September 28, 2009
Cameron Foundation hires new vice president for programs
The Cameron Foundation is pleased to announce the arrival of Jill C. Coleman, who has filled the newly created position of vice president for programs. In this role, Coleman will direct program activities, including grantmaking, special projects and other programs operated by the Foundation. In collaboration with the president, she will be responsible for establishing policies and procedures to implement and manage programs, as well as directing, administering and coordinating the Foundation’s activities in accordance with policies, goals and objectives established by the board of directors and the president. She also will lead and oversee some routine operations such as the hiring and supervision of program staff; the coordination of the annual grants budget; and the assessment and reporting of organizational performance.
“Jill will be responsible for many of the day-to-day management duties that the Foundation’s president currently is handling. This change will allow him to focus more on advancing the strategic direction of the Foundation,” explained Ann C. Taylor, Foundation board chair.
Coleman was most recently employed from 1994 to 2009 by Christian Children’s Fund (now called ChildFund International), serving as special assistant to the vice president – Global Program Group; senior manager – Tsunami Response, Asia; special assistant to the international programs director; and assistant director, U.S. Programs. Prior to the Christian Children’s Fund, Coleman worked with small community-based organizations in varying capacities in the greater Richmond area, as well as the Petersburg Redevelopment and Housing Authority as its first community service coordinator.
Coleman believes her new role at the Foundation will yield a positive impact on the relationships with the organizations that the Foundation serves. “My position is designed to facilitate more support for them to reach their goals of improved capacity,” she explained, “not to monitor them more closely or make them jump through ‘hoops’ for Foundation assistance.”
A native of central Virginia, Coleman graduated from American University, Washington, D.C. with a B.A. in psychology and from Averett University, Danville, VA, with an M.B.A.
Handy L. Lindsey, Jr., president, said, “We are continually striving to improve the Foundation so that it can be of greater service to the nonprofit sector locally,” adding, “We’re excited about the ways that this addition to our staff will enable us to better respond to the needs of our nonprofit partners, and in turn, the community as a whole.”
The Cameron Foundation is an independent, not-for-profit organization that was formed in April 2003 from the proceeds of the sale of Southside Regional Medical Center. Its mission is to promote and provide support for programs and activities that improve the health and quality of life of the residents in the Tri-Cities area. Activities funded by the Foundation benefit the residents of Petersburg, Colonial Heights, Hopewell, Dinwiddie County, Prince George County, Sussex County and the portion of Chesterfield County lying south of Route 10.