Board of Directors

Kristy Trautmann, M.S., is executive director of FISA Foundation, a charitable grantmaking foundation focused on improving the lives of women, girls, and people with disabilities. In addition to overseeing a diverse portfolio of grants, under Ms. Trautmann’s leadership FISA has undertaken regional initiatives to promote accessible health care, end cycles of domestic and sexual violence, address systematic inequities facing girls of color, and promote employment and social inclusion of people with disabilities. She has a Master’s of Science degree in nonprofit management from Robert Morris University. Prior to FISA, Ms. Trautmann worked at Pittsburgh Action Against Rape and the YWCA Greater Pittsburgh. She is the founder of Southwest PA Says No More, an effort to prevent domestic and sexual violence, was founder and former co-chair of the Girls Coalition of Southwestern Pennsylvania, and has served on numerous other boards and advisory committees.

Lucille “Luci” E. Dabney has an eclectic and general professional background in both the for-profit and nonprofit sectors. Her areas of specialty include organizational assessment, strategic and business planning, program development and evaluation and resource development strategy. An experienced consultant, facilitator, public speaker and trainer, she has worked with cities, local arts agencies, management support organizations, consulting firms and a range of nonprofit organizations. She is the former Executive Director of the Cultural Arts Council of Houston and Harris County where she supervised an annual grants budget of over 7 million dollars. Luci earned her Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Michigan and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Houston.

Karris M. Jackson is currently Vice President of Programs at POISE Foundation, a community foundation focused exclusively on supporting the African American community. Ms. Jackson’s responsibilities include managing the Foundation’s grant making portfolio, convening community stakeholders and advancing the foundation’s mission through leadership and advocacy. Ms. Jackson is a published author, blogger and lecturer on social justice, leadership and philanthropy. She has a strong desire to push the boundaries of philanthropy to be more inclusive and effective at addressing issues impacting the Black community. Ms. Jackson holds a BA in English from Allegheny College, a MS in Secondary School Administration from Duquesne University and a Certificate in Non-profit Management from Harvard University. She is a founding member of the Sankofa Fund Giving Circle, the African American Funders Group of Southwestern, PA, the 2012-2013 ABFE Connecting Leaders Fellows Class and a graduate of Leadership Pittsburgh XXV. She has received numerous awards including the 2014 Emerging Leader in Philanthropy Award from the Association of Black Foundation Executives, Pittsburgh Magazine’s 40 under 40, the New Pittsburgh Courier’s 50 Women of Excellence and the Pittsburgh Pirates Community Champion Award. Karris is married to Calvin L. Jackson, Jr. and is the proud mother of Derrick, Olivia and Deborah.

In December of 2020, Phil Koch was named vice president, Policy and Community Impact for The Pittsburgh Foundation. In this capacity, Koch pursues positive social change by partnering with Foundation leadership and other staff to set public policy priorities, works with outside stakeholders to implement these priorities and develops opportunities for community investments.

Prior to this, Phil served for five years as the executive director of The Community Foundation of Westmoreland County (CFWC), an affiliate of The Pittsburgh Foundation, which encourages Westmoreland County residents to become philanthropists. CFWC also provides grants that support a wide variety of nonprofit organizations and serves as a community leader. In this capacity, he created the WestCo Nonprofit Network, a coalition of more than 160 organizations that provide opportunities for networking, education and advocacy to strengthen the sector in the county.

Phil has been working to strengthen communities for more than 20 years. He began his career as an elementary and middle school teacher in the Chicago Public Schools and later taught in Pittsburgh Public Schools. In 2005, Phil left the classroom and began working in the nonprofit sector as the Pittsburgh Director for MGR Youth Empowerment, a direct service nonprofit focused on youth development.  As the National Executive Director, Phil grew the organization to five metropolitan cities, impacting over 50,000 youth during his tenure. 

Phil obtained his bachelor’s degree from Wittenberg University and his master’s degree in professional leadership and nonprofit management from Carlow University. He lives with his wife, Deanna, and their three sons in Pittsburgh’s West End.

Angie Berzonski joined the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies in 2011 as its first Program and Communications Officer. In late 2019, following a year of increased grantmaking and outreach across western Pennsylvania, the Foundation’s board of directors named Angie its Associate Director. In this role, she helps local nonprofits learn more about grant opportunities, manages the Foundation’s grantmaking programs, and assists the executive director with management responsibilities. Prior to joining the Community Foundation, she was editor of Johnstown Magazine and worked in public relations, television, and radio.

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Gina Evans has more than 20 years of experience in nonprofit management, fund development, and philanthropy. Currently, Gina serves as the senior Program Officer for the McElhattan Foundation, a private family foundation located in Pittsburgh. Gina leads the Foundation’s grantmaking in education, directing investments that align with the McElhattan mission, to preserve and enhance human life. Through this work, Gina leverages her own commitment to lifelong learning in conjunction with nearly two decades of progressive leadership in nonprofit strategy, fundraising, marketing, board and volunteer management, and government relations. Prior to this role, Gina served as Director of External Affairs for the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, leading the Museum’s integrated fundraising, marketing, and communication and successfully completing a $19 million capital campaign to open MuseumLab, a new museum for older kids. Additional roles in the museum and human services field, in Philadelphia and Chicago respectively, round out Gina’s nonprofit experience. Ms. Evans is a graduate of Leadership Pittsburgh, Class XXXIV, and serves on the board of directors of Radiant Hall and Allegheny Partners for Out of School Time (APOST). A native of Pittsburgh, Gina attended Penn State University and lives in Edgewood with her husband and two sons.

 Michelle is the Executive Director for the Birmingham Foundation and is a strong advocate for young children, their families and the caring adults in their lives. She served as co-chair of Pittsburgh Mayor William Peduto’s Blue Ribbon Panel on Early Childhood Education, and as a board member for the Birmingham Foundation, the Education Policy and Leadership Center (EPLC), and Jeremiah’s Place, western Pennsylvania’s first crisis nursery. She also was a member of the advisory council for Remake Learning and early education organizations such as the Pennsylvania Early Learning Council and the Early Learning PA Campaign.

Michelle is a native of Pittsburgh’s Hazelwood neighborhood and lives in the city with her husband Greg Quinlan and their children Grady and Tilly.

Presley L. Gillespie is the inaugural president of Neighborhood Allies, a community development intermediary supporting the people, organizations, and partnerships committed to creating and maintaining thriving Pittsburgh neighborhoods.

Mac Howison is the Program Officer for Creative Learning at The Heinz Endowments, where his work focuses primarily on initiatives that intersect with the Endowments’ Creativity and Learning goal areas. Mac is responsible for advancing the foundation’s work through the Creative Learning initiative – A creative youth development funding strategy to cultivate an equitable arts and cultural learning network, improve access to transformative learning experiences for young people, and support meaningful professional opportunities for teaching artists. For nearly twenty years Mac has designed and implemented trust-based funding approaches for nonprofits, foundations, and intermediaries that deepen relationships in community and provide resources in consultation with neighborhood partners. Mac is a 2016 PLACES Fellow with The Funders Network and prior to The Heinz Endowments he was Senior Program Officer at The Sprout Fund. A former museum educator, semi-retired rock musician, and someone who loves to bike, run, hike, and play outside, Mac holds a BFA in Fine Art from Carnegie Mellon University and is a current M.Ed. Leadership candidate at Harvard Graduate School of Education.

MIchelle is responsible for the strategic direction, development and management of the Pittsburgh Foundation’s core grant-making programs. She is the first Black woman to oversee grant-making programs at the Foundation and is the second Black woman vice president in the Foundation’s history. Michelle joined the Foundation in 2014 and has served in multiple roles of increasing responsibility, including senior program officer and director of grantmaking. Over her tenure, she has led the creation of innovative initiatives, which include Small and Mighty, the Social Justice Fund and the Grantmaking for Racial Justice Fund, all of which increase access to funding for small, community-based nonprofits and Black and Brown-led organizations.   

Ray leads UPMC Health Plan’s Center for Social Impact, an office charged with implementing programs that meet social needs which impact health, quality, and cost. The Center’s work is focused on employment, housing, health equity, supporting underserved populations, and collaboration with human services and community-based organizations Previously, Ray led the proposal, implementation, and operations for UPMC Community HealthChoices, Pennsylvania’s Medicaid Managed Care for “dual eligibles” and people with long-term services and supports. Prior, he had responsibility for Medicare strategy, finance and analytics and for SNP products. Before joining UPMC Health Plan, Ray served in various capacities at the Pennsylvania Department of Aging from 2005 to 2011.

Ilene is the Director of Planning and Impact at the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh where she is responsible for building the Federation’s role as a convener on community issues and as a steward of community dollars. Previously, Ilene was the Chief Operating Officer at Sacred Spaces, an organization focused on addressing and preventing abuse in Jewish institutions. She has also worked at the New York Public Library as a librarian and a development officer and has experience at environmental non-profit organizations in New York City and Washington D.C. Ilene holds a master’s degree in information and library science from the Pratt Institute and a bachelor’s degree in history and women’s studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Photo credit: Joshua Franzos

Marisol Valentin is the Executive Director for McAuley Ministries, the foundation arm of Pittsburgh Mercy Health Systems. She also worked as the Compliance, Integrity and Risk Officer for Pittsburgh Mercy Health Systems for 4 years. Her passion is developing innovative ways to improve organizations through empowerment initiatives that create positive changes for all stakeholders.

Prior to coming to Pittsburgh Mercy she worked for 6 years on public health improvement projects with Ministries of Health in the Caribbean. Marisol holds a B.S. in International Business from Duquesne University and a Certificate from La Roche University and RedR on Global Development and Humanitarian Aid. She has 25 years of experience in marketing, international communications, and project management. Marisol also holds a strong background in database management, event planning, workforce development, community leadership and non-profit management. In addition to her role at Pittsburgh Mercy, Marisol serves on the board of The Provider Alliance, an organization that supports agencies that serve people with intellectual disability and autism across Pennsylvania, the Human Services Center Mon Valley which improves the quality of life for children, adults, and families in the Mon Valley area, and Grantmakers of Southwestern PA, a network of organizations and individuals that practice and promote excellence in philanthropy – supporting an effective, growing philanthropic community that strengthens the Southwestern Pennsylvania region.

When not working, she and her family enjoy travelling and exploring new places especially beaches.