Meeting the new Executive Director, Michelle Greanias
Author: Tiffany Stuck

I caught up with Michelle, the new, and first, Executive Director of the Grants Managers Network, on day seven of her new job as she sat in her kitchen, which has been serving as her temporary office while she looks for office space in the Washington, DC area.  Her first week consisted of a mini trial-by-fire: she attended the Council on Foundations Conference in DC; met with GMN leadership in New York, and tried to get a handle on the current projects, priorities and operational aspects of GMN.  Michelle and I hope that our conversation will serve as both a personal and professional introduction to GMN’s new leader.

Where are you from and how did you end up in DC?
I grew up in Chicago and went to college in DC at American University with a major in international business and French, including studies in Paris.  My original focus was international, but I ended up at Fannie Mae, which has a national presence, for 15 years.  I started in Fannie Mae’s Community Relations division; and as I progressed in my career, I decided to pursue an MBA.

For those considering continuing their education, why did you decide on a generalized MBA versus a philanthropic focused degree?
Based on where I saw my career going in philanthropy and management at Fannie Mae, I decided the generalized MBA provided a broader base of knowledge; and it paid off, I am using it daily. 

What is the best advice you could give someone starting out in the Grants Management field? 
When I started out, GMN did not exist, but I soon realized that I was not alone and all of the problems and issues I was struggling with were being experienced by others as well.  Learning about other people’s jobs and the varied scopes, gave me new ideas of how my job could change and grow over time.  Building a network through the collegiality and friendships made through GMN was a great source of support and professional development.

How did you first get involved with GMN?
When I first started at Fannie Mae, GMN was only a New York City group. I became involved when it expanded nationally in 1996; first as a board member and eventually as co-chair from 1998-2001.

How did you come across the Executive Director position?
After leaving the Fannie Mae Foundation, I took six months off to determine what I wanted to do next.  I found the perfect fit with the GMN Executive Director position, which allowed me to build on my grants management and operations experience and provided the new challenge of leading a membership organization. 

What did you do during that time off?
I traveled.  Travel is my biggest pleasure and the one thing worth spending money on.  When my time off started last June, I had big ideas to travel to South America, China, or Africa.  Instead, what I ended up doing was getting in the car with my dog and traveling around the country.  It was great—I got to see the country and was able to visit a lot of friends and family along the way. 

What was the most exciting thing, place, moment, etc. of the trip?
I was actually surprised I was able to do the trip as I don’t normally drive that much (no more than 5 hours at one time).  I really enjoyed meeting various people along the way.  I couldn’t pinpoint one favorite place or experience, but I loved Mount Rushmore and the Black Hills area more than I thought I would.  I took a hot air balloon ride in New Mexico and visited the beach in Texas.  It was a collection of smaller moments that made the trip special.

How did your dog like the trip?
He loved it!  His name is Walter Payton and he is a Corgie/black-coated Retriever mix.  We had no bad experiences together. 

What is next on your travel itinerary (when you can actually take time off)?
Asia or a safari in Africa.  I am more of a spontaneous traveler so I will go any place I can find someone to take along with me.

What has been your favorite vacation to date?
There are so many.  I would say Egypt–the history, the pyramids, culturally it was totally different.  Also, Iceland was different and fun in surprising ways—not many people go there and I went in November when it is colder and dark most of the day.  They had great food, fun clubs, outdoor hot springs, good shopping, and the people were really nice.  

So on a day off when you can’t hop on a plane, what would you do?
That would probably be my errand day.  I would also try to meet up with friends, have a long lunch, some wine, a nap; have a relaxing day.

If you had to choose a different career, what would that be?
I think I would choose to be a university professor.  I could conduct research on whatever interests me personally and have control of the content of my job.  The job could be flexible and wouldn’t involve sitting at a computer in an office all day.  I think I would enjoy the mix of activities: teaching, research, meeting new people, etc.

What are the projects you have worked on that affected you the most? 
Building affordable housing, such as Habitat for Humanity projects.  Being out there in the community side-by-side with families, repairing people’s homes, and witnessing the gratefulness of people for how our work changed their lives.  Community involvement helps connect me to the work that I see on paper.

What would you say has been your scariest moment in life so far?
Leaving the Fannie Mae Foundation with no leads or next steps. Trusting that there would be another opportunity out there when I was ready!  I had been working for the Fannie Mae family for 15 years and had no need to look for a job since starting there. 

Even starting this (ED) position was scary with no formal operation set-up yet, such as office space, phones, etc.  But it’s also challenging and exciting to shape it the way I want to.  So far it has been completely worth it.

Now that you’re back to being involved with GMN in a leadership role, what changes have you noticed in the organization during your time away? 
It is interesting to see some projects come full circle.  During my first tenure, GIGI was launched and now we are looking at redesigning it.  There are a lot of new projects; and in general, I see that the organization is moving forward to a new level of professionalism now that it is more established.   

What do you see as the next direction for GMN? 
To focus and strengthen its communication and networking opportunities, in addition to further influencing the industry as a whole.  Our goal is to take our members’ collective experiences, influences, best practices, and expertise to build GMN’s reputation as an industry leader in the field of philanthropy and grants management.  Through efforts like Project Streamline, GMN is in a position to get philanthropy to change its practices so that it is more efficient and effective for grantmakers and grantseekers. 

What special qualities do you bring to the Network? 
I started out in community relations while still in college and have gone from the bottom up, so I have been through every job level in the grants management spectrum.  That, in addition to my history with GMN and my education, gives me a unique perspective on developing and delivering services to the members. 

What do you see is the biggest strength of GMN?