We are thrilled to welcome Genevieve Kirk to our Community Foundation team!
Serving as our Center for Nonprofit Excellence Director, Genevieve will work directly with our local nonprofit partners. Through our Center, she will offer assistance in board training and development and strategic planning. She will help local nonprofits establish effective working relationships between their boards and executive staff while providing mentoring, support, and access to resources available outside of east central Illinois. She will also guide our Community Solutions Incubator initiative, enhancing the current programming for emerging nonprofit entrepreneurs piloting their ideas through the Incubator, and expanding meetings to include programming for newer nonprofit leaders looking for support.
Genevieve is a locally-focused, globally-minded nonprofit leader and educator. With nearly 20 years of professional experience in the nonprofit and public sectors, her goal is to build, nurture and promote a strong community through effective nonprofit management. Most recently, she was the Executive Director of the Champaign Center Partnership and is currently an adjunct instructor in the School of Social Work at the University of Illinois where she teaches courses in Social Entrepreneurship and Social Change, and Nonprofit Sector and Society. Genevieve has worn a variety of hats in nonprofit organizations of varying sizes and scope in the U.S. and Africa, including program director at Kids In Danger, volunteer coordinator at the United Community Center and the City of Las Cruces, and grant team manager at Women’s Initiative for Self-Employment. Genevieve holds a BA from the University of Chicago and a MA in Public Service with a focus on nonprofit management from Marquette University, where she was awarded a Trinity Fellowship. She credits her two years of service as a Peace Corps volunteer in Mauritania, West Africa for developing her resiliency as a leader. She has lived in Champaign-Urbana since 2014 with her husband and two children.
Welcome Genevieve!