Board of Directors

GMN is governed by a board of directors elected by GMN’s membership. Board members are elected to two-year terms.

Jennifer Burran

Grants Manager
The Lemelson Foundation
Portland, OR

Jennifer Burran is Grants Manager for The Lemelson Foundation, a private foundation in Portland, Oregon, and is responsible for managing the knowledge management system, creating and implementing grantmaking policies and procedures, and monitoring and tracking grant and PRI agreements. Prior to joining Lemelson in 2009, Jennifer served as the Senior Grants Administrator for The Annie E. Casey Foundation, a private foundation in Baltimore, where she administered the GIFTS database, co-managed the annual budget development process, and served on the results-based accountability workgroup. Prior to joining Annie E. Casey, Jennifer held grants management roles at the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health and The Gill Foundation. Her previous marketing career includes working for the American Bar Associations’ Book Publishing Division, Services Marketing Group, Purdom Public Relations and several years as a freelance writer and marketer.

Jennifer joined GMN in 2000 when she made her career change to grantmaking and shortly thereafter started volunteering for the Communications Committee. In 2005, she became co-chair for the Washington DC regional group, where she helped revitalized the group after several years without activity. In 2007, she was elected to the Board of Directors and currently serves as a member of the Communications Committee and Co-Chair of the Nominating Committee. Jennifer is a graduate of Indiana University and resides in Portland, OR, with her husband and two daughters.

Stephanie Duffy, Co-Chair

Grants Administration Manager
The McKnight Foundation
Minneapolis, MN

Stephanie Duffy is the Grants Administration Manager for The McKnight Foundation in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she has been a member of the grants administration team since 1996. Her primary responsibilities include managing the grant information system (GIFTS), implementing and providing quality control for all grantmaking procedures and systems, tracking foundation payout to meet legal requirements and program goals, and supervising two staff.

Stephanie is an active member of the steering committee for GMN's Minnesota Region, as well as the GIFTS Users Group. She joined the GMN Board of Directors in July 2007, serving as co-chair of the Collective Knowledge Committee prior to joining the Executive Committee in 2009.

Stephanie received her B.A. from St. Mary's University in 1993, majoring in political science and minoring in business. In 2004, she received her mini-M.B.A. in nonprofit management from the University of St. Thomas.

Kim Foster

Operations Manager
Francis Family Foundation
Kansas City, MO

Kim Foster is responsible for grants management, finance and investments, and IT at the Francis Family Foundation. She is particularly adept at working with GIFTs and was instrumental in implementing IGAM and ReviewerConnect. Previous foundation experience was gained at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and the National Endowment for Democracy in Washington, DC. Kim has more than 20 years experience working in the nonprofit sector. She also provides consulting services to local intermediaries who both solicit funds and make grants – her foundation experience has been invaluable in that role.

Kim served as a co-chair of the Midwest Regional Chapter of GMN and is currently its secretary. She volunteered for the Program and Host Committees for the 2008 GMN Conference in Chicago and currently participates on the Communications Committee. She has been an active member of GMN since 2003.

Kim grew up in Michigan and graduated from Hope College. She received an MBA from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Sue Fulton

Grants and Financial Manager
Endowment for Health
Concord, NH

Sue Fulton is responsible for grants and financial management for the Endowment for Health. In this role, she oversees the grant application process, grant budgets, and grantee progress reporting. She works closely with applicants and grantees to ensure that inquiries and projects are handled appropriately. Sue is also responsible for managing the financial and accounting activities for the organization.

The Endowment for Health was created in 1999 following the sale of Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Hampshire to Anthem Insurance Companies. Sue was hired in early 2001 as one of the first employees and was responsible for setting up grantmaking and operating systems.

Sue joined the Grants Managers Network in 2006 and serves on the Conference and CKC Committees. She has also been an active member of the GMN New England Regional Group (originally a GIFTS User Group) since 2001.

Chad Gorski, Secretary

Program Assistant
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Chevy Chase, MD

As Program Assistant for Precollege and Undergraduate Grants at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), Chad manages payments and grantee reports review for $20 million annually in science education grants and assists with strategic planning, evaluation, grant competitions, and grantee conferences. He coordinated the HHMI Science Education Volunteers program and helped initiate the HHMI Alumni Network, a peer network of over 1500 former HHMI research fellows.

Before joining HHMI in 2002, Chad advanced the growth of a small news-service on Capitol Hill and served in the U.S. Air Force in Europe. He has a BS degree in Accounting and a Masters in Accounting and Internal Auditing. He has been active in the DC region since 2006 and is entering his third year on the GMN Board, serving on the Finance Committee and Certification Committee.

Sarah M. Heaton

Grants Manager & Program Associate
Johnson Family Foundation
New York, NY

Sarah has been at the Johnson Family Foundation since May 2008. She began as the Grants Manager, helping the foundation establish grantmaking policies and procedures and begin transitioning to electronic grantmaking. In 2010, she was promoted to the position of Grants Manager & Program Associate in recognition of her additional programmatic contributions to the foundation. Prior to JFF she worked in the Research Department at UJA-Foundation where she assisted the strategic planning staff in understanding and using appropriate research techniques, implementing evaluation and collaborating with grantees.

She has been active in the Grants Managers Network, co-chairing the Greening Committee as well as serving on the Collective Knowledge and Conference Committees.

Sarah is also active in Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy (EPIP) where she is a member of the New York chapter’s steering committee and chairs the communication committee. She holds a master’s degree from Columbia University School of Social Work where she studied Social Enterprise and Administration. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas-Austin. In her spare time, she enjoys brushing up on her French, updating her football (soccer) blogs and engaging in lively debates with her friends, family and coworkers.

Meridian Napoli

Director, Grants Operations
Comcast Corporation & Comcast Foundation
Philadelphia, PA

Meridian Napoli has over nine years experience in grants management at both private foundations and corporate giving programs. Her experience encompasses global grantmaking of multi-year, multi-million dollar grants as well as small community support grants. Specializing in the implementation of technology and process improvements, Meridian has led three organizations in a complete reengineering of grantmaking processes drawing on her Six Sigma and Project Management Training. Presently she is the Director, Grants Operations for Comcast Corporation & Comcast Foundation where she is working on forwarding their grantmaking practices to optimal efficiencies.

Meridian has enjoyed presenting at annual conferences and local regional meetings on various grants management topics. She leads GMN’s Webinar Team and is a member of the Certification Team.

Meridian is a proud alum of both AmeriCorps (VolunteerMaryland!) and Peace Corps (Tonga). She enjoyed serving on the Board of Seattle Education Access. Meridian received her undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland and her Master’s in Public Administration from the University of Seattle, Sigma Cum Laude.

Ericka Novotny

Grants Manager
The Annenberg Foundation
Los Angeles, CA

Ericka Novotny currently serves as the Annenberg Foundation’s Grants Manager where she oversees and leads the Foundation’s grantmaking processes and procedures, IRS compliance, and grants database environment. In addition, Ericka is responsible for all Foundation grants; trains staff members, designs and produce reports for grant data analysis, and acts as a liaison with the Communications and IT departments. Ericka has been with the Annenberg Foundation since April 2005 and brings a wealth of grantmaking knowledge from her work at the Getty Foundation where she worked on various internship programs, resulting in the placement of hundreds of undergraduate and graduate interns at arts organizations throughout Los Angeles County. Prior to working in grants management, Ericka worked in the advertising/marketing field in Minneapolis and Chicago.

Ericka is a member of the Grants Managers Network where she serves as the Editor of the GMN Examiner as part of the Marketing/Communications Committee and previously volunteered for the Collective Knowledge Committee (formerly Best Practices and Opportunities). As a Minnesota native and transplanted Angeleno, Ericka conducted her undergraduate and graduate studies at the College of Saint Benedict/St. John’s University and Antioch University, Los Angeles.

Jennifer Pedroni, Treasurer

Finance Manager & Grants Manager
North Penn Community Health Foundation
Colmar, PA

Jennifer Pedroni joined the North Penn Community Health Foundation as Finance Manager and Grants Administrator in 2003, shortly after the Foundation’s inception. Jennifer was responsible for establishing the grants administration and accounting functions including implementation of policies, procedures and systems. As one of a staff of three, she has many diverse responsibilities in managing the administrative aspects of the Foundation.

Prior to joining the Foundation, Jennifer was the Financial Administrator at the Annenberg Foundation in St. Davids, Pennsylvania where she was responsible for the accounting department and developed and strengthened the grants management function. She has worked as a consultant for a local school district and educational foundation researching available funding for enhanced educational programs.

Jennifer has been a member of the Grants Management Network since 1998 and has been an active participant in the Delaware Valley Chapter since its inception in 2004. She earned a degree in Accounting from Temple University and began her career at Coopers and Lybrand in Philadelphia, earning her CPA in 1990. Jennifer is active in her local community serving on the board of organizations and committees that support the education and health and human service needs of the community.

Bonnie Rivers, Co-Chair

Grants Specialist
The Rockefeller Foundation
New York, NY

Bonnie joined the Rockefeller Foundation in 2003. She began as a Program Assistant in the Foundation’s former Creativity & Culture program and, in 2006, moved to the newly formed Office of Grants Management as a Grants Specialist. Given the Foundation’s global reach, she has extensive experience with both domestic and international grantmaking and currently manages several grant portfolios that range in focus from cultural opportunities in New York City to agriculture in Africa. Bonnie joined the Grants Managers Network in 2007 and was elected to the Board of Directors in 2008. She co-chaired GMN’s Collective Knowledge Committee in 2008 and 2009 and currently leads the team tasked with updating and adding content to the GM Guide. She is a member of the GMN’s greening team – the Kermit Squad, and she edits and contributes content to the GMN Examiner as a member of the Marketing and Communications team. Bonnie also served on the Board of the New York City based early music organization, Polyhymnia for two years. Bonnie received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Syracuse University and a Masters of Science in Nonprofit Management from Milano The New School for Management and Urban Policy in New York City. In her spare time, she is an avid runner and has completed the New York City Marathon six times. In 2009, she added biking and swimming to her regiment, competing in the New York City Triathlon with Team in Training to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Kris Schoenow

Deputy Director
Bureau of Community Action and Economic Opportunity, State of Michigan Department of Human Services
Lansing, MI

Kris Schoenow is the Deputy Director for the State of Michigan Department of Human Services for the Bureau of Community Action and Economic Opportunity based in Lansing, Michigan. Since 1987, she has worked for Saginaw Valley State University, Ruth Mott Foundation, and the Capital Area United Way where she held positions including Technology/Grant Coordinator, Director of Administration, and Assistant Director of Finance, among others. In her current role, as Deputy Director, Kris provides supervision of professional staff functioning as grant managers, grant monitors, fiscal monitors, and grant specialists awarding $100 million annually in grants. In addition to the regular funding, Kris has played an integral role in grants management for the administration of $280 million of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 funds for programs in Weatherization and Community Service Block Grants. These duties combine with her special interest in helping low income families find a way out of poverty.

Kris is serving a second term on the GMN Midwest Regional board where she has developed and coordinated the content for regional meetings.

Kris lives in Frankenmuth, Michigan with her husband Carl and their five children. When not working, Kris likes to volunteer in the kindergarten classroom to help children learn to read.

Cristina Yoon

Grants Manager
The Skoll Foundation
Palo Alto, CA

Cristina is the Grants Manager at the Skoll Foundation in Palo Alto, California, where she is responsible for developing and managing efficient and appropriate systems, policies and process for grants. As one of the first employees of the Skoll Foundation, Cristina used her strong background in design, technology and project management to implement a new grants management system and design the process for managing grants. To date, the Foundation has awarded over 950 grants totaling $230M.

Prior to joining the Skoll Foundation, Cristina spent several years in internet and new media industry. Most recently, she worked at Stanford University as an online producer and at Walt Disney Internet Group GO.com as an information architect.

Cristina has been an active member of the Grants Managers Network since 2003 and has served as the Chair of the Northern California Chapter from 2007 to 2009. Cristina earned a bachelor of arts degree in Women and Gender Studies and a minor in Film Studies at the University of California at Davis, where she was active in numerous Asian American community-building organizations. Her interest led her to South Korea, where she studied and worked at a national organization for women’s rights and advancement.