NEW YORK – The National Basketball Association (NBA) announced today that Greg Taylor, who currently serves as the President & CEO of the Foundation for Newark’s Future, has been named Senior Vice President, Player Development, replacing Mike Bantom who was promoted to Executive Vice President, Referee Operations, prior to the 2012-13 season.

Taylor will manage all of the NBA’s programs that promote the personal, professional and social development of NBA players. He will be responsible for league initiatives including programs to assist rookies in their transition to the NBA; educating team directors on player development and the best way to handle player off-the-court matters; and programs that aid players throughout their NBA careers and beyond. Taylor will report to Kathy Behrens, Executive Vice President, Social Responsibility and Player Programs.

“We are thrilled to have Greg join our team as we continue the critical work of supporting our players and their on-and-off court growth,” said Behrens. “Greg’s experience in creating innovative education and leadership development programs makes him an ideal fit to lead our efforts to enhance the resources available to our players and their families.”

As President & CEO of the Foundation for Newark’s Future, Taylor has worked to forge private and public sector partnerships to support education reform policies in Newark, N.J., and helped the Foundation raise $100 million to match a donation made by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. He previously served as Vice President for Programs of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, where he led a series of ground-breaking initiatives that empowered community leaders and organizations through early childhood education, racial equity, and family economic security programs. Taylor has also been a longtime youth basketball coach and is a current board member of both Athletes for Hope and the Newark Charter School Fund.

“This is a great opportunity for me knowing that supporting players throughout their journey is a high priority for the NBA,” said Taylor. “I look forward to working closely with the league and teams to enhance our programming and resources and doing all we can do to support the varied off-court needs of NBA players.”

A native of New York City, Taylor received his BA from Hunter College, City University of New York, and his JD from the Bloomington School of Law at Indiana University.