Deborah E. Bennett has more than 18 years of experience as a community development practitioner. She is currently a Senior Program Officer at the Polk Bros. Foundation, where she is a program area leader for workforce development, affordable housing and community economic development. Prior to joining the foundation, Deborah held several positions at Shorebank Corporation including senior consultant for Shorebank Advisory Services where she crafted housing, labor force and commercial development strategies for community development entities around the country. She has worked as an economic development planner at the University of Illinois Center for Urban Economic Development. Deborah has a bachelor’s and master’s degree in economics from Stanford and Kent State Universities, respectively. She has served on a number of non-profit boards and is currently a member of the Chicago Low-Income Housing Trust Fund and former co-chair of the Donors Forum Community Building Task Force.

Rosa joined the Coleman Foundation in 1999, and currently serves as a Program Manager in the areas of entrepreneurship education, cancer care and research, and services for individuals with developmental disabilities. Her grant making experience includes working at a corporate foundation and a small family foundation. Before joining the foundation arena, she worked in developing healthcare and pharmaceutical marketing and adverting programs for national companies. The Coleman Foundation makes grants for entrepreneurship education to secondary and post secondary educational institutions throughout the United States. The foundation makes grants to organizations providing cancer support services, treatment and research, and agencies providing services for individuals with disabilities, including rehabilitative services and Conductive Education in the Chicago Metropolitan area, the foundation’s primary geographical area.

Ryan is President and Executive Director of the James S. Kemper Foundation where he is responsible for the Foundation’s operational program, The Kemper Scholars Program, and all grantmaking. Previously he was President of the Near East Foundation, an international development group headquartered in New York City. From 1994-2002 he served as President of Lenoir-Rhyne College in Hickory, North Carolina. He holds advanced degrees in English Language and Literature from the University of Chicago and the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Ryan has been the recipient of three Fulbright Fellowships for work in Syria; Germany, and Yemen.

Howard is the first Executive Director of the Washington Square Health Foundation, one of the oldest healthcare conversion foundations in the country. Since its inception, it has progressed from a hospital-based giving model to an expansive public health and community-based grantmaker. The Washington Square Health Foundation grants funds that promote and maintain access to adequate healthcare for all people in the Chicagoland area regardless of race, sex, creed or financial need. In addition, to promote collaboration among funders, Washington Square established and initially funded the Donors Forum Health Care Affinity Group with Howard as its first chairperson. Howard has also been instrumental in developing several RWJ Local Initiative Funding Grants for Chicagland not-for-profits. Howard earned Bachelors and Master of Arts degrees from the University of Illinois, where he was a Graduate Fellowship recipient. He has published numerous articles in the fields of education and philanthropy.

Diana joined the McGowan Fund as Executive Director in 2006, and is responsible for all operations, grant making and Board development. She has implemented governance policies and best practices, and leads the Board in strategic grant making in seven communities across the Country. Understanding the varying needs and resources within each community, Diana engages each local community around specific community needs and approaches to problem solving. She builds relationships with other funders, firmly believing in the power of partnership and collaboration. Prior to joining the Fund, Diana was the Director of Development and External Relations at the University of Pittsburgh. She enjoyed a career at R.R. Donnelley & Sons in sales and new business development. The foundation awards grants to organizations working in Pre-K through 12 Education, Healthcare and Medical Research in Cardiac Health, and Social Services for vulnerable populations within our communities.