Westchester Community Foundation Director to Retire

Catherine Marsh, who has overseen the growth of the Westchester Community Foundation as it became one of the largest funders of nonprofits in the County, announced this week that she will retire as Executive Director in June 2015.

Under Marsh’s leadership for the past 15 years, the Foundation has distributed more than $45 million to Westchester nonprofits. Permanent charitable funds have expanded to include those for health and human services, community development, the environment, and the arts. In addition, the Foundation now has endowed funds for programs to benefit two communities, Ossining and Tarrytown.

“Catherine Marsh has left an indelible mark on the community,” said Theresa Kilman, Board Chair of Westchester Community Foundation. “We’ll miss Catherine’s passion for helping everyone in Westchester and her role as the ‘go to’ person on many issues.”

The Westchester Community Foundation is a division of The New York Community Trust, which has earned a reputation as the home of charitable New Yorkers who share a passion for the City and its suburbs. The Trust supports an array of effective nonprofits that help make the City, Westchester, and Long Island vital and secure places to live and work, while building permanent resources for the future.

The Trust formed the Westchester Community Foundation in 1975 to encourage local philanthropy. Westchester residents – from teachers to entrepreneurs – make the foundation’s work possible, by setting up donor-advised funds or by establishing permanent funds to help local nonprofits. During Marsh’s time, the Foundation has given out more than 1,100 grants to Westchester nonprofits through a competitive grants process.

Marsh, a resident of Peekskill, began her career in Westchester, working in several County departments before becoming Director of Employment and Training for Putnam County. Her 30 years of experience in the nonprofit field includes executive positions at Federated Employment and Guidance Services in New York City and as mid-Hudson Director for Volunteers of America. Before joining the Foundation, she served as a Managing Director at the Gay Men’s Health Crisis in New York City. While at the Westchester Community Foundation, she taught nonprofit management as an adjunct professor at Manhattanville College.

“I leave knowing that the Foundation enjoys a reputation for thoughtful and strategic grantmaking,” Marsh said. Marsh serves on the board of directors of NonProfit Westchester and chairs the advisory board for Manhattanville College’s Nonprofit Management program. She is a member of the board of advisors for the League of Women Voters of Westchester County and the New York Medical College School of Health Sciences and Practice. In 2010, she was named one of the “Power Dozen” by 914INC magazine; and she is also a 2014 recipient of 914INC’s “Women in Business” award.

The Westchester Community Foundation has formed a search committee to identify a new Director.