Deborah D. Hoover, President & CEO
(330) 655-1630
dhoover@bdmorganfdn.org
Ms. Hoover has served as President & CEO of The Burton D. Morgan Foundation since January 2007. She joined the Foundation in 1999 as a program officer and was elected executive vice president and treasurer in 2004. She was instrumental in establishing the Foundation's Northeast Ohio Collegiate Entrepreneurship Program, a Kauffman CampusesSM Initiative, to spread entrepreneurship across five liberal arts campuses. She is a Vice Chair for the Fund for Our Economic Future and serves as Co-Chair of the Fund’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Action Team. Ms. Hoover currently serves as a member of the Commercialization Task Force for the Ohio Board of Regents, and is chair of the Advisory Board for The Foundation Center-Cleveland. Ms. Hoover serves on the Board of Trustees of Western Reserve Academy and is a member of the National Council for The Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Ms. Hoover attended Williams College, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, magna cum laude, majoring in art history. She completed a Master of Arts degree at the University of Chicago. She continued graduate studies at George Washington University National Law Center where she earned a J.D. degree and was a member of the Law Review. She is a member of the bar in the District of Columbia, New Hampshire, and Ohio.
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Denise M. Griggs, Chief Financial Officer
(330) 655-7920
dgriggs@bdmorganfdn.org
Ms. Griggs joined The Burton D. Morgan Foundation in 2007 as Chief Financial Officer and was elected Secretary and Assistant Treasurer for the Foundation in 2010. She was the President and managing partner of Brott Mardis & Co., a local public accounting firm in Akron, Ohio. Denise is a Certified Public Accountant and has assisted a wide variety of nonprofit organizations with financial-statement audits, tax compliance work, consulting engagements including internal-control implementation, board governance, and benefit plans. Denise is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Ohio Society of Certified Public Accountants and recently completed her term as Board Chair of Project Learn of Summit County. She received her Bachelor’s of Business Administration degree from the University of Texas at Austin.
Leslie Goldwater Nelson, Senior Program Officer
330-655-7929
lnelson@bdmorganfdn.org
Ms. Nelson, Senior Program Officer, joined the Foundation in 2008, after four years with the GAR Foundation in Akron. Her career in philanthropy follows 25 years as a communications professional and consultant, which included serving as Vice President at J.P. Morgan in the firm’s Mergers & Acquisitions group and five years with McKinsey & Company’s Atlanta and New York offices. Leslie has a bachelor’s degree from Brown University and a master’s from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, and has participated in executive education programs at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Alison J. Burner, Program Officer
330-655-1642
aburner@bdmorganfdn.org
Ms. Burner joined The Burton D. Morgan Foundation in 2005 as a program officer. She has an extensive background in development and program initiatives, having worked for twelve years in the higher education access field for Cleveland Scholarship Programs (now College Now Cleveland) and the National College Access Network. Alison is a graduate of Class XXIII of Leadership Akron and is a member of the Business & Economy Day Committee. She received a bachelor’s degree from Wellesley College and a master’s from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Dianne Ketler, Grants Manager and Social Media Coordinator
(330) 655-1369
dketler@bdmorganfdn.org
Ms. Ketler has served as Grants Manager and Social Media Coordinator of The Burton D. Morgan Foundation since January 2011. She is responsible for the Foundation’s grants management processes, from the initial letter of inquiry through the grant reporting phase. She also coordinates the Foundation’s social media strategy and presence, including Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and Linked In. Finally, Ms. Ketler oversees the Foundation’s Web site and coordinates production of the Venture Adventure, eSpirit, and Pipeline newsletters. Prior to her position at the Foundation, Ms. Ketler managed foundation and government fundraising portfolios for a combined 11 years for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum and Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens. She has a B.A. in English Literature and Religion from Northwestern University.
Paula J. McCulloch, Office Manager
(330) 655-1532
pmcculloch@bdmorganfdn.org
Ms. McCulloch has served as the Foundation’s office manager since January of 2006. She was previously employed at The Margaret Clark Morgan Foundation and operated Park Place Business Services, a small business started by Burton D. Morgan. In 1991, Paula relocated to Hudson from Detroit, where she worked as a legal secretary for nearly 20 years.
Diane Rafferty, Executive Assistant
(330) 655-1385
drafferty@bdmorganfdn.org
Ms. Rafferty joined The Burton D. Morgan Foundation in 2006 as Assistant to the President. Her background includes administrative work in sales offices and customer service representative at Morgan Bank in Hudson. Diane has served on many boards in Hudson including the Merger Commission and Bicentennial Commission and is a charter member of the Hudson PTA. Diane is the current President of the Kiwanis Club of Hudson. She is a graduate of Bowling Green State University.