Community Foundation's New Leader Focuses on Equitable Economic Mobility

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When Katie Zobel announced in 2022 that she'd be stepping down as president and CEO of the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts, the agency in Springfield, Mass., was one of the first to draw her attention.

"I looked in the conference-room windows, and I saw the papers lining the walls detailing their strategic-planning process and all their priorities for the next year," Megan Burke, the new president and CEO, tells BusinessWest.

"There were no secrets, they just put it right out there."

Burke, who has more than two decades of experience in nonprofit management, philanthropy, fundraising, and advocacy, was recruited for the position at the same time she was being recruited for it.

She says she admired the organization's transparency," we need to be more like this" and after several rounds of interviews, she was picked to replace Zobel, who'd been with CFWM since 1991.

"I think I bring a lot to the job, but I have a lot to learn from the community about what they think is important and what they believe we should be doing better," Burke tells BusinessWest.

One of her goals is to amass similar forces and create momentum in her new role at CFWM, which serves 69 communities in...



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