New York, June 18, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NEW YORK, June 18, 2018—The National Veterans Intermediary (NVI) announced today that Nancy Berglass is joining the organization as president, bringing a wealth of experience and expertise to NVI’s long-term goal of easing navigation of veterans services and reducing the variability of outcomes at the community level for our nation’s military, veterans, their families and caregivers.
“On a complicated landscape in which civilians rarely understand their stake in veteran wellness, and thousands of veteran-serving nonprofits compete for limited resources, NVI stands out as uniquely capable of engaging stakeholders from across all sectors to solve one of the greatest challenges we face as a nation: How best to serve those who serve us,” said Berglass. “My commitment is to lead NVI with vision and strategic purpose, toward accelerating the great promise it holds”.
NVI was pioneered by the Bob Woodruff Foundation (BWF) and a small group of philanthropists and leaders concerned with the wellness of veterans, after three years of due diligence and stakeholder engagement. Focusing on an innovative approach to the unmet needs of our veterans, NVI implemented a “collective impact” model to help galvanize the public, private and nonprofit organizations that comprise the veterans’ services ecoystem, in their efforts to meet needs, reduce redundancy, and fill gaps where they exist.
“Nancy Berglass is the right leader at the right time. She wrote the book on how veteran wellness benefits from informed community engagement. Her outstanding work, both as a funder and a thought leader, factored significantly as an inspiration for NVI” said Anne Marie Dougherty, BWF executive director. “We have tremendous confidence in her ability to build on the strong foundation that NVI has developed and realize its full, long-term potential.”
Berglass emerged as a visionary leader in her role as founding director of the California Community Foundation’s groundbreaking, $273 million, Iraq Afghanistan Deployment Impact Fund. Her astute observations about the role of the nonprofit sector in addressing veterans’ needs inspired and guided a new generation of grantmakers concerned with veterans and military families.
In founding and becoming the inaugural senior fellow of the Center for a New American Security’s (CNAS) Military, Veterans, and Society program, Berglass leveraged her extraordinary expertise to become a respected thought leader on issues pertaining to the civil-military divide. Her CNAS publications reflect an enduring perspective, having gathered the first empirical evidence about best practices in community-based models for veteran reintegration and standards for wellness.
Additionally, Berglass is a recipient of the U.S. Department of Defense’s Zachary and Elizabeth Fisher Distinguished Humanitarian Award, and the Council on Foundations’ Award for Critical Impact in Grantmaking.
Retired Army Col. Mary Carstensen, NVI’s current director, operationalized the NVI initiative in 2017 with the support and guidance of respected military experts, corporate leaders, and other stakeholders. Berglass’s arrival, and the transition process with Carstensen, are key components of a deliberate succession plan for NVI leadership, according to Dougherty.
“NVI has progressed tremendously through Mary’s leadership, with 70 communities signed on to the network and a host of national partners ready to enage in the NVI mission,” said Dougherty. “Mary and I established a multi-year strategy for NVI, and its current growth reflects the perfect time to welcome new leadership and additional expertise into our organization. I am energized to see the next phase of NVI with Nancy at the helm.”
To initiate the transition, Carstensen will become NVI’s president emeritus.
“In my two and half years leading and building the National Veterans Intermediary, I have seen our impact expand throughout the country and into our communities. Nancy will bring a unique expertise and perspective, as well as exciting new energy to the initiative that I have been proud to steward since its inception,” said Carstensen. “Nancy’s reputation precedes her and portends a future NVI that will serve our partner communities thoughtfully and effectively. I’m genuinely honored to work closely with her as I transition from my current role.”
About the National Veterans Intermediary
The National Veterans Intermediary (NVI) is for communities that collaborate or want to collaborate more effectively to serve all Military, Veterans, their families and caregivers across the country. Communities collaborating to support Veterans come in all shapes and sizes. NVI fosters collective impact conditions within and across communities to improve national impact. For more information about the NVI, please visit www.nvi.org
About the Bob Woodruff Foundation
The Bob Woodruff Foundation (BWF) was founded in 2006 after reporter Bob Woodruff was hit by a roadside bomb while covering the war in Iraq. Since then, the Bob Woodruff Foundation has led an enduring call to action for people to stand up for heroes and meet the emerging and long-term needs of today’s veterans. To date, BWF has invested more than $55 million to Find, Fund and Shape™ programs that have empowered impacted veterans, service members and their family members, across the nation. For more information, please visit bobwoodrufffoundation.org or follow us on Twitter at @Stand4Heroes.