Jan Dorman, director of finance at the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation, will retire, effective December 2020. The Foundation has begun a search for her successor.
Dorman joined the Foundation team in May 2015, building on a career developing businesses in the education and healthcare sectors. In the five years since then, the organization has grown in its commitment to the community, promoting transparent, collaborative, creative grantmaking and investing; partnering with donors and grantees; and reimagining what it means to be a community where everyone can thrive. This has included responding to multiple local and national crises as well as centering the Foundation’s work in equity.
“I’m not one to reminisce,” Dorman said. “I tend to be forward-looking, seeking deep understanding of where we’re headed and why.” She described her role at the Foundation as multifaceted—participating in a vibrant executive leadership team, managing both investments and administrative operations, and providing guidance to donors and area nonprofits. She praised the Foundation’s staff and board for their dedication and camaraderie.
“I do love the work we do and the opportunity to learn together,” Dorman said. “There’s a real willingness to listen here, to be collaborative and open.” It has allowed the Foundation to continue to be innovative in its philanthropy. “When a donor or organization comes and says, ‘I want to try this new thing,’” she said, “we respond by saying that sounds like a good idea. So let’s figure out how to do it.”
“It is a pleasure and an honor to work closely with Jan,” Brennan Gould, the Foundation’s president and CEO, said. “We are extremely fortunate to have had her skills and leadership at the Foundation over the past five years. Our organization is where it is today because of her great service, professional excellence, tireless work, and creativity.”
Dorman said she plans to help the transition to her successor. “The Foundation right now is doing some of the best work we’ve ever done,” she said. “Where we’re headed—it’s really exciting.”
The posting for chief financial officer can be found on the Foundation’s website.