December 9, 2024
Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust Announces 2024 Class of Piper Fellows
Seven Piper Fellows selected for their leadership and impact in Maricopa County—all receive Fellowships for study, reflection, and growth.
PHOENIX, Ariz.—Seven dynamic Maricopa County nonprofit leaders were selected for Piper Trust’s 2024 Class of Piper Fellows. The Fellows are:
Tami Bohannon, president and CEO, Foundation for Senior Living (headquartered in Phoenix, AZ, and serving communities statewide).
Ellen Conn, general manager, Childsplay (offering performances and educational experiences at theaters, schools, and community spaces throughout the Phoenix Metro area).
Kim Graham, CEO, Arizona Educational Foundation (headquartered in Phoenix, AZ with programs that serve schools statewide).
Christopher Hamby, executive director, TheaterWorks (located in Peoria, AZ and providing performing arts experiences to children, patrons, and artists throughout the Phoenix Metro area).
Kayla Kolar, president and CEO, House of Refuge (located in Mesa, AZ, and serving families statewide).
Tracy Lindbergh, chief of staff, Sonoran University of Health Sciences (located in Tempe, AZ, and serving patients at two on-site medical clinics in Tempe as well as patients at Community Health Clinics throughout Maricopa County; providing students and clients globally with its accredited educational programs).
Jennifer O’Connell, executive director, Down Syndrome Network (located in Tempe, AZ, and serving individuals, families, and communities statewide).
The 2024 Piper Fellows will each participate in a self-designed Fellowship program/plan. Plans include professional development experiences and activities designed to strengthen leadership skills, hands on learning about current issues, and studying renowned programs. An intentional and connected respite activity that fosters the Fellow to reflect on learnings is also a component. Each Fellowship also includes a brief reflective respite component to process and apply new learnings. The culmination of each Fellowship is to ultimately help the leader (Fellow) and the nonprofit become even more effective and further connected across sectors in the community. The newly selected class becomes part of the larger and enduring Piper Fellows network that is now a community of 118 Fellows.
The Fellowship also supports related professional development for the staff and/or board of a Fellow’s organization. After completing the Fellowship, Fellows may apply for an Organizational Enhancement Award to implement learning or programming inspired by their study. In total, a Piper Fellowship offers up to $90,000 in potential grant awards for a Fellow’s organization.
“When I interact with our Piper Fellows, I often think about Virginia Piper and her poignant message—‘managing the stewardship of charitable giving is a moment-to-moment dignified responsibility’—and investing in our community’s nonprofit leaders through these Fellowships reflects exactly that intention,” said Steve Zabilski, president and CEO of Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust. “Our Fellows are solutions-driven leaders who are adapting and refining at an unparalleled pace to better serve others.”
The 2024 Piper Fellows applications were reviewed and selected for recommendation to Piper Trust Trustees by an external committee, comprised of: Darlene Newsom (2011 Piper Fellow; founder of Newsom Nonprofit Consulting), Edmundo Hidalgo (2008 Piper Fellow; community advocate and nonprofit consultant), Julia Patrick (CEO and founder, American Nonprofit Academy), and Brian Spicker (president and CEO, Maricopa Community College District Foundation).
"In 2011, as the CEO of UMOM New Day Centers, I was awarded a Piper Fellowship and focused on an intense exploration of best practices in social enterprise," said Darlene Newsom, a 2011 Piper Fellow and now a nonprofit consultant. "As a result, Helpings Café and Catering was established in 2014, a mission-driven social enterprise that provides barista, culinary, and management training for UMOM shelter residents. I can honestly say the Fellowship was life-changing—not only for the organization—but for UMOM residents who, in the midst of homelessness, gain new employment skills while rebuilding their self-esteem and confidence. Helpings Café, now in its 10th year, is thriving and has become a sought-after model for other nonprofits," Newsom said.
Applications will open for the 2025 Class of Piper Fellows in spring 2025.
About Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust:
Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust supports organizations that enrich health, well-being, and opportunity for the people of Maricopa County, Arizona. Since it began awarding grants in 2000, Piper Trust has invested more than $736 million in local nonprofits and programs. Piper Trust grantmaking areas are healthcare and medical research, children, older adults, arts and culture, education, and religious organizations. For more information, visit pipertrust.org | X | Facebook | LinkedIn. For Piper Trust’s Annual Financial Report, Fiscal Year Ending March 2023, visit FY2023.
Media Contact:
Karen Leland, kleland@pipertrust.org | 480-556-7125
Chief Communications Officer, Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust
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