TITLE:  Executive Director & Co-Founder

FOCUS AREAS: Environment, consumer health, public health, youth leadership, environmental justice

CONTACT:  510-658-0702, tlittle@rosefdn.org

PROFILE: Tim Little is the executive director and co-founder of the Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment.

His foundation bio shares:

Tim Little is Rose Foundation’s chief executive and principal grants officer. Starting 20 years ago from an endowment of zero, Tim built a family of environmental and consumer protection grantmaking funds at the Foundation – most supervised by expert advisory boards – that collectively award $3 – $7 million each year. Tim is an evangelist about the power of grassroots community activism and the need to funnel resources toward the grassroots base of the environmental movement. He is also a nationally-recognized voice in the field of sustainable investing and has co-authored The Environmental Fiduciary series of publications related to fiduciary responsibility and corporate environmental performance. Before co-founding Rose Foundation, he held leadership positions with a number of non-profits including the Coalition for Clean Air, Heal the Bay, and Communities for a Better Environment. Other past affiliations include serving on the board of the Sierra Nevada Alliance and Confluence Philanthropy.

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TITLE:  Grants and Development Manager

FOCUS AREAS: Environment, consumer health, public health, youth leadership, environmental justice

CONTACT:  510-658-0702, jamons@rosefdn.org

PROFILE: Jasmine Amons is the grants and development manager for the Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment. This is a position she has held since June 2015. Her job duties include the following:

- Manage logistics for four grantmaking programs including the Northern California Environmental Grassroots Fund, the Fiscal Sponsorship Program, and two Donor Advised Funds. Includes application design, applicant support, managing Funding Boards, awarding grants, and providing feedback for unsuccessful applicants.

- Assist the Development Director with fundraising activities, including grantwriting, reporting, and coordinating the annual Film Festival.

- Maintain website, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn accounts. Increased Facebook Likes by 75% in 2015.

- Draft communications to donors and constituents, including print newsletter articles, monthly e-newsletter, and annual appeal letters.

She previously worked as the foundation’s grants development associate and grants development assistant. Amons earned her B.A. in history from UC Berkeley.

Amons’ foundation bio shares:

Jasmine manages the logistics for Rose Foundation’s grantmaking programs including the Grassroots Funds and Donor-Advised Funds, as well as the Foundation’s fundraising and communications activities. She is also the Northern California Environmental Grassroots Fund Coordinator. She is a graduate from UC Berkeley with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and a minor in Italian Studies. She served as an intern for Rose Foundation while attending high school and college. She is a Bay Area native who enjoys popular culture and attending live music events, such as meeting Fall Out Boy.

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TITLE: Literacy Program Officer

FOCUS AREAS: Early literacy

CONTACT:  510-899-7918, perham@rogersfoundation.org, cassie.perham@gmail.com

PROFILE: Cassie Perham is the literacy program office at the Rogers Family Foundation. She has held this title and also been a program manager at the Oakland Literacy Coalition since 2011. She previously worked as the administrative assistant for RFF for a year.

Her foundation bio shares:

My favorite childhood book that I read over (and over and over and over) was: As a little kid The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf was a bedtime favorite, but The Giver by Lois Lowry was the book that made me fall in love with reading. 

My hope for Oakland students is: That they graduate with bold dreams for themselves and their communities that they are well prepared to pursue.

Cassie joined the Rogers Family Foundation in 2010. As the Literacy Program Officer, Cassie is responsible for the Foundation's Early Literacy Initiative aimed at increasing third grade reading achievement in Oakland. Cassie manages the Foundation’s portfolio of literacy grantees and leads the Oakland Literacy Coalition, which convenes Oakland’s literacy service providers and stakeholders around opportunities to learn, collaborate, and champion early literacy. Cassie moved to Oakland in 2008 as an AmeriCorps VISTA with the local nonprofit Good Cents for Oakland. Cassie graduated with a BA in International Relations from the University of California, Davis and subsequently completed the Nonprofit Management Certificate Program at San Francisco State University. During her undergraduate studies she completed a Spanish immersion program in Morelia, Mexico and interned with the Peace Corps Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Cassie lives in Oakland with her husband Andy and their daughter Mollie. 

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TITLE:  Operations Manager, Program Associate

FOCUS AREAS: Education, cultural and historic preservation, healthcare, medical research, and the religious and education efforts of the Catholic Church

CONTACT: 617-639-1280, victoria@thelynchfoundation.com

PROFILE: Victoria Forman Prudden is the Lynch Foundation’s operations manager and program associate, and the best point of contact for grantseekers. She has been with the foundation since September 2010. She earned an B.A. in political science from Hobart and William Smith Colleges after attending Tabor Academy.

She is one of three staff members at the Lynch Foundation and can be reached by email or phone about grant application questions.

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TITLE: Executive Director

FOCUS AREAS: Education, cultural and historic preservation, healthcare, medical research, and the religious and education efforts of the Catholic Church

CONTACT: 617-639-1280, katie@thelynchfoundation.com

PROFILE: Katie Everett has been the Lynch Foundation’s executive director since 2001. Her educational background is from Boston College's Carroll School of Management and Notre Dame Academy.

Her board memberships and affiliations have included: Member of College Completion Task Force at KIPP, trustee of Catholic Schools Foundation, member of executive committee at Boston Schoolyard Initiative Committee, steering committee of Stonehill College Center for Management, and member of the Association of Small Foundations.

To learn more about Everett’s approach to philanthropy, read her interview with Philanthropy News Digest and her interview with Wheelock. Also worth reading is her “Assessing Yourself From All Sides” article on PhilanthroFiles.  

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TITLE:  Investment Research Associate

FOCUS AREAS: Education, cultural and historic preservation, healthcare, medical research, and the religious and education efforts of the Catholic Church

CONTACT: 617-639-1280, david@thelynchfoundation.com

PROFILE: David “Dave” Badeau is the investment research associate for the Lynch Foundation. He has worked with the foundation as a research analyst and investment administrator since 2000. He previously worked as a trader/broker for Fidelity Investments. He attended the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and earned a B.S. in business administration.

According to his LinkedIn summary:

Life long interest in investing and trading stock in public companies as well as the world economics and politics that move markets.

Favorite industries are restaurants, retail and web based businesses. 

Also enjoy working with start-ups and small local businesses for which I am a customer.

Interests: Public company investing, any book by Michael Lewis, Small Business - Comella's Restaurants - Wellesley, MA, Convergent Dental - Natick, MA, MD Revolution, San Diego, CA

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TITLE: Managing Director, Education

FUNDING AREA: Education

CONTACT: info@emersoncollective.com

IP TAKE: Ali has been a key figure in the growing ed philanthropy of Laurene Powell Jobs 

PROFILE: Russlynn Ali leads education work at the Emerson Collective, LLC, an organization quietly established by Laurene Powell Jobs, widow of Steve Jobs, more than a decade ago that mixes traditional grantmaking with social investing. 

Ali earned her Bachelor's from American University and a JD from Northwestern. She worked as an attorney at several California-based law firms and has also taught the subject at UC Davis and University of Southern California.

In the nonprofit sector, she's served on the review board for the Broad Prize for Urban Education, as well as several review boards of education programs such as College Track, Great Schools and Institute for College Access and Success. The Aspen Institute has awarded Ali their New Schools Entrepreneurial Leaders for Public Education Fellowship. She has also served as vice president of Washington, DC's Education Trust, and was the founding managing director of Education Trust West.

Working in the government sector, Ali first served on former California Governor Schwarzenegger's Advisory Committee on Education Excellence. Later, President Obama appointed her as US Department of Education Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights in May of 2009. There, Ali worked as "US Secretary of Education [Arne] Duncan's primary adviser on civil rights and [was] responsible for enforcing US civil rights laws as they pertain to education." She made sure the "nation's schools, colleges and universities [received] federal funding [that did] not engage in discriminatory conduct related to race, sex, disability or age," according to the Department of Ed's site. She also directed an army of around 600 attorneys to this end.

The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education says that during Ali's time at the Office for Civil Rights, she directed their focus more toward discrimination complaints, a topic that did not receive adequate attention under the aegis of former president George Bush. She also "issued new guidance for how colleges and universities should respond to incidents of sexual assault."

Laurene Powell Jobs hired Ali to oversee to play a key role at the Emerson Collective in 2012. 

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TITLE: Senior Director, Innovation and Learning

FOCUS AREAS: Personalized and blended learning

CONTACT:  510-899-7918, gklein@rogersfoundation.org

PROFILE: Greg Klein has been the senior director of innovation and learning since December 2013 at the Rogers Family Foundation. He previously served as the foundation’s director of blended learning, where he led the pilot implementation of multiple blended learning models in eight schools in Oakland, including a wide variety of cross-subject online content and data dashboard tools.

His foundation bio shares:

My favorite childhood book that I read over (and over and over and over) was: Corduroy by Don Freeman

My hope for Oakland students is: That they discover their passions and help build strong communities.

Greg joined the Rogers Family Foundation in June 2012. He works directly in schools supporting principals, teachers and students to personalize learning at ten Oakland public schools selected for Next Generation Learning Challenge in Oakland planning grants. Prior to working at the Foundation, Greg helped launch Downtown College Prep's (DCP) Alum Rock campus, developing an innovative Learning Lab at the middle school level. While at DCP he managed large groups of students, integrated computers and technology into the classroom, and focused his attention on teaching. Greg began his career in education reform as a teacher, coach, and administrator in the Oakland Unified School District for seven years, including building his own minilab in his classroom as a first-year teacher. Greg graduated from Dartmouth College in 2004 with a BA in History. Self-proclaimed tech geek, Greg is Dad to two adorable daughters and lives with his wife Mariah in Oakland.

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TITLE: Director of Grants and Evaluation

FOCUS AREAS: High-quality education in Oakland, California, early literacy, personalized learning, community institutions

CONTACT:  510-899-7918, dwellhausen@rogersfoundation.org

PROFILE: Dana Wellhausen has been the Rogers Family Foundation’s director of grants and evaluation since July 2013. She previously worked as a project manager and associate for the Stuart Foundation and a project manager and associate for the Child and Family Policy Institute of Califfornia.

Her foundation bio shares:

My favorite childhood book that I read over (and over and over and over) was: From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg, because what kid does not want to escape to New York and live in a museum? 

My hope for Oakland students is: That every child and youth in Oakland is loved, knows that they hold the key to the future of our world, and nothing and nobody stands in the way of their greatness. 

Dana joined the Rogers Family Foundation in July 2013. As the Director of Grants and Evaluation, she is responsible for grants administration and grantee interactions, coordinates the implementation of the Foundation’s internal evaluation systems, and contributes to its strategic communications. Prior to joining the Foundation, Dana served as the Project Manager for the Education Equals Partnership, an initiative focused on improving educational outcomes for children and youth in California’s foster care system. Much of her career has been dedicated to supporting philanthropic-funded efforts to transform the California child welfare system. Dana received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Studio Art from Mills College. She lives in Oakland with her partner, their daughter Bo, two cats, and four chickens.

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TITLE: Program Manager, Oakland Reads 2020

FOCUS AREAS: Literacy by third grade

CONTACT:  510-899-7918, sjorjani@rogersfoundation.org

PROFILE: Sanam Jorjani has been the program manager of Oakland Reads 2020 at the Rogers Family Foundation since June 2012. She serves on the board of directors for Community Alliance for Learning and previously worked for Gender Spectrum, Moving Forward Education, and the Teachers College at Columbia University.

She shares the following information about her current role on her LinkedIn profile:

Provide vision, oversight, leadership and direction for the Oakland Reads 2020 initiative. Design, develop and implement the strategic and organizational framework and manage day-to-day operations and projects. Present and promote Oakland Reads 2020 campaign including design and administration of community campaigns and events. Cultivate cross-sector partnerships supporting early literacy. 

Support strategic development and implementation of the Oakland Literacy Coalition, including the development of networking, capacity building and peer & continuous learning opportunities for our network of over 40 organizations supporting early literacy in Oakland.

Oakland Reads 2020 (OR2020) is a citywide initiative focused on one of the most important predictors of school success and high school graduation: grade-level reading by the end of third grade. OR2020 is a multi-sector, collaborative effort combining the strength of the Oakland Unified School District, city and county agencies, community-based organizations, and funders all committed to the progress and success of early learners. Our goal: 85% of third graders reading at grade-level by 2020.

Jorjani’s foundation bio shares:

My favorite childhood book that I read over (and over and over and over) was: Swimmy by Leo Lionni andThe Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein but my favorite children’s story today is Haroun and the Sea of Stories.

My hope for Oakland students is: That they imagine, explore, and create — and by doing so become agents of change.

Sanam joined Rogers Family Foundation in 2012. As a Program Manager, Sanam leads the Oakland Reads 2020campaign, a citywide early learning effort focused on dramatically improving third grade reading outcomes for Oakland students. Before coming to the Foundation, Sanam coordinated international projects and partnerships for the Office of International Affairs at Teachers College at Columbia University, where she completed her Masters in International Educational Development. She received her BA from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Sanam serves on the Executive Board of the WriterCoach Connection Program and is a long-time volunteer with the Albany YMCA Youth & Government Program. Sanam grew up in the East Bay by way of Iran and lives in Oakland.

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TITLE: Grants & Operations Manager

 FOCUS AREAS: Education, economic development, and racial/social/economic justice in Arkansas

CONTACT: (501) 918-4060, MCastens@wrfoundation.org

PROFILE: Michael Castens is the grants and operations manager at the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation. Casten’s foundation bio shares:

I chose philanthropy because: Philanthropy serves as a catalyst for positive change and unites people and communities. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of that?

I Won't Eat: Hominy, under any circumstances.

One word to describe Moving the Needle: Critical

Three people at your dream dinner: Jim Lovell, John McEnroe, and Marc Forster (space travel, tennis, and movies — all my favorites in one place).

As the Grants & Operations Manager for the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, Michael works primarily with the Chief Operating and Financial Officer, as well as the Foundation’s Vice President to ensure an ongoing connection between the strategic plan and its day-to-day operations. He is primarily responsible for providing critical administrative, grants management, logistical, and office management support.

Michael has close to ten years of experience in administrative and operations management and most recently worked as a Research Assistant for the Office of Campus Life at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. His career includes volunteer service to Heifer International’s Heifer Ranch learning center in both education programming and volunteer placement. Michael has also had leading roles in management and customer service. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and has traveled extensively in Western Europe and the former Yugoslavia.

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TITLE: Associate Vice President

FOCUS AREAS: Increase Prosperity & Build the Nonprofit Infrastructure Programs

CONTACT: (501) 376-6854, rmoffitt@wrfoundation.org

PROFILE: Regan Gruber Moffitt, J.D. is the associate vice president for two of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation’s programs: Increase Prosperity & Build the Nonprofit Infrastructure. She has been in this role since December 2009 and previously worked as an attorney at Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard, P.L.L.C. and a Legislative Aide to Representative Rick Hardcastle in the Texas House of Representatives.

Her foundation bio shares:

One Word to describe Moving the Needle: Vision

Three people at your dream dinner: 

I’m lucky to enjoy my version of a dream dinner — with my husband, my little boy, and my baby girl — nearly every evening. Though if I'm honest, in my dreams, there would be wine and no dishes to wash.

Why Arkansas: Arkansas is a place where you can see change happen.

Proudest Moment: When I see the love my children show for each other. While I’m sure that they won’t always get along, for today, it is beautiful to see the pure joy that my son and daughter have being in each other’s presence.

As associate vice president at the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation (WRF), Regan Gruber Moffitt is responsible for helping WRF proactively identify and support policy and advocacy activities in support of the overall Moving the Needle goal to increase prosperity in the state of Arkansas.

Regan joined the Foundation in 2009 after practicing law with Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard P.L.L.C. In addition to her legal experience, Regan has worked extensively in policy and education. She has experience with the Texas legislature, working on community college issues with the Senate Subcommittee on Higher Education and on K–12 education issues as a Legislative Aide for Representative Rick Hardcastle.

In Arkansas, Regan served as a legal extern for the Education Committee of the Arkansas House of Representatives. As an educator, she taught ESL mathematics with Teach for America for two years in Houston and authored a pre-Algebra computer-based textbook. She has been recognized for her academic achievements and community service with a number of awards, including the Robert Sarver Award for Outstanding Leadership, Citizenship, Scholarship, and Character by a Graduate Student; three President’s Awards for the Pulaski County Bar Association; an Arkansas Young Lawyers Section Achievement Award; and an Arkansas Bar Association Golden Gavel Award. In 2010, she was selected to two prestigious leadership programs, the Hull Fellows program of the Southeastern Council of Foundations and the LeadAR program.

Regan is active in a number of philanthropic and community organizations. Currently, Regan serves as a board member for Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy, Southeastern Council of Foundations, and the Single Parent Scholarship Fund of Pulaski County. She is a member of the Public Policy Committee for the Council of Foundations and the Southeastern Council of Foundations.

She is a founding member of the Little Rock Chapter of the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network (YNPN) and has served in recent years as the Secretary/Treasurer for the Pulaski County Bar Association, the President of the Arkansas Association of Women Lawyers, the Chair of the Lawyers for Literacy Committee of the Arkansas Bar Association, and a board member of the Wildcat Foundation.

She earned her BA from Wellesley College, her MA in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Texas at Austin, and her JD with High Honors from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Bowen School of Law. She and her husband Brandon are proud parents of two young children.

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TITLE: Senior Associate

FOCUS AREAS: Education & Community Change

CONTACT: (501) 376-6854, aford@wrfoundation.org

PROFILE: Andrew Ford has been with the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation since July 2012 and works as a senior associate for the funder’s education and community change programs. He previously worked as a grant writer for Southern Bancorp.

His foundation bio shares:

Why Arkansas: Arkansas is a state with a legacy of progressive policymaking and residents committed to action.

One word to describe Moving the Needle: Vision

I chose philanthropy because:I have a personal mission to make a difference for vulnerable children and families in my home state. Philanthropy gives me that opportunity every day.

My Best Time of Day: I’m most productive and energized at 10 a.m., which is also around the time I finish my second cup of coffee.

As senior associate for education and community change, Andrew Ford is responsible for managing the Foundation’s education and place-based grantmaking in alignment with the Moving the Needle goals to increase educational attainment and strengthen communities.

Prior to joining WRF in July 2012, Andrew was a grant writer for Southern Bancorp, one of the nation’s largest rural development banks. During his tenure at Southern, Andrew helped leverage public and private resources for distressed rural communities across the Delta region and southern Arkansas. In 2014, he was selected as a Hull Fellow with the Southeastern Council of Foundations.

Andrew currently serves on the Rural LISC Advisory Committee and the Ouachita Baptist University Young Alumni Board. He is also a member of Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy (EPIP). Andrew earned his BA in Business Administration and Political Science from Ouachita Baptist University and MS in Community and Economic Development from the University of Central Arkansas.

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TITLE: Executive Director

FOCUS AREAS: Health in Arkansas

CONTACT: 501-378-2223, posullivan@arkbluecross.com

PROFILE: Patrick O’Sullivan is the executive director of the Blue & You Foundation and the best point of contact for Arkansas grantseekers. He has been in this role since 2006. Previously, he worked as Arkansas Blue Cross & Blue Shield’s vice president of advertising and communication. He has also worked at Baptist Health, Worthen Banking Corporation, and the Worthen Bank & Trust Company.

His professional bio shares:

Patrick O’Sullivan is executive director of the Blue & You Foundation for a Healthier Arkansas, the $52 million Foundation established in 2001 by Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield. The Foundation makes annual grants totaling approximately $1.5 million to health improvement programs in Arkansas. In its first 11 years of grantmaking, the Blue & You Foundation has awarded $16 million to 326 health programs in Arkansas.

Mr. O’Sullivan also manages the corporate giving and strategic community investment program of Arkansas Blue Cross, which contributes approximately $1 million annually to charitable, civic, educational and cultural causes in Arkansas.

Prior to being named executive director of the Blue & you Foundation in 2006, Mr. O’Sullivan was vice president of Advertising & Communications at Arkansas Blue Cross for 12 years. He has also managed corporate communications functions at Baptist Health and Worthen Banking Corporation in Little Rock.

Mr. O’Sullivan is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and has received professional accreditations from the International Association of Business Communicators and the Public Relations Society of America.

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TITLE: Senior Program Officer

FOCUS AREAS: Civic Engagement & Community Building, Arts/Culture, and Basic Needs Projects

CONTACT: 304-346-3620, sryder@tgkvf.org

PROFILE:  Sheri Ryder is a senior program officer at The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation. She manages the following portfolios at the foundation: civic engagement, community building, arts & culture, and basic needs. Accordingly, she is the best point of contact for West Virginia grantseekers working in these fields.

She has also served on the advisory board for the West Virginia Nonprofit Association and on the board of directors for WVCAN, which provides statewide leadership in the fight against child abuse.

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TITLE: Program Officer

FOCUS AREAS: Education

CONTACT:  304-346-3620, shyre@tgkvf.org

PROFILE:  Stephanie Hyre is the program at The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation who manages the education grantmaking portfolio. She has been with the foundation since March 2012 and previously worked as the foundation’s marketing director. Before that, she served as the executive director of Tyler Mountain Cross Lanes Community Services. She also worked as an English teacher at Piedmont College for a couple years.

Hyre earned a M.A. from the University of Georgia in English and Literature and a B.A. from West Virginia University in the same field. Personal interests include community building, yoga, and literature.

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TITLE: Program Officer

FOCUS AREAS: Health

CONTACT:  304-346-3620, msimpson@tgkvf.org

PROFILE: Megan Simpson is the program officer who manages the health grantmaking portfolio at The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation. She has held this position since May 2015 and previously worked as a program specialist for the American Lung Association in West Virginia. Prior to that she worked as an account coordinator at the Arnold Agency and an account executive at Parallax Communications.

She also serves on the board of directors of WVCAN, an anti-child abuse organization, and is a member of the Health Working Group for the Appalachia Funders Network. Simpson received a B.A. in communications from Purdue University.

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TITLE: Managing Director, Arts & Culture

FUNDING AREAS: Performing arts, museums, creative spaces, theater

CONTACT: rrsmith@kresge.org, 248-643-9630

IP TAKE: Smith is the person that actively seeks out potential grantees for Kresge's Arts & Culture program, so impressing her with your work is a must if you want even a sliver of a chance of getting your hands on some of those funds.

PROFILE: Regina Smith is one to impress. The longstanding arts expert is the managing director of Arts & Culture at The Kresge Foundation, notable for partnering with artists and organizations specifically focused on revitalizing underserved communities through various arts programs and activities. Among her many responsibilities at The Kresge Foundation, Smith identifies prospects for funding, reviews funding requests, conducts site visits, meets with prospective grantees, and oversees current grant relationships. Quite a busy schedule, but Smith is definitely qualified for the job.

Prior to joining The Kresge Foundation, Smith managed a $12 million grants portfolio at Charlotte, North Carolina's Arts & Science Council. Smith began her career at the Cleveland Children’s Museum and the Cleveland Museum of Art as a museum educator after studying arts administration at Winthrop University. She has also worked at several arts organizations across the Midwestern United States, including Culture Works in Dayton, OH, Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs, and the Indiana Arts Commission. 

Further examples of the kinds of organizations and individuals Smith awards include the Heart Gallery Alabama, a Missouri-based organization that helps find adoptive homes for older children, large sibling groups, and foster children who have mental or physical disabilities. The grant was given to help create photo and video profiles to recruit adoptive families. Said Smith of the funding, "We hope this work will continue to broaden civic discussion and grow and nurture new and established arts audiences." Certainly something to talk about, and a worthy project that goes beyond usual arts programming.

For more on the types of programs Smith has successfully designated for funding, visit The Kresge Foundation's grants database, as well as its main arts and culture hub. Organizations can apply for grants directly via the website.  

TITLE: Deputy Director

FUNDING AREAS: Dance, theater, music, visual arts

CONTACT: JPreston@NEFA.org, (617) 951-0010 ext. 520

PROFILE: Jane Preston is deputy director for the New England Foundation for the Arts. Her bio, provided to Boston University for an arts administration symposium there, states:

Jane Preston serves as Director of Programs at New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA). In this role, she provides leadership and oversight in program design and delivery and advises on the administration of NEFA grant processes. One of her priorities is to focus specifically on the direction, quality, integration, and results of the NEFA’s research projects, and to assure that evaluation and research are integrated into all of the organization’s programs and activities. Externally, Jane works with and builds relationships with grantees and other partners.

Jane has over twenty-five years of professional experience in the cultural and nonprofit community, with emphasis on working at the intersection of public and private initiatives; addressing issues of the arts and community development; and creating new partnerships and resources. As a consultant, she has focused on strategic planning, organizational development and grants program design and evaluation. Clients have included the National Endowment for the Arts, state and local arts agencies, and community based cultural organizations across the U.S. As Research Fellow at the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Harvard University, her research projects explored relationships between nonprofit organizations and their funders, future directions in philanthropy, and leadership challenges of museums. She established and directed the Cultural Facilities Fund in Chicago. At the Illinois Arts Council, Jane created the Building by Design grants program which won an NEA Presidential Design Award. She subsequently served as Deputy Director for Partnership, responsible for supervising design and administration of ten grants programs. Jane has served on NEA Challenge Grant, Design Arts and Opera-Musical Theater panels. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in economics from Wellesley College and a Master in Public Administration from Harvard University.

TITLE: Corporate Secretary

FOCUS AREAS: Social welfare, health and medical, basic needs

CONTACT: (304) 424-6280, katrina@mcdonoughfoundation.org

PROFILE:  Katrina Valentine is the corporate secretary of the Bernard McDonough Foundation and also the best point of contact for grantseekers looking to set up an account on the funder’s website or apply for a grant.

The foundation is based in Parkersburg, West Virginia, and awards grants throughout the state as well as in Washington County, Ohio. Valentine attended Wirt County High School and has lived in Elizabeth, West Virginia.

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