(LACF News) – After four years leading the organization through a period of record growth and development, the Board of Directors of the Los Alamos Community Foundation announced today that Rachel Kizielewicz has resigned as Executive Director. Kizielewicz’s resignation is effective May 31, 2022 to provide an ample search and transition period.
“This past summer, my family and I relocated back to the East Coast to be closer to our relatives, as the pandemic made it too hard to live 2,000 miles away from our extended family,” said Kizielewicz. “For the past six months, I’ve been returning to Los Alamos as often as possible, and while I love this organization enough to travel these miles in service of our mission, I’m afraid there is no escaping the realization that the distance will end up doing too much of a disservice to our work over time,” she added.
Under Kizielewicz’s tenure, the Foundation has:
- grown from $175,000 in assets to approximately $1,000,000
- provided a total of over $100,000, for nonprofit grant funding and awarded grants to eight local NPOs in its first competitive grant cycle in 2021
- expanded the annual nonprofit training program which provides quality, low cost, local workshops focused on capacity-building
- launched the free community philanthropy series focused on how communities can become better supporters of local nonprofits
- grown the number of endowments from 1 to 14
- expanded the Board to eight dedicated community members
“We were very fortunate to find in Rachel someone who had the professional skills and personal warmth to bring us to where we are today,” said LACF board president David Izraelevitz. “When she joined four years ago, we were taking baby steps in bringing a community foundation to Los Alamos, and our progress has been tremendous, and Rachel was a key contributor to this progress. We will miss her very much,” he added.
LACF board member and UNMLA Chancellor Dr. Cindy Rooney also expressed her gratitude for Kizielewicz’s leadership.
“Rachel has consistently exemplified professionalism and grace as she engaged and challenged our community to grow philanthropically, “said Rooney. “Her commitment to the Los Alamos Community Foundation and its mission, and the work to support local non-profits, have benefited the entire community in Los Alamos.”
Rooney added that the Board has started the search process for a new executive director, and the position description can be found at https://losalamoscf.org/employment-opportunities.
“My heart is heavy; however, I believe it is now time to pass the baton to the next person to lead the Los Alamos Community Foundation through its new phase of growth and development,” said Kizielewicz.
About the Los Alamos Community Foundation: Established in 2015, the focus of the Los Alamos Community Foundation is to improve the quality of life in our community by inspiring, facilitating and supporting enduring philanthropy, and building the capacity and success of our local nonprofit organizations. The Los Alamos Community Foundation currently stewards 14 local endowed funds and has total assets of approximately $1,000,000. For more information about the Los Alamos Community Foundation, visit www.losalamoscf.org.