Nora Garcia
The Coleman Foundation
The Coleman Foundation announced its appointment of Nora Garcia as its new Executive Director, effective July 7, 2025. Ms. Garcia was chosen through an extensive national search by the foundation’s board of directors, with the assistance of Russell Reynolds Associates. She brings more than two decades of leadership experience in health and educational equity, youth development, and immigration reform to her new role at The Coleman Foundation.
Ms. Garcia’s appointment comes as The Coleman Foundation launches its new grantmaking strategies, updated to meet the challenges of the next three years, across the foundation’s key focus areas of entrepreneurship, health, and intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Ms. Garcia will join the foundation following a seven-year tenure at the Healthy Communities Foundation (HCF), where she served as Director of Programs. In this role, she partnered with The Coleman Foundation to support their shared Community Health Worker (CHW) initiative, which broke down barriers to health care access by expanding a network of CHWs across the western suburbs of Cook County, Illinois.
Ms. Garcia has completed fellowships with Leadership Greater Chicago, the Grantmakers in Health Terrance Keenan Institute, The Field Foundation of Illinois, and the Voice Lab at Nonprofit Quarterly. She currently sits on the boards of Mujeres Latina en Acción and AMPT: Advancing Nonprofits.
The Coleman Foundation board of directors and staff are deeply grateful for the leadership and significant contributions of outgoing Interim CEO Peter Handler, who joined The Coleman Foundation in December 2024.
Contact: Sarah Sommers at 773.251.4772.
Marisa Castuera Hayase and Arin Gencer
The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation
The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation has appointed two vice presidents to advance its overall strategic vision and philanthropic mission, Marisa Castuera Hayase and Arin Gencer.
As Vice President of Programs, Ms. Hayase will lead $150 million in annual grantmaking efforts that support nonprofits dedicated to fighting poverty and strengthening communities in the United States and Israel. This work focuses on improving housing stability, health, employment, and educational opportunities, and the well-being of low-income older adults.
A highly regarded leader with more than 25 years of experience in the nonprofit, philanthropic, and government sectors, Ms. Hayase joined the foundation in 2019 to direct its grantmaking in Hawaiʻi and has served as a Managing Director since 2023. She has guided a team working in several of the foundation’s priority communities while leading statewide grantmaking in Hawaiʻi and developing strategic priorities, partnerships, and networks that increased the well-being of communities.
As Vice President of Strategy and Communications, Ms. Gencer will help shape and execute Weinberg’s strategic vision, goals, and priorities, in addition to leading cross-foundation initiatives and special projects to foster collaboration and organizational effectiveness, visibility, and long-term impact.
Ms. Gencer joined the foundation in 2022 as Senior Director of Communications, bringing two decades of experience in strategic initiatives and operations as well as journalism and the development of research publications. In leading the foundation’s external and internal communications, she has collaborated with teams across the organization to advance its mission, priorities, and work through multimedia storytelling, media relations, digital strategies, and special events. She will continue to oversee the foundation’s communications strategies.
Before coming to the foundation, Ms. Hayase was a public-sector consultant in Hawaiʻi for over a decade. She also served as Executive Director of a nonprofit dedicated to asset building in low-income families and communities; as a foundation Program Officer focused on education and community development; and as leader of Spanish-language programs at a Los Angeles, California domestic violence agency.
Prior to Weinberg, Ms. Gencer led executive and internal communications at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, where she also supported communications efforts for its economic opportunity and community change portfolios. She previously worked as a writer and editor for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and as a reporter for The Baltimore Sun, Los Angeles Times, and Orlando Sentinel.
Contact: 410.654.8500.
Beth Chandler and Kristin Lewis
Point32Health Foundation
The Point32Health Foundation announced that it has promoted Beth Chandler to Executive Director and has named Kristin Lewis as Foundation President.
Chandler joined the Point32Health Foundation last spring as Director of Community Investments. Prior to joining the Foundation, she served as President and CEO of YW Boston. In her new position, she will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Foundation.
Chandler holds a Master in Business Administration from Columbia Business School and a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard-Radcliffe College. She serves on the Governor’s Council on Black Empowerment, Eastern Bank board of advisors, Museum of Fine Arts board of advisors, Third Sector New England board of directors, and AARP Foundation board of directors.
Lewis, who has served as Executive Vice President, Chief Public and Community Affairs Officer at Point32Health for the past three years, will continue in this role and will also assume the responsibilities of Foundation President. Lewis has more than 30 years of experience in health care, advancing to senior leadership positions within the organization. Lewis has served as a Foundation board member since 2019 and succeeds Nora Moreno Cargie, who recently stepped down as Foundation President.
Point32Health’s Corporate Citizenship programs are supported by the Point32Health Foundation. Stacey Mann will continue to lead the Corporate Citizenship function, now reporting to Lewis. In her role, she is responsible for delivering community benefit and contributing to business goals while shaping a company culture that values community engagement and supports colleagues in their service and giving. Under her leadership, Point32Health has been named multiple times to The Civic 50 as one of top community-minded organizations in the country.
“We are fortunate to have the vision, expertise and leadership skills of Beth, Stacey and Kristin in these critical Foundation and Corporate Citizenship roles,” said Greg Shell, chair of the Point32Health Foundation. “Their appointments will help ensure that the Foundation continues to make a strong and meaningful impact in communities and for non-profit organizations throughout the region.”
Building on values of service and giving, Point32Health Foundation works with communities to support, advocate and advance healthier lives for everyone. Point32Health Foundation is the result of the combination of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation and Tufts Health Plan Foundation and advances equity in aging in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island.
Contact: Allie Richards at allie.richards@point32health.org.
Amy Weaver
Direct Relief
Direct Relief, one of the world’s leading humanitarian aid organizations, announced that Amy Weaver became its new Chief Executive Officer effective May 5, 2025. Previously, Weaver was the President and Chief Financial Officer at Salesforce and served as Chief Legal Officer for the Fortune 500 company.
In a letter to Direct Relief employees, Mark Linehan, Chair of the Board of Directors, wrote, “Amy is a truly accomplished professional and an outstanding human being. In selecting Amy, we sought a leader with the caliber, passion, and experience to guide Direct Relief through the accelerating scale and complexity of the humanitarian challenges that lie ahead. She is widely known for being a deeply strategic and deliberate thinker–a force for change who always puts people first.”
Weaver brings a unique professional background spanning business, law, finance, and operations. In her nearly 12 years at Salesforce, Weaver led the global finance organization as Chief Financial Officer, the global legal and corporate affairs organization as Chief Legal Officer, and oversaw many different functions across the business including Global Communications, Real Estate and Workplace Services, Corporate Development, Accessibility, Government Affairs, Audit, and Ethics & Compliance. Prior to Salesforce, Weaver was an EVP and General Counsel at Univar and SVP and Deputy General Counsel at Expedia Group.
An attorney by trade, Weaver has worked around the globe — in private practice in both the United States and Hong Kong, and as a legislative aide to a member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council. She began her legal career as a clerk on the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Weaver follows Thomas Tighe who led the organization with distinction for 24 years, expanding Direct Relief’s reach to become the fifth-largest charity in the United States and among the largest providers of charitable medications within the U.S. and globally. Dr. Byron Scott served as the interim Chief Executive Officer until May 4, and now continues to serve as the interim Chief Operating Officer until the COO position has been filled and onboarded to ensure a seamless and smooth transition.
Weaver is a longtime advocate for affordable housing and disaster response. She served on the board of directors for Habitat for Humanity International; provided on-the-ground volunteer support to Habitat in Kenya, Poland, and Puerto Rico; and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Kate Kendell
Gill Foundation
The Gill Foundation announced that Kate Kendell accepted the position as its next CEO and assumed the role on May 7.
Kendell is a former Executive Director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, where she spent 23 years advocating for LGBTQ people and their families through litigation, public policy advocacy, and public education. During her tenure, she was a key architect on a wide range of legal and policy victories for the LGBTQ community, including the right of same-sex couples to marry, nondiscrimination protections, protection of undocumented immigrants and asylees, the rights of incarcerated individuals, transgender rights, and the needs of youth and elders.
Kendell was also Interim Co-Legal Director at the Southern Poverty Law Center and served as the first Staff Attorney for the ACLU of Utah.
Kendell comes to the Gill Foundation most recently from the California Endowment, where she served as Chief of Staff. The California Endowment works to expand access to affordable, quality health care for underserved individuals and communities, and to promote fundamental improvements in the health of all Californians.
To read the full news release, click here.
Contact: media@gillfoundation.org.