The Community Foundation of NCW has hired a new Director of Community Philanthropy, Denise Sorom. A Seattle native, Denise received her BA in Art History from the University of Pennsylvania and her MA in Business with a major in Arts Administration from the University of Wisconsin’s Graduate School of Business.

“Denise stood out as a person with exactly the right combination of professional experience, academic preparation, and personal skills to service as our Director of Community Philanthropy” said Katie Kavanaugh Pauly, the foundation’s Vice President of the Board.

Denise has had an active career in the arts, working at several museums, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York. In 2003, she joined the Rochester Art Center in Minnesota and became its Executive Director in 2005. Denise was very involved with arts initiatives throughout the community, serving on several arts councils and boards.

Denise most recently worked for the University of Oregon, first as a Development Director for the College of Arts and Sciences and later at their Museum of Natural and Cultural History as its Marketing and Special Projects coordinator. In June, Denise and her family moved to Wenatchee to raise their children and enjoy proximity to their families. Denise enjoys hiking, running, skiing, tennis, and the arts.

The Director of Community Philanthropy is a new position at the foundation, developed to oversee the foundation’s growing Community Grants Program, which awards over $300,000 in grants annually, and Nonprofit Practices Institute, which offers workshops, events, and resources to help strengthen and sustain nonprofit agencies.

“We received double the usual amount of grant requests in our last cycle – the need for grant programs in our region is huge” said the foundation’s Executive Director Beth Stipe.

“We believe in providing our communities, donors, and nonprofit partners with the highest quality service. Our Trustees knew we needed to add additional support to continue that”, said Stipe.

“We couldn’t be more thrilled with Denise joining our team!”