The simplicity of those hopes for our community and state resonate deeply with me and are goals we have been proud to pursue. Yet with such broad goals, there are always many potential paths to choose, and Louisville and Kentucky are constantly evolving. For the Foundation, this means our approach to philanthropy also must adapt to meet the changing times and needs of communities while maintaining and honoring donor intent.
Our staff and trustees dedicate significant time to determine the best way to elevate the wellbeing and image of our state. In 2021, the Foundation launched a new strategic plan. We are emerging from a year when the COVID-19 pandemic took a significant toll on our state in both human and economic terms. The pandemic and justice movements exposed persistent inequities that continue to limit the progress in Louisville and Kentucky.
While equity was already a consideration in several of our grantmaking areas, the board made the decision to include it as a central value in our 2021-2023 strategic plan. Our focus areas remain the same—Education & Workforce, Community and Economic Prosperity and Quality of Life—and we now apply an equity lens to how we approach our grantmaking in each of those areas whenever possible.
Whereas our board sets our strategic goals and priorities, we rely on our partners—grantees and the nonprofit sector as a whole—to work toward realizing our vision of Louisville and Kentucky being recognized as prosperous and vibrant for all.
I still keep a copy of Mr. Brown’s will in my desk. But I am grateful to have our board, staff and partners across the state to count on as we all work to build a flourishing and vibrant state in which we can all be proud.
A specialist in providing strategic and financial advice to financial institutions on a global basis, Campbell’s career has included positions at Lazard Freres & Co, Dresdner Kleinwort, and Wasserstein Perella & Co. He currently serves on the boards of Berea College, Hardscuffle, Inc., and American Life & Accident Insurance Company of Kentucky.
A former Lieutenant Governor and State Auditor who has served seven Kentucky Governors, Luallen is active in retirement with service on several boards including Centre College, Community Trust Bank, Hardscuffle/American Life, Henry Clay Center for Statesmanship, Kentucky Historical Society Foundation and Executive Branch Ethics Commission.
A former State Auditor, Attorney General, and House Representative, Chandler now serves as the President and CEO of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky. He is active on New Vista’s board, providing mental health care to Kentuckians. He also serves as a chairman of the Kentucky State Board of Elections.
Doug Grissom is a Managing Director on MDP's Business & Government Software and Services team. Prior to joining MDP, he was with Bain Capital in private equity, McKinsey & Company, and Goldman Sachs. Doug currently serves on the Boards of Directors of BlueCat Networks, CoVant Technologies II, and Fleet Complete. Outside MDP, he is a Board Member at Amherst College, the Harvard Business School Fund Council, the Lincoln Park Zoo, METRO squash, the Museum of Science and Industry, and Churchill Downs.
A seasoned social entrepreneur and a non-profit executive leader, Lopa’s career has focused on education and empowerment. Her career includes leading Grameen Australia, founding a science program called TestToob, and leading the organization Women 4 Women. She currently serves as a board member of the Hooker Family Foundation, an ambassador for Good Return, and as a founding member of the Australia Chapter of the International Women’s Forum.
Alex has served on the board of the foundation since 1998. He is the Chairman of Sterling Thompson Insurance Co. He is also Chairman of the Board of Churchill Downs, Inc. and Vice Chairman of The Glenview Trust Company.
Steve is a private investor and currently serves on the boards of entities engaged in diverse business and charitable efforts. Mr. Sautel had various roles at Guggenheim Capital, LLC, CBAM Holdings, LLC, and Horizon Acquisition Corporation II. He is a current board member of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. and also serves on the boards of St. Xavier High School and the Catholic Education Foundation.
Dr. Steinbock is a Harvard-trained radiologist practicing at Baptist Hospital East in Louisville. He has served on the board of the foundation since 2003. He is an owner and board member of Whip-Mix Corp., a partner with X-Ray Associates, PSC and also serves on the boards of Filson Historical Society, Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill and Fons Vitae.
Aaron Thompson is the president of The Council on Postsecondary Education, the state’s higher education coordinating body. His education career includes roles at Kentucky State University, Eastern Kentucky University, and University of Missouri, and Columbia. Dr. Thompson is board chair of Baptist Health, Inc., and has held many state a national board positions including the National Center on Education and the Economy, National Council on Community an Education Partnerships, the Kentucky Department of Education and many others.
Mason began her career at the foundation in 1989 as its Grants Coordinator, served in several capacities over the years and eventually was named its President & CEO. Under the strategic direction of the Board of Trustees, she oversees all operations of the foundation.
She previously served as a political appointee with the Reagan administration, where she was a Public Affairs Specialist at the White House Office of Management and Budget. She is a graduate of Sweet Briar College and Indiana University’s Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, where she earned a master’s degree in Philanthropic Studies. In addition, she holds a master's degree from the School of Creative and Professional Writing at Spalding University.
Locally Mason serves on the boards of the Center for Nonprofit Excellence and the Kentucky Derby Museum. She also serves on the board of the Council on Foundations and Sweet Briar College where she is the Chairman of the board as well as the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy Board of Visitors. Other volunteer work includes Philanthropy Roundtable’s Public Policy Working Group and the public policy committee of Philanthropy Southeast. She is a founding member of the Grantmakers of Kentucky.
William “Nick” Clifton was named the James Graham Brown Foundation’s Director of Finance and Investments in March 2024. In this capacity he manages the Foundation’s finance operations and works with the Foundation’s Investment and Finance Committee as the primary liaison with the Foundation’s investment portfolio managers.
Previously, Nick supported BrightSpring Health Services (formerly ResCare), Churchill Downs Racetrack, TwinSpires.com, and Volunteers of America in finance and accounting roles. Nick earned a B.S. in Finance from Indiana University, where he was a Lilly Endowment Scholar, an MBA from Bellarmine University, and is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).
Nick is active in his community serving as the Finance Committee Chair on the Board of Directors at Dare to Care Food Bank and as a Commissioner for the City of Strathmoor Manor.
Vanessa serves as the foundation’s Office Manager, provides executive support for the President and for the CFO.
Vanessa joined the foundation in December 2018. She comes with 15 years of experience serving as Office Manager at Ohio Valley Surgical, Inc. and Executive Director of Operations at Advanced Medical Technologies, LLC. Vanessa brings with her a strong customer service record, dedication, and loyalty. She is a Louisville native with a BA in Communications from the University of Kentucky.
Margie Duvall joined the foundation in July 2020. She brings a wealth of knowledge in state and local enterprises, government, and civic organizations’ initiatives. Margie’s experience includes a successful tenure in executive administration in the publisher’s office at the Courier Journal. Margie’s expertise also includes planning national conventions and organizing public and private events for community leaders. Margie gives back by supporting cancer awareness initiatives, mentoring programs and volunteering opportunities with local community organizations. Margie is a Kentucky native and earned a B.B.A. in Business Administration from Eastern Kentucky University.
Working closely with the Program Officers, Margie serves as Program Assistant in the grants operations including public inquiries, research and internal management of the grants processes.
Bleik serves as Senior Program Officer, Brown Fellows Program Director and corporate secretary. As Senior Program Officer, he manages JGBF's Impact Team, encompassing grantmaking programs, grants management, and learning and evaluation. His grantmaking portfolio includes education (statewide) and Community and Economic Prosperity in Eastern Kentucky. As Brown Fellows Program Director, Bleik manages a mentored scholarship program in partnership with Centre College and the University of Louisville.
Bleik has nearly 25 years of experience in philanthropy. Before joining the Foundation's staff in 2017, he served in senior roles with the University of Kentucky, the National Science Teachers Association, Meridian International Center, and the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization. Bleik earned a B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh and an M.A. from the University of Kentucky's Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce. He also serves on the Steering Committee of Grantmakers for Education's Postsecondary Access and Attainment Impact Group.
Ashley joined the foundation as a Program Officer in May 2021. Her grantmaking portfolio includes Community and Economic Prosperity and Quality of Life.
Ashley has many years of experience in government, community and public relations. Formerly serving as policy director to Mayor Greg Fischer, she managed policy initiatives, grants, non-profit and philanthropic partnerships for Louisville Metro Government. She also led fundraising strategy for education, health, economic development, public safety, and equity initiatives. Previously, Ashley served as legislative director at the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet, deputy policy advisor to Governor Steve Beshear, and has worked with other state and local government and policy organizations in Kentucky, Ohio, and Washington D.C.
Ashley is active in her community and is the vice-chair of the Board of Directors for the Center for Non-Profit Excellence, commissioner on the Martin Luther King Jr. State Commission, and co-founder of the New Leaders Council Kentucky Chapter. She was also selected for the 2016 Louisville Business First 40 under 40 award and Leadership Louisville's Bingham Fellows program.
Ashley earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Economics from Xavier University (Cincinnati) and Master’s in Public Policy and Administration from the University of Louisville School of Urban and Public Affairs.
Anna Cate joined the foundation in April 2023 as Program Associate. After graduating from Centre College with a BA in International Studies, she began her career at Catholic Charities of Louisville. Working in their refugee resettlement and immigration services in 2021, she was later promoted to Cash Assistance Coordinator in Catholic Charities Migration and Refugee Services. Anna Cate is originally from Murray, Kentucky.
Born in 1881, James Graham Brown was a lumberman, horseman and entrepreneur, and a philanthropist who cared deeply about Kentucky and Louisville. Brown was a self-made man, who built a large business enterprise, primarily in the timber industry, in the first part of the 20th century.
During his lifetime, Mr. Brown engaged in philanthropy to better Louisville in many different ways, helping establish the Louisville Zoo, assisting in acquiring the necessary land to expand the University of Louisville and aiding the founding of the city’s first blood bank for the American Red Cross. Mr. Brown formally created the James Graham Brown Foundation in 1954 to serve as the primary vehicle for his quiet and generous philanthropy. Upon his death in 1969, he bequeathed most of his business holdings and other assets to the Foundation, cementing his legacy as a philanthropist.
Some business practices and beliefs that Mr. Brown and other Louisville business leaders followed as he built his fortune, including views on race and other social issues, while common then, are not the principles on which the foundation was created. Today the foundation continues his generous philanthropic legacy with a diverse and independent board and staff committed to improving Louisville and Kentucky with fairness and equity.
Since 1954, the Foundation has awarded nearly 3,200 grants totaling more than $620,000,000 and continues to play a vital role in Louisville and the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
SPENDING BY AREA OF IMPACT: 2023
