Our Board

The Executive Committee is a representative group composed of board officers and committee chairs. This committee is responsible for the management of the organization between meetings of the board of directors.

2024-2025 Committee Members:
Marty Hauser, Chair
Jim Pickard, Vice Chair and Audit Chair
Theresa Carter, Secretary
Ernest Pouttu, Treasurer and Finance Chair
Jody Miller Konstand, Governance Chair
Dr. Carla Chapman, Community Investment Co-Chair
Steven P. Schmidt, Ph.D., Community Investment Co-Chair
Kimberly Haws Falasco, Community Relations Chair
Sylvia Trundle, Immediate Past Chair
John T. Petures Jr., Ex Officio

The Community Investment Committee reviews all grant applications for Akron Community Foundation's quarterly grant cycles: Arts & Culture, Civic Affairs, Health & Human Services, and Education. Committee members meet with nonprofit organizations to learn about and evaluate their programs. They also determine funding priorities for the year and make grant decisions in accordance with the community foundation's guiding principles.

2024-2025 Committee Members:
Dr. Carla Chapman, Community Investment Co-Chair
Steven P. Schmidt, Ph.D., Community Investment Co-Chair
Mark Bachmann
Laura Culp
Brian Moore
Katie Smucker
Sylvia Trundle

2024-2025 Ad Hoc Committee Members:
Jolene Lane

The Community Relations Committee is responsible for growing Akron Community Foundation's endowment. Committee members create fundraising strategies and work to expand the community foundation's relationships with current and prospective fundholders. They also track the number of gifts and funds each quarter and set future fundraising goals. In addition, the committee works with staff to advance the community foundation's mission through news, events, advertising and other activities.

2024-2025 Committee Members:
Kimberly Haws Falasco, Chair
Tim Able
Mark Bachmann
Marty Hauser
F. William Steere
Keeven White

2024-2025 Ad Hoc Committee Members:
Susan Poe Flowers
Jesse Hurst
Allison Peltz

The Finance and Investment Committee plays a critical role in protecting and growing Akron Community Foundation's endowment for the good of the community. The committee's main responsibility is to oversee the community foundation's financial operations and ensure its investment portfolio is managed prudently. Other responsibilities include:

• Developing investment policy guidelines with a focus on long-term growth
• Selecting asset classes and establishing an asset allocation policy
• Reviewing management and investment costs that affect the community foundation's portfolio
• Evaluating the community foundation's investment performance by comparing it to portfolios with similar assets and total value
• Selecting investment managers and allocating assets among those managers
• Analyzing the performance of investment managers relative to their respective benchmarks and peer groups
• Replacing any investment managers that are not following the community foundation's policies or achieving its objectives

2024-2025 Committee Members:
Ernest Pouttu, Chair
Doug Kuczynski
Shefali Mahesh, M.D., MBA
Angelina Milo
Kendra Philon
Jim Pickard

The Audit Committee is responsible for reviewing all of the community foundation's yearly audit processes, internal control systems, and public financial information. The committee is composed of independent directors that are not associated with any major vendors or customers of the community foundation. In addition to overseeing audit matters, the committee provides an open line of communication between the auditors and the board of directors. Committee members also have the power to conduct investigations into the community foundation's internal financial systems, ensuring that the community foundation operates with the utmost transparency and fiscal integrity.

2024-2025 Committee Members:
Jim Pickard, Chair
Theresa Carter
Tracy Carter
Marty Hauser
Angelina Milo
Kendra Philon
Ernest Pouttu
J. Bret Treier

The Governance Committee is responsible for cultivating new board members. With input from board officers, committee members identify upstanding members of the community whose skills and expertise would be a valuable addition to the board. They also oversee the orientation and training of new board members.

2024-2025 Committee Members:
Jody Miller Konstand, Chair
Theresa Carter
Tracy Dowe
Marty Hauser
Angelina Milo
Katie Smucker
Sylvia Trundle

The Strategic Planning Committee oversees the development and execution of the community foundation's strategic plan. These committee members advance the foundation's mission and vision by ensuring deliberate and thoughtful stewardship in the following focus areas:

• Donors & Stewardship
• Legacy & Families
• Proactive Community Investment
• Leadership & Leverage
• Governance & Accountability
• Infrastructure & Physical Plant

2024-2025 Committee Members:
Keeven White, Chair
Tracy Carter
Kimberly Haws Falasco
Marty Hauser
Jim Pickard
F. William Steere
J. Bret Treier
Sylvia Trundle