Greenwich United Way Welcomes New Members to Board of Directors at Annual Meeting

 Greenwich United Way Welcomes New Members to Board of Directors at Annual Meeting

 

Eileen Kim named Board Chair

 

GREENWICH, Conn., February 5, 2020 – The Greenwich United Way (GUW) Board of Directors Annual Meeting took place on Wednesday, January 22 at the Greenwich Country Club in Greenwich, CT. Members of the organization’s staff and Board welcomed seven new Board members: Hagar Chemali, Tim Drinkall, Caitlin Kraus-Long, Kirsten Riemer, Angela Swift, Laurie Tropiano and Jonathan “JP” Muir. Eileen Kim was named Board Chair. Retiring members of the Board are: Frank Carpenteri, Nisha Hurst, Nancy Kail, Anne Sherrerd and Brook Urban.

“Since joining the board in 2012, it has been a transformational eight years for the organization and I’m proud of how far we have come,” said Sherrerd. “While our Annual Campaign has always funded grants for partner agencies providing critical services, we now research, design and lead collaborative Direct Impact initiatives to address long-term community needs. We have significantly improved our fundraising and expanded our donor base. I am confident the organization will continue digging deeper to implement further changes and be even more effective.”

 

In 2019, the Greenwich United Way conducted two rounds of community investment grants totaling nearly $1 million for 20 agencies. A sampling of the organization’s funding included: crisis intervention for 1,000 teenagers, after-school care for 350 children, preschool scholarships to hundreds of youth, daytime care for frail and elderly residents, emergency shelter for more than 150 individuals per day, aid to help more than 100 Greenwich residents fighting addiction, and 8,000 rides – transportation for the elderly and disabled in Greenwich.

 

Following Sherrerd’s remarks, Greenwich United Way CEO David Rabin provided an overview of the organization’s future plans and highlighted the upcoming Needs Assessment, conducted every five years to serve as the blueprint to determine the areas the organization will focus on.

“This year’s Needs Assessment will be unlike any other. It will serve as a living document and a continuously updated tool for us all to use – from our partner agencies to write grants, to Town Hall, to the residents who want to be informed of the services available to them,” said Rabin.

 

In reviewing the organization’s Direct Impact programs, Rabin reported great strides with Early Childhood Achievement Gap Solutions (ECAGS) efforts. Thirty children are currently enrolled in the Greenwich Parents as Teachers (GPAT) program and the Preschool Instructional Coach has been improving the curriculum and instruction in 12 preschool classrooms, benefitting 145 children in town. Reading Champions is in its 12th year, running strong in all 11 Greenwich public elementary schools and three after-school sites, improving the reading fluency of 450 kids every year. The newest champions program, Finance Champions, is going well at Boys & Girls Club of Greenwich with approximately 12 middle schoolers learning how to earn, save, spend and give smart.

 

“Finance Champions is yet another example of the Greenwich United Way identifying a need in our community and developing a solution to address it – exactly what we have been doing for the past 86 years,” said Rabin. “How fortunate are we all to live, work, and raise are families in a community like Greenwich.”

 

Visit Greenwich United Way online for more information (greenwichunitedway.org) and engage on Facebook (facebook.com/greenwichunitedway), Twitter (twitter.com/GreenwichUW) or Instagram (instagram.com/greenwichunitedway) to learn more about the work the organization is doing and the people it serves in real time.

 

2020 Upcoming Events

 

Community Investment Grant Recipient Reception

Wednesday, February 12 at 3:00 pm
Noble Room, Greenwich Hospital

 

15th Annual Sole Sisters Luncheon

Q&A with guest Candace Bushnell

Tuesday, April 21st, 9:30 am Boutique and Noon Luncheon

 

Fourth Annual Golf Tournament

Monday, May 18th, Shotgun at 1:00 pm

Greenwich Country Club

 

Annual Campaign Kickoff

Wednesday, September 16th

 

2020 Brew Ha Ha

Friday, October 16th

Location TBD

 

Annual Legislative Breakfast

December

Greenwich Town Hall
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Bios for the new members to the Board of Directors

 

Hagar Chemali

Hagar was born and raised in Greenwich. She graduated from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs with a Master of International Affairs, and from Columbia University’s Barnard College where she majored in political science. Hagar is the Founder and CEO of Greenwich Media Strategies, LLC as well as a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. Previous positions include: Director for Syria and Lebanon at the National Security Council, Director of Communications and Spokesperson for the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, and Spokesperson for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence at the U.S. Department of Treasury.

Hagar sits on the Board of Trustees at Greenwich Academy and is a committee member for the Bruce Museum contemporaries. She has also served as a Sole Sisters luncheon committee member for the last three years.

Hagar lives in Greenwich with her husband Julien and their two sons: Alexander (6.5) and Benjamin (4).

Tim Drinkall

Tim was born in South Bend, IN and currently lives in Old Greenwich. He received his

B.S. in Finance from Indiana University and his MBA in International Business Finance from George Washington University. Tim works for Morgan Stanley Investment Management, and travels throughout Africa, the Middle East, Asia and other parts of the world as part of his role in managing Frontier Emerging Markets and Emerging Markets Small Cap Funds.

Tim has given back to many non-profits throughout the world, as part of Morgan Stanley’s annual June ‘Giving Back’ charity efforts. His wife, Anna, is on the Board and Executive Committee of Abilis and is a co-founder of S.E.L.F (Special Education Legal Fund), an organization that helps parents navigate the special education system.

Tim and Anna have three sons; Oliver (16), William (14) and Gabriel (11).

Caitlin Kraus-Long

Cait was born in Newburyport, MA. She’s a graduate of Fairfield University and Simmons College in Boston, where she received a Masters in Education. Cait has a long history as an educator and education consultant and currently works as a Learning Specialist at Iona College.

As a member of the Christ Church Nursery School Board, Cait has served as a secretary and vice-president. She’s also served as social chair for the Nursery School. Cait has been a committee member for Brew Ha Ha and the Greenwich United Way’s 85th Gala. Additionally, Cait has attended various Greenwich United Way activities throughout the years.

Cait and her husband Darren live in Greenwich with their two sons, Marshall (7) and Tyson (5).

Kirsten Riemer

Kirsten grew up in Hillsborough, Calif. She is a graduate of Skidmore College and currently works for D’Amelio Network, a speaker management firm, as Director of Client Services.

Kirsten is a long-time GUW Volunteer. After years on the Sole Sisters Committee, Kirsten is currently co-chairing the luncheon for the second year in a row. Kirsten was on the 2019 Brew Ha Ha Committee and is also a 2019 volunteer for our Community Investment Process.

 

In addition to her work with Greenwich United Way, Kirsten is active at Christ Church Greenwich where she currently co-chairs the Children’s Commission. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Abbott Academy Fund at Phillips Academy, her high school alma mater, and has previously volunteered for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and Memorial Sloan Kettering.

Kirsten and her husband Tim have a seven-year-old son, George.

Angela Swift

Angela was born in Sleepy Hollow, NY and graduated from The Catholic University of America where she earned a BA in Accounting. She is currently a realtor at Compass in Greenwich. Prior to her career in residential real estate, Angela was a Tech Sales Executive at IBM and Parametric Technology.

Angela’s philanthropic resume includes time as a Board Member for The American Red Cross and Community Answers. She has co-chaired several local events, including the Greenwich Hospital Great Chefs benefit and the Greenwich High School Membership Committee. Angela currently sits on the Board of the Emily Catherine Fedorko Foundation and Kids in Crisis.

Angela and her husband Steve have lived in Greenwich since 1992 and have three children: Brooke (26), Tyler (23) and Courtney (19).

Laurie Tropiano

Laurie was born in Raritan, NJ. Upon graduating from Lafayette College with dual degrees in Metallurgical Engineering and Finance, Laurie began her now 35-year career with IBM.

Laurie is a current Advisory Board member and former Greenwich United Way Board member, who initially served in 2011 before moving to China for three years as part of her role as General Manager Global Technology Services for IBM Greater China Group. Since returning to the United States Laurie works as Managing Director for IBM, CVS Healthcare, where she manages all of the IBM sell to relationship with the Fortune 7 client. Laurie is a longtime supporter of the Greenwich United Way and a former Sole Sisters Committee member.

Laurie lives in Old Greenwich with her two daughters, Kinsey (20) and Katie (17), both of whom have been Greenwich United Way summer interns.

 

Jonathan “JP” Muir

JP was born in Kinnelon, NJ and is a graduate of Penn State University. He is currently the CEO and Founder of Home Care Connectors, LLC. Previously, JP worked in the banking industry for over 25 years, most recently as Head of Prime Brokerage for BNP Paribas.

JP is a member of the Greenwich United Way’s Community Planning Council. He also serves as a Certified Medicare Counselor for the CT State Department of Aging and volunteers for Greenwich CHOICES Program. He was formerly a member of the Board of Directors of Hedge Funds Care. JP’s wife, Sarah, is also a supporter of the Greenwich United Way. She was on the Sole Sisters Luncheon Committee as decor chair for three years and also organized a vendor boutique.

JP and Sarah live in Greenwich with their four children Addison, Gavin, Mason and Talia.

About Greenwich United Way

The Greenwich United Way shares a name with approximately 1,400 other similar organizations across the nation, although the Greenwich, Connecticut division is a privately incorporated, locally governed, nonprofit agency. As a volunteer driven organization, the Greenwich United Way exists to help identify and address the human service needs specific to its local community and to create and affect meaningful solutions. Through various fundraising efforts, the organization is able to directly allocate the funds necessary to accomplish this goal. The Greenwich United Way also invests in and conducts collaborative efforts to address broad based community needs with partnering nonprofit agencies.

 

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