Funders Panel
Our September program will feature a Funder's Panel with representatives from The Assisi Foundation, the Hyde Family Foundations, and the Plough Foundation. Each of our speakers will talk about their Foundation's giving areas and interests and about their Foundation's grant application process. Q & A session to follow.
Courtney Gafford Leon joined the Plough Foundation in Memphis, Tennessee as Program Officer in 2015. In her role, she works with partners across focus areas and sectors to carry out founder Abe Plough’s goal, "to do the greatest good by helping the greatest number of people". Courtney came to the Foundation from the New Memphis Institute where she was Director of the Fellows Program – a yearlong Memphis-focused leadership training and community engagement experience. Prior to her work with New Memphis Institute, she served as Director of Programs for the Institute for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership at the University of Memphis. She also held the positions of Grants and Communications Manager and Program Associate at the Hyde Family Foundations for six years. Courtney began her career in Memphis by providing reproductive health education and training with Greater Memphis Region Planned Parenthood. She is a native of Columbus, Ohio, and a graduate of The Ohio State University.
Courtney and her husband, Shelby County Schools’ Chief of Strategy and Innovation, Bradley Leon, are parents to five-year-old Charlie, baby Samuel, and dog Roosevelt.
Gretchen Wollert McLennon joined the Hyde Family Foundations as a Program Officer in 2007. Currently, as Program Director for Authentic Assets, her work focuses on managing the arts & culture and innovation portfolios, as well as the leadership programming of the Foundations. Hyde Family Foundations’ senior staff works closely with grantees to provide ongoing guidance around such areas as: strategic and long-range planning, organizational capacity building, project management, and development and fundraising activities. Prior to her work with the Hyde family, Gretchen was a Major Gifts Officer for Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association (MIFA) and a Donor Relations Officer for the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta.
Gretchen is a trustee of her alma mater, St. Mary’s Episcopal School, and is a member of Tennessee Arts Commission’s community arts and creative placemaking grant review committees. Additionally, Gretchen sits on the boards of several local non-profit organizations, including: ArtsMemphis, Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum, The Women’s Foundation for a Greater Memphis, and she is President of the Ballet Memphis Board of Directors.
With over a decade of experience in the non-profit sector, Gretchen regularly presents on panels and at conferences on issues related to city-building, contemporary trends in grantmaking, and equity in the arts. A native Memphian, Gretchen is a graduate of Northwestern (BA) and Wake Forest (MBA) universities.
Dr. Jan Young, executive director of The Assisi Foundation of Memphis, has had a distinguished career in education, health care, the military and philanthropy.
The Assisi Foundation of Memphis, Inc. (The Foundation) supports innovative and established programs that address the needs of Mid-South residents in the categories of: Health Care and Human Services, Education and Literacy, Social Justice/Ethics, Cultural Enrichment and the Arts. The Foundation uses its resources for charitable endeavors that advance the well-being of people and institutions in Shelby, Fayette and Tipton counties in Tennessee; Crittenden County in Arkansas; and Desoto County in Mississippi. Since its formation in March 1994, The Assisi Foundation of Memphis, Inc. (The Foundation) has awarded more than $100 million to not-for-profit organizations serving people living primarily in Memphis and in the Mid-South region surrounding Memphis.
Dr. Young received her Doctorate of Nursing Science with honors and was the recipient of the Faculty Award from the University of Tennessee Health Sciences College of Nursing. She has been the recipient of the Outstanding Alumni of the University of Memphis, College of Nursing award, the University of Memphis Distinguished Alumna Award, and the University of Tennessee College of Nursing Distinguished Alumna Award. Before joining the Assisi Foundation in 1995, Dr. Young served as Senior Vice President of Operations with leadership accountability for clinical and support services at St. Joseph Hospital. In addition, she has worked as a management consultant, served as adjunct faculty for the University of Tennessee and University of Memphis in nursing administration, and maintained a private clinical practice.