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The Burton D. Morgan Foundation adds staff

06/30/2008

The Burton D. Morgan Foundation has added two new staffers to help review an increasing number of grant applications.

Jean Van Ness and Leslie Goldwater Nelson have joined the staff in recent months as senior program officers. They are responsible for reviewing grant applications, making recommendations to trustees and following up to make sure that grants are properly administered.

“The Foundation is playing an increasingly important role in the region through its support of programs that foster the growing entrepreneurial culture in Northeast Ohio. We feel a great responsibility to fully understand the entrepreneurship landscape and perform a high level of due diligence on the proposals we receive,” Burton D. Morgan Foundation President Deborah D. Hoover said.

Hoover noted, for example, the June meeting when trustees awarded nearly $1.2 million in grants. Those were awarded from nearly two dozen grants reviewed by staffers and presented to trustees.

Both Van Ness and Nelson were formerly with the GAR Foundation. Van Ness is a graduate of Yale University and the University of Virginia School of Law. Nelson is a graduate of Brown University and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

“We are extremely fortunate to have this level of expertise on the Foundation team,” Hoover said of the new program officers. “They are well-respected professionals with sophisticated research, writing and grant-making skills.”

They join Denise Griggs, who became the Foundation's chief financial officer earlier this year.

Hoover also announced other staff changes. Marie Erb has become grants manager in charge of tracking all applications, payments and reports due. She also serves as the staff on-site information technology officer. Charlene Nevada has become special projects coordinator, which includes overseeing the Foundation’s newsletters and publication work.

Other staffers are: Alison Burner, program officer; Paula McCulloch, office manager; Diane Rafferty, executive assistant; and Eileen Borsz, administrative assistant.