The Sisters of St. Joseph Charitable Fund (SSJCF) board of directors announces the appointment of Cynthia Drennan to the position of executive director. Drennan will succeed Sr. Jane Harrington who will be retiring June 30, after 14 years of leadership.
"Cynthia was selected by a search committee which received almost 40 outstanding applications. A six-member search committee reviewed resumes and conducted interviews with four very qualified candidates. The board believes that Cynthia will be able to continue the spiritual leadership of the charitable fund while at the same time enhancing the relationships with community organizations," said Board President Tom Whittier.
Drennan will be relocating from Cleveland after serving five years as the director of Grants Management and Foundation Operations with the William J. and Dorothy K. O'Neill Foundation. In addition to her grants administration responsibilities, she was very active in other aspects of the foundation including managing the foundation's finances, working with the board of directors and all standing and ad hoc committees, and conducting classes and presentations on both general and specialized topics in grantmaking. Prior to her experience at the O'Neill Foundation, Drennan served as the program officer/grants manager with the Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland and Saint Ann Foundation for 10 years where she managed the foundations' grantmaking programs in four states and initiated community outreach.
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Drennen
"This is an opportunity to serve with and learn from incredible local communities in a beautiful area of the country. For me, there is also a sense of coming full circle with my mother growing up in the area, my long association with the Sisters of St. Joseph, and my first mentor in the field of philanthropy also being a Sister of St. Joseph," said Drennan.
Drennan received her Master of Divinity Degree in Pastoral Psychology and Counseling from Ashland Seminary College in Ashland, Ohio, and her Bachelor of Science Degree in Education from St. John College in Cleveland. She has been inducted into the Ohio Women's Hall of Fame for her community service work addressing critical needs of people in poverty in El Salvador and for her efforts working with the local Hispanic community in Cleveland.
"On behalf of the board of directors, we hope that the community will join us in welcoming Cynthia and her husband to the area," said Whittier. Drennan will be joining the SSJCF staff as of June 18; her first day as executive director will be July 2.
Established in 1996, the SSJCF is a public charity foundation that works to continue and expand the health and wellness ministry of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Wheeling and the Congregation of Saint Joseph. Its mission is to promote healthy and sustainable communities by providing resources, strengthening collaborative relationships, and supporting initiatives that impact people in the Mid-Ohio Valley. Since its inception, the Board of Directors have approved over $11.2 million to fund projects that positively impact residents of its service area including the West Virginia counties of Calhoun, Jackson, Pleasants, Ritchie, Roane, Tyler, Wirt, and Wood and the Ohio counties of Athens, Meigs, and Washington.
