Governing Board & Staff

Board of Directors Represent All Corners of Community

The Board of Directors of the Dearborn Community Foundation, Inc. (DCF) is made up of volunteers from all corners of Dearborn County, supporting the Foundation’s primary purpose of building permanent endowment funds to serve donors who have charitable interests.

The 16 members of the Board of Directors are each elected for a three-year term starting at the annual meeting in January with approximately one-third of the terms ending each year. A director may serve a maximum of two full consecutive terms of service. The terms are staggered to provide continuity of experience. New board members are elected by the Board of Directors after it receives recommendations from the Board Development Committee – charged with seeking talented leaders who are representative of the community as a whole.

The current members of the DCF Board of Directors:

Executive Committee:
Gerald Nixon, Chairperson Bright	Jada Ankenbauer, President Aurora
John Maxwell, Vice President Logan Township	Matthew B. Probst, Treasurer Aurora
Mike Heffelmire, Secretary Dillsboro

Directors:
Charles Blankenship, Greendale	Dave Deddens, St. Leon
Mary Fields, Dillsboro	Mark Graver, Lawrenceburg
Luree Ketcham, Bright	Darin Kroger, Greendale
Barry Nanz, Lawrenceburg	Ron Powell, New Alsace
Brad Rupel, Greendale	Kim Schmaltz, Dillsboro
Margaret Stewart, Lawrenceburg

Courteous, Professional Staff

The DCF staff is a group of courteous, experienced professionals that are dedicated to making a difference in their community through top-notch service to donors, grantees and other community members, as well as, by providing professional support to board members. The staff is made up of three full-time employees and a part-time employee.

Full-time Executive Director Fred McCarter is a former newspaper journalist (12 years) and media relations/marketing professional (7 years) that joined the DCF staff in early 2005 after having served on the Foundation’s board of directors. McCarter’s significant experience in marketing/journalism, community relations and governmental affairs serve him well as the Foundation creates and implements a strategic plan to take the organization to the next phase of development.
Full-time Staff Accountant Cheryl Wessel has 27 years of accounting experience and has been a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) for 24 years. Wessel joined the DCF staff in November 2007. Her accounting experience covers a broad range of fields including many non-profit organizations. Wessel served as both a staff accountant and accounting specialist during 10 years at Cincinnati Bell Inc., where her responsibilities ranged from completing monthly financial reporting and special reporting for Cincinnati Bell Inc. subsidiaries to completing SEC financial reporting and quarterly financial report press releases.
Attorney Lisa deHart Lehner (Wood Lamping & Lehner LLP) is one of the founders of DCF. Lehner is a significant asset to the Foundation through her expertise is in tax planning, charitable giving, trust administration, probate administration, and estate planning. Lehner represents closely-held corporations and non-profit corporations qualified as tax-exempt organizations.