Philanthropy Watchdog Group Welcomes New Board Members

WASHINGTON, D.C., September 16, 2009 — The National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy announced today the election of Ana Garcia-Ashley, Joy Persall, Cynthia Renfro and Gerald L. Taylor to the organization’s board of directors.

“We are excited to welcome new directors who are deeply committed to helping philanthropy better serve the public good,” said Aaron Dorfman, executive director of NCRP. “They bring to our board an incredible depth and breadth of experience working to promote fairness and justice.”

Ana Garcia-Ashley is the associate director of the Gamaliel Foundation, one of the nation’s largest community organizing networks. She previously served as the lead organizer at the Milwaukee Inner City Congregations Allied for Hope where her leadership led to a $500 million dollar reinvestment victory and the development of the regional organization of WISDOM in Wisconsin. Ms. Garcia-Ashley also is a co-director of the Civil Rights for Immigrant Department and the director of the Southern Territory at Gamaliel Foundation.

Joy Persall is the executive director of Native Americans in Philanthropy, which promotes philanthropic practices based on Native values and traditions. Formerly, she directed the Headwaters Fund for Justice’s capacity building program for grassroots organizations. Ms. Persall worked on the expansion of Fund of the Sacred Circle and chaired a $2 million endowment campaign for the fund that supports Native American social justice projects in Minnesota and Wisconsin. She currently serves on Indiana University’s Board of Visitors and is Board Chair of Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center.

Cynthia Renfro is director of programs at the Marguerite E. Casey Foundation, a Seattle-based grantmaker that seeks to build a more just and equitable society. Prior to joining the foundation, she worked for the Beldon Fund and aided in managing $25 million in payouts to more than 400 environmental organizations each year for the Turner Foundation in Atlanta, Ga. Ms. Renfro previously was a member of the National Network of Grantmakers (NNG) board and co-chaired the NNG conference committee in 2001.

Gerald L. Taylor is an organizer for the national staff of the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) where he has worked for 28 years. He currently directs their work in the southeastern region of the United States. Mr. Taylor previously served on the National Board of Directors for the National Urban League. As a widely-known community organizer, he has overseen many campaigns and efforts including school reform in Baltimore, housing, living wage legislation and economic development in Memphis, Charlotte, Durham and other areas.

In addition to new board members, NCRP directors elected new members to serve on the executive committee. Diane Feeney, director of the French American Charitable Trust, was elected as the new chair of the board. She succeeds outgoing chair David R. Jones, president and CEO of the Community Service Society of New York, who is leaving the board due to term limits after ten years of service. Dave Beckwith, executive director of the Ohio-based Needmor Fund, is the new vice chair. Cynthia Guyer, former executive director of the San Francisco Schools Alliance, is the new secretary. Gary Synder, managing director of the Nonprofit Imperative, is the new treasurer. Sherece Y. West, president of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, rounds out the executive committee as the at-large representative.

The new board members join 14 other current directors of NCRP. The directors and staff expressed their gratitude to the five board members who ended their board service this month, including: Christine Ahn, a fellow for the Korea Policy Institute; Andrea Alexander, president and founder of Chinook Wind Enterprises; David R. Jones; Rhoda Karpatkin, former president of the Consumer’s Union and outgoing board treasurer; and Helen Vinton, assistant executive director of the Southern Mutual Help Association.

“We valued greatly the wisdom, passion and leadership of our departing colleagues,” said Ms. Feeney. “They leave NCRP a better organization, one that is ready to take on the opportunities and challenges of working towards a more accountable philanthropic sector.”

A complete list of NCRP’s current board of directors and brief biographies are available at www.ncrp.org.

NCRP is a national watchdog, research and advocacy organization that promotes philanthropy that serves the public good, is responsive to people and communities with the least wealth and opportunity, and is held accountable to the highest standards of integrity and openness. For more information on NCRP or to join, please visit www.ncrp.org or call (202) 387-9177.