Let me add my voice of welcome to Anne’s. I’m Donna Callejon and Chair the Board of Directors of the Washington Area Women’s Foundation. Whew, it’s been quite a couple of months for the team at the Foundation – Thanks to all of you who joined us at the annual Leadership Luncheon. Our team has been getting ready for this signature event, refining our metrics around Stepping Stones, bringing together donors, grantees and partners for a variety of convenings, and relaunching this website.

In my “day job” I work in the web philanthropy world, and so I am thrilled to be one of many faces and voices of The Women’s Foundation posting on this blog. To have the kind of vibrant community committed to investing in women and girls we need to be active – offline every day, and online every day. This is not your grandmother’s women’s foundation! Let me tell you about some of the women who make up The Women’s Foundation.

Lisa Ross, Senior Vice President at Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, was a founding member of The Women’s Foundation board. While her hair is less “big” than it was in the past (that’s a picture of her from a few years back on the right), her commitment hasn’t wavered. She’s a rock star in the strategy and communications world and she rocks. Nancy Navarro was one of our first Grantee Partners. She co-founded Centro Familia. Nancy is now a member of the Montgomery County Board of Education, serving the 180,000 kids in that district.

Marjorie Sims, currently Vice President of Programs and Operations at the Foundation, was a founding Board member….and then she left us for LA for a few years. And when she said she’d come back as a senior member of the team, we could NOT have been more over the moon. She is a star – a thinker, a doer, a leader.

Cathy Isaacson is a relative newcomer to The Women’s Foundation, but she has made her mark quickly. A lawyer who returned to Washington just a few years ago, Cathy jumped in, became part of our Development Committee, and joined the Board two years ago. Cathy is always asking the best questions, making the best connections, and living and breathing The Women’s Foundation – whether in Washington, or on the road.

Let’s talk about Linda Butler. She is the Leadership Luncheon video. Now this is what we are all about. Linda is a single mom who broke free of the bounds of a dysfunctional family, and from frustration and poverty, working with Grantee Partner Northern Virginia Family Service’s Training Futures program. Linda now is a shining example of what is possible. And that’s what we are all about.

Finally, let me highlight Charlotte Perret. Charlotte, the quiet philanthropist. She’s the one who provided an angel gift of $50,000 – and all donations made by people who attended the lunch (or their friends) in the next month, will generate 2 times their contribution…thanks to Charlotte. Matching Angel. That’s sweet.

Come back and visit, tell us your story, give us your feedback. We are open for business on this website and we are all about this – the POWER of Giving Together.