WILLIAMSBURG — The Williamsburg Community Foundation (WCF) elected three new trustees from among local community leaders and announced the retirement of two of its trustees on Mar. 4.
Established in 1999, the Williamsburg Community Foundation describes itself as a collection of gifts from local citizens, mostly invested in long-term endowment funds, which will benefit the community forever. Each fund provides grant-making dollars for community needs. In its 25-year history, the Foundation has distributed over $12 million for grants and scholarships combined.
The three new trustees are Ti’Juana Gholson, Leigh Houghland, and Jeanne Zeidler. WCF noted that the three individuals each have a history of service to the greater Williamsburg community. WCF also announced the election of a new chair, Alison Lennarz, and a new Vice Chair, Melinda Morgan, from among its trustees.
Gholson has spent more than 20 years in the human services field, according to WCF. As the owner of several businesses, she also has more than 20 years of entrepreneurship experience. Gholson spends her days coaching/mentoring small business owners to business success. She has served on a wide array of boards and led community initiatives. She currently serves on the WCF Distribution Committee.
Houghland is a native of Williamsburg and has been in the banking industry for more than 25 years. He is the regional executive for Chesapeake Bank in Williamsburg and also serves as its senior lending officer. Houghland also serves on the boards of Child Development Resources, YMCA of the Greater Virginia Peninsulas, United Way and Men’s Charity Tennis. Houghland graduated from the LEAD Historic Triangle program in 2007.
Zeidler retired after eight years as President and CEO of the Williamsburg Health Foundation. Before that, she had a more than 30-year career in museums, cultural, and educational organizations. Now she is involved with Virginia 250 as a member of the Board of Commemorations, Inc. Currently, she chairs the Board of Directors of Williamsburg Landing, is Secretary of the Let Freedom Ring Foundation, is the Williamsburg appointee to the Board of Directors of the Peninsula Agency on Aging and is a member of the WCF’s Scholarship Committee.
In addition, WCF honored the work of its retiring trustees, Margaret Pritchard and Kathleen Slevin.
Pritchard joined the WCF Board in 2007. She chaired the Development and Donor Relations Committee from 2010 to 2014, served as Vice Chair of the board from 2013 to 2014 and Chair from 2014 to 2016. She then returned to the board as a trustee in 2018 and served on the Philanthropy Committee and, according to WCF, assisted greatly with the development of its 25th Anniversary Campaign.
Slevin joined the WCF board in 2016. In 2017 she became chair of the Distribution Committee and took on broadening WCF’s reach in greater Williamsburg. She has attended community meetings, invited many community leaders to her home, and participated in several organizations on behalf of the foundation, WCF said, and has encouraged outreach to smaller and minority-led nonprofit organizations.
WCF said Slevin brought a thoughtful and determined approach to creating a more inclusive Foundation and has left a legacy that it can continue to build on going forward.
To learn more about WCF, visit its official website.