The MacArthur Foundation funds community development organizations in 23 cities across the United States. It also works with several intermediary organizations, most notably LISC/Chicago, to support community-based organizations in 16 Chicago neighborhoods as they develop and carry out plans for comprehensive community revitalization over ten years. The Foundation also supports the transformation of public housing in Chicago neighborhoods through a special initiative, the purpose of which is to help ensure that mixed-income developments succeed and that the Chicago Housing Authority has the capacity and systems in place to complete the overhaul of the nation’s third-largest public housing program.

Lloyd joined the Foundation as associate director of the Community Initiatives Program in 1996, bringing to the position twenty years of nonprofit management and research experience. She has taught public high school English, trained adolescent boys, managed crisis intervention programs, led the external affairs program of a large human services agency, and consulted with nonprofit organizations and foundations, both large and small.
Lloyd has published in peer-reviewed journals on the effects of violence on labor force participation and, for five years, was a research affiliate of the Joint Center for Poverty Research at Northwestern University and the University of Chicago. She co-founded the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, the Chicago Institute on Urban Poverty, a Faith and Public Issues Group, the Illinois Welfare Reform Task Force, and the Women’s Justice Fund. Lloyd has served on the board of directors of several organizations, including The Crossroads Fund, Chicago Commons, the Library Foundation for Nigeria, and Wisdom Bridge Theatre.

Lloyd has a bachelor's degree in English from North Central College and master's and doctoral degrees in Human Development and Social Policy from Northwestern University. She and her 15-year old son, Nicholas, live in Evanston, Illinois.