Baltimore, May 19, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation today announced the planned transition involving leadership of the Foundation’s communications team. Current Chief Communications Officer Craig Demchak will retire from the Weinberg Foundation effective October 31, 2022. He will be succeeded by Arin Gencer, who will begin her role as senior director of communications at the Weinberg Foundation on August 1, 2022. Ms. Gencer currently serves as senior advisor at the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
“Since joining the Weinberg Foundation 12 years ago, Craig Demchak has led the development and growth of all the Foundation’s communications work, internally and externally, including in Baltimore, Hawaiʻi, and Israel,” said Rachel Garbow Monroe, President and CEO. “We thank Craig for his distinguished service and look forward to Arin Gencer continuing this important work, including charting new courses that will ensure future success.”
Mr. Demchak leads all Foundation communications projects and initiatives. His responsibilities include strategic communications planning and development; execution and oversight of creative content, including web and graphic design, as well as video projects and photography; social media management; Israel Mission planning and logistics; media outreach; and special events coordination and production.
Before joining the Foundation, Mr. Demchak enjoyed a more than 30-year career in broadcast journalism. He worked as a reporter, anchor, or manager at radio and television stations in Maryland, including WBFF-TV in Baltimore, as well as in Pennsylvania and Florida. In addition, Mr. Demchak served as a corporate news manager for a national broadcast group. He is a seven-time Emmy winner, who also led the Weinberg Foundation to numerous awards recognizing creative excellence.
“It has been my pleasure and privilege to lead communications for the Weinberg Foundation,” Mr. Demchak shared, “helping to promote and strengthen the Foundation’s exceptional mission and work serving people experiencing poverty. My broadcast career was rich and meaningful, but the Foundation has provided me with opportunities and experiences that I could not have imagined.”
As senior advisor at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Ms. Gencer supports senior leadership on strategic initiatives, projects, and relationships with key internal and external stakeholders. In that role, she also facilitates outreach opportunities and develops speeches for the president and CEO that help to advance the Foundation’s mission and priorities.
Ms. Gencer previously led internal communications at Casey. Prior to that, she supported communication efforts for the Casey Foundation's economic opportunity and community change portfolios. In this role, she spent five years developing messages on fostering financial stability; creating paths to jobs and education for young people and families; and transforming struggling neighborhoods into places where children and families can thrive.
“I am very excited to join the Weinberg Foundation and continue helping to advance the mission of a nationally recognized grantmaking organization that has a tremendous impact,” said Ms. Gencer. “Both the Weinberg Foundation and the Casey Foundation share a commitment to improving the lives of people who experience poverty, as well as learning from the diversity and hope of the communities where they work.”
Before joining the Casey Foundation in 2011, Ms. Gencer worked as a writer and editor for the US Department of Veterans Affairs and as a reporter for The Baltimore Sun, Los Angeles Times, and Orlando Sentinel. She holds a bachelor's degree in political science and journalism from Emory University, as well as a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University.
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About The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation: The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, one of the largest private charitable foundations in the United States, is dedicated to meeting the basic needs of people experiencing poverty. In 2022, the Foundation will provide approximately $140 million in total grant activity supporting nonprofits that provide direct services in the areas of Housing, Health, Jobs, Education, and Community Services. The Foundation’s priority communities include Baltimore, Chicago, Hawaiʻi, Israel, New York City, Northeastern Pennsylvania, and San Francisco. This includes supporting nonprofits serving federally designated rural areas within, or adjacent to, these priority communities. The Foundation’s trustees are Ambassador Fay Hartog-Levin (Ret.), Chair; Robert T. Kelly, Jr.; Paula B. Pretlow; Gordon Berlin; and Nimrod Goor. Rachel Garbow Monroe serves as President and CEO. For more information, please visit www.hjweinbergfoundation.org.
