NEW HANOVER COUNTY — New initiatives and hires are coming to the New Hanover Community Endowment.
READ MORE: New grant-making tiers, staff and transparency part of endowment CEO’s focus
The Department of Research and Impact at the Endowment launched with a new vice president overseeing it, Emily Page, the organization announced this week.
CEO Dan Winslow informed the community at a December listening session his goal to add the department is to bring data and analytics to measure the endowment ‘s impact on driving, transformational change and to find innovative ideas for problem areas that need tackling in the southeastern region.
“We want to leverage innovation,” Winslow said at the listening session, noting this week its creation also holds The Endowment to accountability.
Page has an MBA from Duke and a background in nonprofits and will evaluate the impact of The Endowment’s initiatives, overseeing research and innovation, impact and accountability.
“By leveraging data to better understand the impact of our grant investments and identifying opportunities for innovative solutions by thought leadership we are committed to ensuring our initiatives drive lasting meaningful change in our community,” she wrote in a release.
The Endowment has tapped external advisors, to become in-house hires by late fall, as well for each sector. It tapped UNCW professor of nonprofit management Chris Prentice for overseeing research and innovation, noting Prentice “is known for his expertise in advancing innovation and data-informed decision-making in the nonprofit sector.”
In the impact sector, Gabriel Rhoads will be the acting director. Rhoads is a senior advisor at Project Evident and will continue to serve that role. He has an MBA from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago. Also with a background in theater and film, Rhoads’ work on storytelling has garnered him an Emmy nod.
“Measuring impact is about more than tracking data. It is about using evidence to tell the story of the path to transformational change, and what has been learned along the way,” Rhoads said in the release.
Bethany Hengsbach will be the acting director of accountability and will prioritize compliance with legal and ethical standards across all operations. Hengsbach was the managing director of Corporate Global Compliance at Affiliated Monitors. Inc. and holds a juris doctor from DePaul University College of Law and a bachelor’s from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Other hires at the endowment have come in Christine Tobias serving as chief people officer as of Feb. 3. She has worked with Accenture, Medly, Pharmca and Movado Group, and will oversee areas of human resources, including recruitment, training, policy, and developing innovative programs that connect the organization with the community.
Already she is launching two community initiatives, including the internship program to provide college students hands-on learning, and the fellows program, which brings volunteer opportunities to local nonprofits.
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