Piper Trust Announces 2005 Piper Fellowships
Program Provides Professional Development, Growth, Renewal for Nonprofit Leaders
SCOTTSDALE, AZ (December 7, 2005) – The Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust today announced five recipients of its 2005 Piper Fellowships, which support exemplary nonprofit leaders and help them maintain their professional vitality and effective leadership through sabbaticals. The 2005 Piper Fellows are:
• Joe Baker, Lloyd Kiva New Curator of Fine Art, Heard Museum
• Richard M. Bell, Director of Shelter Services, Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Ozanam Manor
• Michelle R. Dionisio, President/CEO, Interfaith Community Care
• Juanita Howard, RN, Director of Quality Management and Deputy Director, Clinica Adelante, Inc.
• Kathy Nugent, Finance Director, Fresh Start Women’s Foundation
“We recognize that the challenges and rigors of leading today’s nonprofits can be daunting and that, in order to be most effective, nonprofit professionals need time to focus, to think, to study and to grow professionally,” says Judy Jolley Mohraz, president and CEO of the Piper Trust. “The 2005 Piper Fellows have shown creative and effective leadership in their organizations, and these sabbaticals will give them time to retool, refresh and renew their skills.”
The program, which began in 2001, annually provides a maximum of five awards of up to $30,000 each to support the fellowships as well as up to $10,000 to match new or increased professional develop-ment for each organization’s staff. The awards are intended to give professionals in the nonprofit field a minimum of one month to a maximum of two months work-release time plus expenses for study and travel. Recipients are encouraged to draw on educational and professional resources from across the nation.
Joe Baker (Delaware Tribe of Indians) joined the Heard Museum in 2003 as Lloyd Kiva New Curator of Fine Art after a one-year term as Dean of the Center for Arts and Culture Studies at the Institute of American Indian Arts. Prior to that, he worked as outreach manager at the Heard Museum for three years, and he also was director of the Art-in-Education Grants Program at the Phoenix Office of Arts & Culture. An accomplished painter and beadworker, Baker has a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Tulsa and has completed post-graduate studies at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education.
Baker and the Heard Museum currently are collaborating with the National Museum of the American Indian on a contemporary Native art exhibition – “Remix: New Modernities in a Post Indian World” – which will open at NMAI’s George Gustav Heye Center in New York in April 2007 and will also be exhibited at the Heard Museum. During his sabbatical, Baker will spend time in both New York and Santa Fe and will write a curatorial essay for the exhibition’s catalogue.
Richard M. Bell for the past 18 years has worked as Director of Shelter Services at the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Ozanam Manor, a transitional housing program for homeless elderly and disabled people. He completed coursework for a Ph.D. in Social-Environmental Psychology from Arizona State University, and he holds a Master of Arts degree from Michigan State University.
During his fellowship, Bell plans to participate in three professional development programs: a five-day seminar at the Center for Creative Leadership in Colorado Springs, a “5 Day MBA” seminar by American Management Associates in San Francisco and a course in program evaluation at ASU’s Center for Nonprofit Leadership and Management. He also plans to research and write about best practices in ending homeless-ness, including visiting several best practice programs and attending an annual conference on homelessness.
Since 1999, Michelle R. Dionisio has served as President/CEO for Interfaith Community Care, which operates a network of six West Valley adult day centers as well as educational services, in-home care and care-management programs. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Brockport State University in New York and has worked in the field of adult day and senior healthcare for 23 years.
Dionisio will use her fellowship to build Interfaith’s fiscal independence and increase service excel-lence by visiting best practice programs at nonprofit and for-profit human service organizations. She also will attend two one-week executive education courses at Harvard Business School, a one-day training course at the Ritz Carlton Leadership Center and a two-day Service Leader’s Board for Service Excellence program.
A registered nurse, Juanita Howard serves as Director of Quality Management and Deputy Director of Clinica Adelante, Inc., where she facilitates process improvement, staff development and organizational change. Clinica Adelante is a community and migrant health center dedicated to providing primary healthcare services to residents of Maricopa County. With more than 20 years’ experience in nursing and healthcare, Howard holds a master’s degree in Organizational Management from the University of Phoenix in addition to a B.S.N. from Arizona State University.
Howard’s fellowship will include a 20-day advanced training program in healthcare delivery at the Institute for Health Care as well as 10 days in reflection combined with a visit to a best practice program. After her sabbatical, she plans to develop and implement quality improvement programs, conduct educational sessions for Clinica Adelante’s staff and share information with colleagues at the Association of Community Health Centers.
Kathy Nugent has served as finance director for Fresh Start Women’s Foundation for the past three years. In her position, she coordinates financial activities, oversees facility operations of the Women’s Resource Center and manages human resources. She has completed courses at the University of Phoenix, Maricopa Community Colleges and ASU’s Center for Nonprofit Leadership and Management.
Nugent plans to attend a two-week executive program at Stanford Graduate School of Business, leadership development training with Franklin Covey and coursework at ASU’s Center for Nonprofit Leadership and Management. Additionally, she will receive one-on-one training with a human resources consultant and will work with two corporate culture and transformation consultants.
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