The SouthCoast Community Foundation Welcomes New Board Members at 25th Annual Meeting

Jul 17, 2020

NEW BEDFORD – The SouthCoast Community Foundation welcomed five new members to its board of directors and corporators during its annual meeting July 7. It also bid farewell to departing members.

Board Chair Linda Bodenmann convened the meeting, reviewing the successes of 2019 and looked ahead to a dynamic future with a new name, the SouthCoast Community Foundation.

“I look forward to working with these new board members, and I thank our departing members for their service. Their efforts have helped us to guide the foundation to a position of leadership, creating the platform for the important role it plays today ensuring that needed funds get to organizations on the frontline of the region’s COVID-19 response” said Bodenmann.

“I am proud to welcome these accomplished and dedicated leaders to the board of the SouthCoast Community Foundation. Our new name reflects our deep commitment to this region, and I know these new members bring the skills and community knowledge we need to continue serving as a catalyst of effective philanthropy in these challenging times. At the same time, I am grateful for the work of our departing directors whose work will benefit this region for a long time to come.” Said John Vasconcellos, President of the SouthCoast Community Foundation.

Our new board members are:

Damōn Chaplin is the Public Health Director for the City of New Bedford. Damōn manages 22 staff members, operating 6 public health divisions. These divisions are responsible for enforcing federal, state, and local ordinances and codes, to students and families residing in approximately 45K housing units and patronizing local businesses and restaurants, serving a population of approximately 100K.

Gail M. Fortes, Gail has served as the Executive Director of the YWCA Southeastern Massachusetts, since September 2006, and has held numerous roles at the YWCA since January 1994. Gail presently serves in Governance roles with the Cape Verdean Association in New Bedford; One SouthCoast Chamber; Alma del Mar Charter School; Global Learning Charter Public School; United Front Development Corp. and Youth Opportunities Unlimited.

Jayne Rebello Korn, Jayne is an accomplished talent management consultant and executive coach. For over two decades, Jayne has been partnering with for-profit and non-profit organizations across a broad range of sectors, including healthcare, technology, financial services, retail, higher education, and manufacturing.

Denise Porche´, Denise has held leadership roles in community activism, social service provision and philanthropy for more than two decades. Presently, Denise is Executive Director of the Island Foundation. Denise also founded the Southeastern Massachusetts Food Security Network and the Women CEO’s Group.

Jonathan L. Rounds, Jonathan’s career focused on managing technologically intensive businesses at Citibank, Chemical Bank, and Fidelity Investments. Jon was Founder of RISC Ventures (an econometric modeling firm) and Cloud Technology Partners (a cloud focused software and services company). In addition, Jon spent five years at the Boston Consulting Group as part of the founding group for the Chicago and New York offices.

The Foundation also recognized outgoing Board Members for their many contributions: William “Bill” R. Eccles, Jr. and Gerry Kavanaugh. For information of our Annual Meeting highlights and our 2019 Annual Report. Please visit the SouthCoast Community Foundation’s redesigned website, https://southcoastcf.org/.

The SouthCoast Community Foundation is a public charity serving thousands of people who share a common goal of improving the quality of life through philanthropy throughout the region. More information about the Foundation can be found at https://southcoastcf.org/

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