Officers and Staff

Please contact our receptionist at 480-948-5853 to reach any Piper Trust staff. We welcome your call or email.

Officers

Mary Jane Rynd
President and CEO

Known for her dynamic leadership, with humanity and humility at the heart of all she does, Mary Jane Rynd had the great fortune to work with Virginia Galvin Piper, serving as her tax advisor and helping to establish the charitable legacy and Trust that bears her name. As president and CEO, Mary Jane leads the Trust’s mission to enrich health, well-being, and opportunity for the people of Maricopa County.

Mary Jane joined Piper Trust in 2001 as its first CFO and then as Executive Vice President overseeing all financial, operational, and programmatic aspects of the foundation. Her stewardship of the Trust continually strengthens its sound financial position—enabling the Trust to reach more than $650 million in grantmaking to date, while maintaining a highly resilient corpus.

Prior to joining the Trust, she was a partner with KPMG and also Rynd, Carneal & Ewing. A former CPA, she continues her participation as a long-time member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Arizona Society of Certified Public Accountants. She is a member of Greater Phoenix Leadership serving on the Arts and Culture Task Force and the Social Impact Committee; she also serves on the Rosenbluth Family Charitable Foundation Board. Throughout her career she has served on boards and committees for numerous nonprofit and for-profit organizations such as the audit committee of the Foundation Financial Officers Group, Arizona Community Foundation, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and Valley Leadership, to name a few. She was named one of the "48 Most Intriguing Women" by the Arizona Historical Society (2022) and recognized as an Outstanding CFO by Phoenix Business Journal (2013).

Mary Jane holds a BA in Accounting from the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas and a Master of Professional Accounting from the University of Texas at Austin.

“I learned from the example set by Virginia Galvin Piper, this extraordinary woman of grace and character, witnessing firsthand her honor, loyalty, integrity, and commitment to her husband Paul Galvin’s path of philanthropy. We uphold her legacy daily as we empower people to believe in themselves, achieving more than they imagined possible.”

Carey Chambers
Chief Financial Officer

Carey oversees accounting and tax compliance for the Trust. She is a certified public accountant with more than 20 years of experience in financial statement audit, audit of internal control, performance improvement advisory, due diligence, and staff mentoring/development.

Prior to joining Piper Trust, she was a Managing Director at KPMG, one of the Big Four auditing firms. During her 20 years at KPMG she served nonprofit and for-profit organizations in audit and advisory capacities. Carey also led KPMG’s graduate recruiting at Northern Arizona University and has served in community engagement in roles such as Treasurer, Arizona Center for Afterschool Excellence Board among other nonprofit Board roles.

Carey currently serves on the accounting advisory council for Northern Arizona University’s W.A. Franke College of Business and is a member of the Arizona Society of Certified Public Accountants and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. She is a graduate of Northern Arizona University and a Certified Public Accountant in the State of Arizona.

Stacey Easterling
Vice President of Programs

Stacey provides intellectual leadership on the Trust’s program architecture and grants portfolio. She guides the Trust’s seasoned program and strategic learning staff in the development of strategic funding opportunities, and importantly, seeks to help Maricopa County nonprofits meet their missions. She serves on the Board of Philanthropy Southwest and as Chair of the Governance Committee for Arizona Together for Impact.

Stacey has extensive experience working as a leader in both community-based and philanthropic organizations. Her philanthropic leadership experience encompasses national, state, and local levels and she has deep expertise in the areas of health and aging.

Most recently, Stacey served as the vice president of program for the Missouri Foundation for Health where she oversaw the strategic and operational leadership for grantmaking. Prior positions include serving as the director of community responsive grantmaking for the Cleveland Foundation where she led work in the areas of health, social services, education, arts and culture, economic development, and the environment. She also served as program executive for The Atlantic Philanthropies in New York City; here, as a member of the U.S. Aging Program, she managed a portfolio of $35 million working in the areas of economic security, older adult engagement (volunteerism and lifelong learning), and addressing the needs for elders of color.

Stacey received her undergraduate degree from Stanford University and her master’s in public health from the University of Michigan.

Karen Leland
Chief Communications Officer

Karen leads Piper Trust's communications and public relations efforts, which include developing and executing strategies to highlight the benefits of the Trust’s initiatives as well as the positive impacts made by its grantees. Before joining the Trust, she led communications and marketing operations for several units at Arizona State University, including the Global Institute of Sustainability, the Office of Research and Economic Affairs, and the Morrison Institute for Public Policy. A graduate of Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School of Business, Karen has also worked with the Greater Phoenix Economic Council and other economic development organizations. She brings wide-ranging business and communications expertise to the Trust.

Staff

Christopher Bernal
Grants Management Associate

Christopher provides administrative, technical, and data management support to the Trust’s grants management staff. Prior to joining the Trust, Christopher worked in the property management industry for three years where he strengthened his skill sets that aligned with the responsibilities of grants management. These include being attentive to detail, having effective communication skills, and ensuring data integrity. Being born and raised in Phoenix, Christopher has a strong understanding of the community.

Alma Cuellar
Facilities and Technology Coordinator

Alma is responsible for building maintenance, event management, and meeting coordination. Prior to joining the Trust, Alma worked as a facility services supervisor and in the healthcare industry.

Shawn Donnelly
Strategic Learning Officer

Shawn provides evaluation and learning support to Trust staff and grantees to understand and enhance the outcomes of grants, projects, programs and initiatives. Shawn is a member of the Council on Foundations 2022 Career Pathways Program. Previously, Shawn served as the senior research and evaluation associate for Arizona GEAR UP. Shawn holds a master’s degree in community-social psychology from the University of Massachusetts.

Angelica Gonzalez
Administrative Assistant, Program & Strategic Learning

Angelica provides support for Piper Trust’s Program and Strategic Learning teams. Prior to joining the Trust, she worked at the Diocese of Phoenix supporting the Chancellor and Assistant Chancellor. Angelica has served in various capacities in the nonprofit community for over 15 years. Angelica holds a bachelor’s degree in communication studies from Arizona State University.

Erin Goodman
Program Officer

Erin co-manages Piper Trust's responsive education, health, and human services grantmaking portfolios. Erin also oversees a number of collaborative efforts and special programs and projects of the Trust. Erin recently served on the Board of Directors of the Arizona Grantmakers Forum. She has worked in fund development and nonprofit administration for nearly 20 years, serving organizations with missions that span the sector. Erin holds a bachelor’s degree in humanities from Arizona State University.

Krista Ivey
Accounting Officer

Krista supports Piper Trust’s accounting and tax compliance activities. She has extensive leadership experience in accounting for the nonprofit sector and more than 10 years of experience working in the private sector. Krista holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and a Master of Business Administration. She is a member of the Foundation Financial Officers Group.

Amy Jorgensen
Accounting Manager

Amy supports Piper Trust’s accounting and financial reporting. Previously, as an accounting manager with Make-A-Wish America, she served on the Centralized Financial Services team managing the relationships and accounting for select Make-A-Wish chapters. Amy holds bachelor of science degrees in accountancy and finance from Arizona State University.

Renée Khoury
Project Manager, Communications

Renée provides project management support to the chief communications officer and the communications team. Renée coordinates communication efforts and special events. Prior to joining the Trust, Renée worked as an assistant project director at a community college district in California where she administered non-credit programs for the community. Renée is a Phoenix native and graduate of Phoenix Community College.

Samantha Klick
Executive Assistant and Facilities Manager

Samantha supports Piper Trust’s CFO and the finance and grants management teams. Prior to joining the Trust, Samantha worked for the commercial aerospace company, Curtiss-Wright serving as executive assistant to the senior vice president of the Sensors and Controls division. Samantha has more than 15 years of experience supporting executives in Phoenix, including eight years as executive assistant to the director, and board liaison for the Phoenix Art Museum. Samantha holds a bachelor's degree in Psychology.

Roberta Lind
Technology Manager, Communications

Roberta works with the chief communications officer and coordinates a variety of communications efforts and oversees the Trust's technology. Previous to joining the Trust, she worked with the marketing department at Northern Trust, NA in Phoenix. Roberta holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point.

Kelly Matti
System Project Manager

Kelly is responsible for the design and development of Piper Trust’s foundation-wide system that documents and tracks grantmaking and integrated processes throughout the organization; her role evolved from grants manager to strengthening the Trust’s dynamic operations system. Kelly has significant experience working in the philanthropic and nonprofit sectors including serving as program manager for the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy at Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, Michigan, grants manager for The Pokagon Fund, and president of Junior Achievement of Michiana. Kelly holds a bachelor’s degree in public relations from Grand Valley State University.

Emily Mead
Program Officer

Emily co-manages Piper Trust’s responsive education, health, and human services grantmaking portfolios. She has more than 10 years of experience leading nonprofit programming and development, most recently serving as senior program manager for the Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC), where she co-led a large-scale community resilience initiative in Maricopa County. Prior to ISC, Emily served as director of community partnerships at the Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC) arming her with a deep understanding of the economic strengths and challenges in our community. Emily holds a master’s degree in public administration from Arizona State University.

Elaine Price
Receptionist/Administrative Assistant

Elaine works as Piper Trust’s receptionist and administrative assistant providing a variety of staff support services. Prior to joining the Trust, Elaine worked as the program events manager for the Irish Cultural Center & McClelland Library and their Academy of Irish & Celtic Studies in Phoenix. She generously volunteers at many nonprofit organizations and served as vice president for membership of Irish Network Arizona. Elaine began her career as a graphic designer and art editor for Dorling Kindersley Books in London, UK. She is a UK certified teacher of information and communication technology (ICT) and oversaw the delivery of the ICT curriculum at various secondary schools in England. Elaine holds a bachelor of arts degree in media and production design from the London College of Communication, University of the Arts London.

Gary Romero
Director of Grants Management

Gary leads development and implementation of effective grants management strategies for the Trust with an eye to continuous process improvement. He works closely with senior leadership and fosters internal collaborations to help strengthen grantee relations and strategic decision-making across the organization. Gary holds a bachelor of science degree in business administration.

Linda Smith
Board and Executive Assistant

Linda supports Piper Trust’s Board of Trustees, and president and CEO. Prior to joining the Trust, Linda worked for PGH Wong Engineering, Inc. as a consultant to Valley Metro Rail on the $358 million Northwest Extension to the Phoenix Light Rail system. She was also a former 911 Operator for the Phoenix Police Department—a role that strengthened her talents in assisting multiple people and priorities. Linda began her career at the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Boston; over the past 20+ years she has supported executives in Phoenix and Washington, D.C.

Ellen Solowey
Senior Program Officer

Ellen serves as the initial contact for nonprofits wishing to submit grant proposals related to arts and culture and is responsible for meeting with organizations, reviewing proposals, and making recommendations to the Trustees. Ellen also oversees the Trust’s organizational effectiveness programs to strengthen nonprofits, focusing on multi-year investments and support for grantees. Originally a specialist in Soviet studies, Ellen lived overseas in the Soviet Union and then the Russian Federation; she worked for the U.S. Consulate in Leningrad/St. Petersburg assisting Americans in crisis and repatriating Russians with American parentage back to the United States. She also has worked with refugees in Arizona and the former Soviet Union. Ellen holds a master’s degree in social work from Arizona State University and a master’s degree in international affairs and Soviet studies from Columbia University.

Cynthia Vana
Accounting Manager

Cindy works as the accounting manager to support Piper Trust's accounting and financial reporting. Previously, as an accounting manager with Make-A-Wish America, Cindy served on the Centralized Financial Services team managing relationships and accounting for select Make-A-Wish chapters. Cindy is a Phoenix native and graduate of Arizona State University.

Virginia Piper