Kathryn E. Merchant is President/CEO of The Greater Cincinnati Foundation. Prior to joining the Foundation in 1997, Ms. Merchant was the director of The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Neighborhood Preservation Initiative and a partner in the New Haven-based consulting firm Holt, Wexler & Merchant. She has also served as the director of planning for the United Way of Greater New Haven and as planner/grants manager for the South Central Connecticut Area Agency on Aging, as well as adjunct faculty at Southern Connecticut State University and University of New Haven.

Ms. Merchant has served in leadership positions on a number of nonprofit boards of directors, including the SC Ministry Foundation, Ohio Grantmakers Forum, Saint Raphael Healthcare System, Saint Raphael Foundation, United Way of Greater New Haven and United Way of Connecticut. Ms. Merchant is a member of the Cincinnatus Association and graduate of Leadership Cincinnati Class XXI. Current board service includes the Center for Effective Philanthropy, GivingNet (formerly the Community Foundations of America (chairman 2003-06), College of Mt. St. Joseph, the National Center for Arts and Technology and the Metropolitan Club (chairman 2004). Ms. Merchant served on the board of the Council on Foundations 2001-07 and held numerous leadership positions including vice chairman 2006-07. She will chair the Council's 2009 Annual Conference in Atlanta.

In 2005, Ms. Merchant received a Career Women of Achievement Award from the YWCA of Greater Cincinnati, and in 2006 received the Ohio Philanthropy Award from the Ohio Grantmakers Forum.

Ms. Merchant has a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University and a master’s degree from the University of Connecticut School of Social Work.

Amy L. Cheney, CPA, Vice President for Giving Strategies
Ms. Cheney joined GCF in 1993 and oversees the Foundation’s asset development efforts including outreach to the Foundation’s many current donors and to Greater Cincinnati’s professional advisors. She is the Foundation’s in-house expert on charitable giving strategies and tools. Ms. Cheney has three years of public accounting experience with Price Waterhouse in Cleveland. She is a past trustee and past president of the Greater Cincinnati Planned Giving Council. She is a participant in WE Lead Class II, was a member of Leadership Cincinnati's Class XXVI and is a past recipient of the Business Courier's Forty Under 40 award. Ms. Cheney has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Akron and an MBA from The Ohio State University.

Ellen M. Gilligan, Vice President for Community Investment
Ms. Gilligan is responsible for all facets of the Foundation’s charitable investment in its eight-county service area, including community leadership initiatives and grantmaking partnerships. She has more than 20 years experience in resource development, program design, implementation and management in nonprofit, philanthropic and public sectors. Before joining the Foundation in 1998, she held leadership and management positions at the United Way of Greater Cincinnati, United Way of America, as well as the Washington, D.C. - based Eisenhower Foundation and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC). She is a graduate of Leadership Cincinnati, Class XXX, and serves as Vice Chair of Lighthouse Youth Services and the LISC Local Advisory Committee. Ms. Gilligan attended Boston College and has a bachelor's degree from the University of Colorado.


J. Scott McReynolds, CPA, Vice President for Finance & Administration
Mr. McReynolds oversees GCF’s administrative operations and provides assurance that the Foundation operates effectively and with proper internal controls. He is responsible for financial and investment activities, technology systems development, office administration, human resources, and facility management. Previously, Mr. McReynolds spent twelve years at Arthur Anderson LLP, where he redesigned and transformed finance organizations to better serve stakeholders at lower cost. He also held management positions with global organizations including Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. and Coopers & Lybrand.



Elizabeth Bower Reiter, APR, Vice President for Communications & Marketing
Ms. Reiter develops and oversees communications and marketing strategies to create broad public awareness of the Foundation and to further its strategic goals. She has more than 18 years of communications experience with nonprofit and public service organizations. Ms. Reiter is a graduate of the YWCA Rising Star Board Leadership Program (Class I). She was a member of the inaugural class of the Fine Arts Fund's Business Volunteers for the Arts and Class III of United Way of Greater Cincinnati's Volunteer Leadership Development Program. She has earned the designation Accredited in Public Relations from the Public Relations Society of America.