Meet Our New Executive Director
A Letter from Board President, JoAnn Marshall
Dear Friends,
I have the exciting privilege of making the formal announcement that Women’s Funding Alliance has engaged a new Executive Director—Liz Vivian.
Liz brings to WFA a wealth of community leadership experience from the private, nonprofit, and public sectors. Most recently, Liz worked as a consultant to nonprofits and philanthropic organizations, including NPower and PONCHO, and led Global Corporate Citizenship in the northwest region for The Boeing Company. Before joining Boeing, Liz served as Executive Director of 2V/ACT and National Field Director for Rock the Vote.
Liz has been connected to our work for many years. “I have long been inspired by WFA's service to the community, and its role as a change agent and champion for women and girls,” said Vivian. “There is no more important work than advocating for and investing in women and girls, and I look forward to partnering with WFA’s donors, grantees, and community stakeholders to make WFA’s vision a reality.”
We are enthusiastic about Liz’s arrival and the future of our work together. Over the next several years, the board’s good stewardship of resources, the momentum of Liz’s leadership, and the efforts of our staff and grantee partners will determine the depth of our impact.
Justice, health, and opportunity needs to be a given for every woman and girl. Our intention is to significantly increase WFA’s power to better the lives of tens of thousands of women and girls in our community. And that is not a stopping point; it’s only a short-term benchmark.
While I get to make this announcement, I don’t get to take credit for this milestone. Special recognition is due to many people:
- The group of advisors who, early on, helped the board envision a search and selection process that would serve us well;
- Lara Cunningham and the very capable search team at Waldron;
- The determined, insightful group of individuals who served on our Executive Director Selection Committee;
- Amy Zimerman, who provided incredible energy and critical insights as the chair of the Selection Committee; and
- The talented group of candidates, both from our local community and around the country, who recognized in WFA a unique opportunity to advance critical issues.
I would also like to take a moment to express our gratitude to LeAnne Moss, who provided 15 years of leadership that established WFA as a force for transforming the lives of women and girls, and to Cory Sbarbaro, who has been serving as our interim executive director for the past seven months.
Liz will be starting at WFA on January 11th. I invite you to join me in welcoming Liz and embracing her leadership.
Thank you for making our work possible. We know we serve you when we serve our mission. We do it humbly and in gratitude for your loyalty.
JoAnn Marshall, Board President
