The Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Hartford (Foundation) has appointed Kathryn Gonnerman as President and Chief Executive Officer. Ms. Gonnerman, who previously worked at the Foundation for 10 years, began her new role on August 18, 2025. She oversees a nine-member staff and will expand the Foundation’s mission and grow its assets under management, which currently are $195 million.

“We are truly delighted to welcome Kathryn back to our community,” said Gayle Temkin, Chair of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees. “Kathryn is an outstanding strategic thinker and an inspiring leader, deeply committed to our community. She has a remarkable ability to build trusted relationships with donors, trustees, and lay leaders alike,” she continued. “We are confident that Kathryn is the ideal person to lead the Foundation into a new era of growth, innovation, and financial strength.”

Ms. Gonnerman first worked at the Foundation from 2013 – 2024 in various leadership positions. She began as the Marketing Director and was promoted to Executive Director of the Foundation’s Center for Innovative Philanthropy. In 2018, Ms. Gonnerman served with distinction as Interim CEO of the Foundation and was appointed Vice President of Philanthropy in 2019 – 2024. In this role, Ms. Gonnerman restructured and grew the Development Team staff, and managed fundraising and donor relations, generating $4-6 million in revenue per year. She also counseled Jewish agency and synagogue leaders on effective endowment initiatives and supported the migration of a new database system for greater operational efficiency.

Ms. Gonnerman speaks Mandarin Chinese and Spanish, and has traveled extensively through her work in international education and cross-cultural competency. She earned her master’s and bachelor’s degrees from Yale University in East Asian Studies. Ms. Gonnerman was named one of Hartford Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 in 2016.