smorgasBoard, April 09: Thriving in tough times (cont'd), BoardWalk's Leadership Stimulus Grants, more...

Recent placements on the BoardWalk
... announced since our last smorgasBoard:

Anne Staunton Adams
Group Vice President of Major Gifts
Arthritis Foundation

The Arthritis Foundation has named Anne Staunton Adams as Group Vice President of Major Gifts. Anne has over 15 years of fundraising and development experience, including special events, individual gifts and planned giving.

Previously, Anne was VP of Development at Friends of the World Food Program. Prior to joining Friends, Anne served for seven years as Senior Director, Major and Planned Gifts for the Epilepsy Foundation of America. Previously, she served the American Lung Association's national office in New York City as well as the New York chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

A native of New Jersey, Ms. Adams received her undergraduate degree in business administration from the University of Delaware with a dual concentration in marketing and finance.

Mary McNamara
President

United Theological Seminary
of the Twin Cities

United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities (United) recently announced The Reverend Mary E. McNamara as its next President.

Rev. McNamara currently serves as the Executive Vice President of Union Theological Seminary in New York City, which is well known for educating gifted scholars for service in the progressive tradition. She joined Union in 1998, playing a key role in designing and implementing the strategic planning process that led Union out of financial exigency. During this time, she was instrumental in a campus transformation which improved Union's financial situation dramatically.

Prior to joining Union, Rev. McNamara served as President and Executive Director of The Interchurch Center, a facility created for the National Council of Churches and national and regional offices of several denominations. The Center offers medical and library services as well as religious services, concerts and art exhibits. Previously, she served in the New York City Mayor's Office, at the General Assembly Council of the Presbyterian Church (USA), and at St. Peter's Church in New York City. She is a graduate of Carleton College and Harvard Divinity School, and is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA).

Jane Ransom
President & CEO

Girl Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania

Girl Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania has selected Jane Ransom as the new President and Chief Executive Officer.

Currently executive director of the International Women's Media Foundation, based in Washington, DC, Jane is a long-time advocate for women and girls. She was president and CEO of the Women's Foundation of Minnesota during a period of major renewal and growth, before which she was Executive Director for Central Pennsylvania Legal Services.

Girl Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania ("GSHPA") serves some 38,000 Girl Scouts and 14,000 adult volunteers throughout central and northeastern Pennsylvania.

Ms. Ransom holds a master's degree in public administration from the Bernard M. Baruch College of City University of New York and bachelor's and master's degrees in history from Kent State University.

Meridith Rentz
Chief Operating Officer

Points of Light Institute

In April, Meridith Rentz joins Points of Light Institute as its new Chief Operating Officer. Since 2002, Meridith has been chief administrative officer (most recent Vice Chair) for the Emory University Department of Medicine, where she manages a $225-million annual budget and an enterprise of 500 faculty, 800 staff and 300 trainees.

Previously, Ms. Rentz served five years as a senior manager in Deloitte Consulting's Healthcare Strategy and Operations practice, two of them from the firm's offices in New Zealand. Her early career includes owning a small business that provided computer consulting to rural medical providers in South Carolina. Just after college, she spent two years with Wasserstein Perella as a financial analyst.

Ms. Rentz is an alumna of Emory's Rollins School of Public Health and the Goizueta Business School, from which she received her MPH and MBA degrees as a Woodruff Fellow. She received her BA in Economics from the University of North Carolina as a Morehead Scholar. Ms. Rentz is the chair-elect of Atlanta-based Quality Care for Children, and she is a member of the board of the national Administrators of Internal Medicine (AIM).

Kris Tecce
Chief Financial Officer
Points of Light Institute

Points of Light Institute is also pleased to announce that Kris Tecce has been selected Chief Financial Officer.

For the past several months, Kris had been serving as POL's interim CFO, leveraging a wealth of experience in financial management, federal grant administration, audit and compliance and federal grantee training and technical assistance.

Previously, Kris was Director of Training and Consulting for Walker & Company, and auditing services company with special strengths in fund accounting. At Walker, she was responsible for overseeing financial management training and technical assistance to public and private sector clients.

Earlier, Ms. Tecce was CFO for the Massachusetts Service Alliance Alliance, a private nonprofit organization that serves as the state commission on community service and volunteerism. As an Adjunct Professor at Northeastern University, Ms. Tecce taught courses on Nonprofit Financial Management and helped to design and create Northeastern's Nonprofit Graduate Certificate Program.

Ms. Tecce holds a Masters in Business Administration in Financial Management from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell and a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Salem State College.