Kathryn Merchant

Biographical Information
"Kathy is president/CEO of The Greater Cincinnati Foundation. Before joining the Foundation in 1997, Kathy was the director of The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Neighborhood Preservation Initiative and a partner in the New Haven-based consulting firm Holt, Wexler & Merchant. She has also served as the director of planning for the United Way of Greater New Haven and as planner/grants manager for the South Central Connecticut Area Agency on Aging, as well as adjunct faculty at Southern Connecticut State University and University of New Haven.

"Kathy has served in leadership positions on a number of nonprofit boards of directors, including Giving Net (formerly Community Foundations of America), the SC Ministry Foundation, College of Mount St. Joseph, Ohio Grantmakers Forum, Saint Raphael Healthcare System, Saint Raphael Foundation, United Way of Greater New Haven and United Way of Connecticut. She is a graduate of Leadership Cincinnati Class XXI.

"In addition to CEP, current board service includes the Cincinnati Strive Partnership for cradle to career education reform (chair), the National Center for Arts and Technology, and the Metropolitan Club (chair 2004). Kathy served on the board of the Council on Foundations 2001-07 and held numerous leadership positions, including vice chairman 2006-2007. She chaired the Council’s 2009 Annual Conference in Atlanta. In 2005, she received a Career Women of Achievement Award from the YWCA of Greater Cincinnati, in 2006 received the Ohio Philanthropy Award from the Ohio Grantmakers Forum, and in 2008 was named by The Nonprofit Times as a “Top 50 Power and Influence” sector leader."

Affiliations

 * Chair, Center for Effective Philanthropy