Contact: Chris Mason
Phone: 412-481-2777
Fax: 412-481-2727
Email: info@bfpgh.org

The Birmingham Foundation has announced that Mary Phan-Gruber, who has served as the first Executive Director of the Birmingham Foundation for ten years, will be leaving in late August to join Dewey & Kaye, a division of McCrory & McDowell LLC, as a Senior Nonprofit Consultant.

“Mary and I have enjoyed a twenty year working relationship and I am thrilled she will be joining us. Her passion, integrity and knowledge of both foundations and community based organizations is a unique and wonderful combination that will continue to strengthen our collective consulting value to the community.” said Kate Dewey, Manager of the Dewey & Kaye practice.

Ms. Phan-Gruber has worked in the nonprofit sector for over 25 years. She was hired as the Executive Director and first staff member of the Birmingham Foundation in June 1997, shortly before the Foundation issued its first grants. The Foundation provides health and human services grantmaking focused on 12 communities in the South Pittsburgh area, including the South Side, Arlington, Allentown, Knoxville, Beltzhoover, St. Clair Village and Carrick neighborhoods. During her tenure, the Foundation developed its priority focus areas of senior health & safety, children’s well-being, health access, capacity-building and community life and awarded over $ 9.2 million in grants to nearly 140 organizations. The Foundation has also actively engaged the community through convening groups such as the South Pittsburgh Coalition for Peace, sponsoring seminars and networking through its Grantee Orientation series, and promoting information-sharing through its Birmingham Directory resource guide, annual Summer Fun in the South program guide and its health assessment, Reweaving the Social Fabric--publications which have become models for other communities.

The Foundation was the 2001 recipient of the Outstanding Foundation Award from the regional Association of Fundraising Professionals and was highlighted in a 2003 issue of Pittsburgh Magazine which recognized Pittsburgh foundations. Ms. Phan-Gruber is a recipient of the Women of Achievement Award from Celebrate and Share and an Award for Public Service from the US Department of Justice.

Mary Phan-Gruber received her BA Summa Cum Laude from Muskingum College in Psychology and Communications and her Master of Social Work degree from Western Michigan University. She previously served as Associate Director at the Center for Victims of Violence and Crime in Pittsburgh where she developed, secured funding and managed a number of innovative programs. Phan-Gruber has also worked as an outpatient mental health therapist, evaluation counselor in vocational rehabilitation, manager of a Parent Aide program, and community organizer for ACTION/VISTA

Having recently completed a two-year term as the President of Grantmakers of Western PA, Ms. Phan-Gruber currently serves on the boards of Allegheny Correctional Health Services, the Human Services Center Corporation and the Executive Council of the School of Social Work at the University of Pittsburgh. Numerous other leadership roles have included co-chairing an RFP Task Force for United Way of Allegheny County, and serving on the boards of East End Kids, Eastern Area Youth Chorale, and the South Side Recreation Fund Committee.

Ms. Phan-Gruber is a part-time faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh, a reviewer for the National Institute of Justice, Pa Coalition Against Rape and Regional Procurement Panel, and is a university lecturer and presenter at local and national conferences. She is married to Mike Gruber and they have two college-aged children. Dewey & Kaye provides strategy development, planning services, and executive searches for nonprofits, foundations, community collaboratives, and government agencies and is led by founder and principal Kate Dewey. Dewey & Kaye is a division of McCrory & McDowell which offers accounting, audit, tax and management consulting services. For more info, visit www.deweykaye.com.

For further information about the Executive Director search at the Birmingham Foundation, CLICK HERE to see the announcement.