Beverly Knight Olson, one of four daughters of Knight Foundation co-founder James L. Knight, has been a foundation trustee since 1987. She serves on the Investment and Program committees.

Olson also serves on the boards of the Macon-Bibb Law Enforcement Foundation, the Macon Sports Hall of Fame and the Mercer University Athletic Foundation. She is secretary of the Rescue Mission of Central Georgia.

Olson volunteers with the American Red Cross in Macon and supports numerous other civic and philanthropic organizations, including the Historic Macon Foundation and the Museum of Arts and Sciences in Macon. In addition, she is a sustaining member of the Junior League of Macon, is a longtime sponsor for the Macon Striders track team and the Georgia Suns basketball team and sings in the choir at First Presbyterian Church.

Olson served on the Macon City Council from 2012-2014, designating her salary to Macon a Difference, an initiative to help youth in the community. She currently serves as co-chair of the United Way De Tocqueville Society and on the board of the Macon-Bibb Bicentennial Commission.

She is the recipient of the 2008 Algernon Sydney Sullivan Nonstudent Award from Mercer University for her efforts to improve the quality of life in Macon, and received the Alumna By Choice award from Mercer in 2015.