[2] In June 2020, Walker led the Ford Foundation to issue a $1 billion designated social bond to stabilize non-profit organizations in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic.

[26] He was raised by a single mother, Beulah Spencer, in Texas, first in Ames and later in Goose Creek; and was one of the country's first children to benefit from the Head Start Program.

[34][35] There, he was able to draw on his private sector experience to advance redevelopment in Harlem, including the opening of a Pathmark supermarket in 1999 at 125th Street and Lexington Avenue.

[39][40] Amongst other achievements, as the Ford Foundation's vice president for Education, Creativity and Free Expression, Walker was a creative and servant leadership driving force behind initiatives such as JustFilms[41] - one of the largest documentary film funds in the world - with the goal of advancing "social justice worldwide through the talent of emerging and established filmmakers"; as well as championing public-private collaborations such as ArtPlace, which supports cultural development in cities and rural areas in the United States.

We believe that Teachers College has the expertise and experience to translate Spike Lee's masterful film into a curriculum for students to explore issues of race, class, poverty and democracy in America.On his appointment as vice president, Walker remarked:[56] I deeply appreciate the confidence shown in me by this appointment, and I look forward to extending the exciting work we have under way at the Rockefeller Foundation.

Judy Rodin's leadership, the team we are assembling, and the very promising strategic review we're completing convince me that an exciting new era for the Rockefeller Foundation lies just ahead.Joining Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Walker led the Rockefeller Foundation to fund "a new Conditional Cash Transfer Learning Network which will share New York City's experience designing and implementing Opportunity NYC, the nation's first conditional cash transfer (CCT) program, as well as to continue learning from other countries and US cities about incentive-based poverty reduction programs."

The Foundation is proud to be a lead funder of Opportunity NYC, and we see the CCT learning network as an important means to further our investment in this groundbreaking pilot program.

"[57] Earlier, from 2002, Walker served as the Rockefeller Foundation's working communities program director; where he oversaw a grant making portfolio, in excess of US$25 million per year, that created anti-poverty strategies focusing on education, employment, sustainable community development, and democracy building in the United States.

As the Foundation strives to foster greater equity and create healthy, working communities globally, we look forward to Darren playing a vital role on our leadership team.Having been named president of the Ford Foundation in June 2013, Walker later assumed office in September 2013, succeeding Luis Ubiñas.

[59][60] In his earliest comments after becoming president of the Ford Foundation, Walker pledged to uphold the longstanding "advancement of human welfare" mission of the foundation, including its social justice and fairer world angle:[61] Leading this institution is the opportunity of a lifetime, and I am so very honored and humbled.

Together, we are part of an unbroken chain of commitment to social justice that reaches back to our earliest years and stretches far ahead of us.

What a thrill to recognize the power inherent in that inter-generational bond.In a December 2013 interview by New America Media, Walker talked about his opportunity to make the United States a better country for Americans and humankind, globally through his servant leadership at the Ford Foundation:[63] I have a chance to make a difference by leading a remarkable institution committed to human welfare and social justice when the very notion of social justice is being contested.

You have a hard time convincing me that investments in human capacity and in the potential of people like me to advance in society have somehow been for naught.To support climate action, earth's health, green economy plus renewable energy; and "to harness the full power of Ford Foundation's assets in the fight for a more just and fair world", Walker stated, in October 2021, that the Ford Foundation will divest investments from fossil fuels.

Notably, Walker announced, as follows:[64][65][66][67] Going forward, Ford Foundation's endowment will not invest in any fossil-fuel-related industries.

Second, no less important, we will look for opportunities to invest in enterprises and funds that are fueling new technologies and capabilities, contributing to a renewable sector that is strong, diverse, and varied enough to sustain a green-energy economy.Under Walker's leadership, the Ford Foundation became the first non-profit organization to issue a $1 billion earmarked social bond in US capital markets for proceeds to strengthen and stabilize non-profit organizations affected by COVID-19.