GCF's professional staff oversees the day-to-day operations of the Foundation, including Administration, Giving Strategies, Finance, and Community Investment. Staff can be contacted by e-mail or through the Foundation office between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays.

To reduce spam, staff e-mail addresses are coded below. Please replace (at) with "@" (no quotes). Every effort will be made to reply to your message.		 The Greater Cincinnati Foundation
200 West Fourth Street
Cincinnati, Ohio
45202-2602



513-241-2880
Fax 513-852-6886


Staff

Kathryn Merchant photoKathryn E. Merchant, President/CEO
Kathryn E. Merchant is President/CEO of The Greater Cincinnati Foundation. Prior to joining the Foundation in 1997, Ms. Merchant 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.

Ms. Merchant has served in leadership positions on a number of nonprofit boards of directors, including the Ohio Grantmakers Forum, SC Ministry Foundation, United Way of Greater New Haven and United Way of Connecticut. She is a member of the Cincinnatus Association and graduate of Leadership Cincinnati Class XXI. Current board service includes the Center for Effective Philanthropy, the National Center for Arts and Technology, the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber, and the Metropolitan Club (chairman 2004). Ms. Merchant served on the board of the Council on Foundations 2001-07, holding numerous leadership positions including vice chairman 2006-07, and the Community Foundations of America Board (Giving Net) 2000-2008, serving as chairman 2003-06.

In 2005, Ms. Merchant received a Career Women of Achievement Award from the YWCA of Greater Cincinnati, and in 2006 received the Ohio Philanthropy Award from the Ohio Grantmakers Forum.She is one of the  “Top 50 Power & Influence” leaders in 2008 selected by The NonProfit Times.  

Ms. Merchant has a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University and a master’s degree from the University of Connecticut School of Social Work.

Amy L. Cheney, CPA, Vice President for Giving Strategies
Ms. Cheney joined GCF in 1993 and oversees the Foundation’s asset development efforts including outreach to the Foundation’s many current donors and to Greater Cincinnati’s professional advisors. She is the Foundation’s in-house expert on charitable giving strategies and tools. Ms. Cheney has three years of public accounting experience with Price Waterhouse in Cleveland. She is a past trustee and past president of the Greater Cincinnati Planned Giving Council. She is a participant in WE Lead Class II, was a member of Leadership Cincinnati's Class XXVI and is a past recipient of the Business Courier's Forty Under 40 award. Ms. Cheney has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Akron and an MBA from The Ohio State University.
cheneya (at) gcfdn.org

Ellen M. Gilligan, Vice President for Community Investment
Ms. Gilligan is responsible for all facets of the Foundation’s charitable investment in its eight-county service area, including community leadership initiatives and grantmaking partnerships. She has more than 20 years experience in resource development, program design, implementation and management in nonprofit, philanthropic and public sectors. Before joining the Foundation in 1998, she held leadership and management positionsat the United Way of Greater Cincinnati, United Way of America, as well as the Washington, D.C. - based Eisenhower Foundation and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC). She is a graduate of Leadership Cincinnati, Class XXX, and serves as Vice Chair of Lighthouse Youth Services and the LISC Local Advisory Committee. Ms. Gilligan attended Boston College and has a bachelor's degree from the University of Colorado.
gilligane (at) gcfdn.org

J. Scott McReynolds, Vice President for Finance & Administration
Mr. McReynolds oversees GCF’s administrative operations and provides assurance that the Foundation operates effectively and with proper internal controls. He is responsible for financial and investment activities, technology systems development, office administration, human resources, and facility management. Previously, Mr. McReynolds spent twelve years at Arthur Anderson LLP, where he redesigned and transformed finance organizations to better serve stakeholders at lower cost. He also held management positions with global organizations including Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. and Coopers & Lybrand.
mcreynoldss (at) gcfdn.org

Elizabeth Bower Reiter, APR, Vice President for Communications & Marketing
Ms. Reiter develops and oversees communications and marketing strategie to create broad public awareness of the Foundation and to further its strategic goals. She has 20 years of communications experience with nonprofit and public service organizations. Ms. Reiter is a graduate of Leadership Cincinnati (Class XXXII) and a graduate of the YWCA Rising Star Board Leadership Program (Class I). She was a member of the inaugural class of the Fine Arts Fund's Business Volunteers for the Arts and Class III of United Way of Greater Cincinnati's Volunteer Leadership Development Program. Ms. Reiter has earned the designation Accredited in Public Relations from the Public Relations Society of America. She currently serves on the boards of InterParish Ministry and Know Theatre of Cincinnati, and the Associate Member Allocation Committee of the Fine Arts Fund.
reiterb (at) gcfdn.org

Tara Behanan, Giving Strategies Coordinator
behanant (at) gcfdn.org

Tara S. Block, Giving Strategies and Women's Fund Assistant
blockt (at) gcfdn.org

Lori A. Beiler, Coordinator, Grants Management
beilerl (at) gcfdn.org

Karen L. Bond, Grants Manager
bondk (at) gcfdn.org

Michele A. Costello, Operations Manager
costellom (at) gcfdn.org

Joy A. Englert, Finance Associate-Accounting
englertj (at) gcfdn.org

Vanessa Freytag, Executive Director, The Women's Fund
freytagv (at) gcfdn.org

Margaret L. Gaither, Senior Giving Strategies Officer
gaitherm (at) gcfdn.org

Jennifer A. Geisheimer, Grants Manager
geisheimerj (at) gcfdn.org

Janis Holloway, Controller
hollowayj (at) gcfdn.org.

James D. Huizenga, Senior Program Officer
huizengaj (at) gcfdn.org

Robert Killins, Jr., Program Officer
killinsr (at) gcfdn.org

Melissa Krabbe, Senior Accountant
krabbem (at) gcfdn.org

Julia A. Mace, Communications Officer
macej (at) gcfdn.org

Helen J. Mattheis, Program Director, Education and Human Services
mattheish (at) gcfdn.org

Ross Meyer, Executive Director, Greater Cincinnati Workforce Network
meyerr (at) gcfdn.org

LaToya Moore,Associate Program Officer
moorel (at) gcfdn.org

Kay Pennington, Community Investment Coordinator
penningtonk (at) gcfdn.org

Mary R. Pitcairn, Giving Strategies Manager
pitcairnm (at) gcfdn.org

Leah M. Porter, Office Services Associate
porterl (at) gcfdn.org

Patti Ries, Communications Assistant
riesp (at) gcfdn.org

Suzanne Rohlfs, Director of Professional Advisor Relations
rohlfss (at) gcfdn.org

Joe Saylor, Director of Development
saylorj (at) gcfdn.org

Susan Soudrette, Executive Assistant
soudrettes (at) gcfdn.org

Raymond F. Watson, Senior Program Officer
watsonr (at) gcfdn.org

Theresa Wukusick, Executive Director, HealthPath Foundation of Ohio
wukusickt (at) gcfdn.org