but all are separate organizations.