Staff | Central Valley Community Foundation

Ashley Swearengin

President and CEO

Meet the CEO

Oversees the overall management and direction of the Central Valley Community Foundation, ensuring that CVCF makes progress every day towards accomplishing our mission: to cultivate smart philanthropy, lead, and invest in solutions that build stronger communities.

Ashley Swearengin is president and CEO of the Central Valley Community Foundation, a charitable foundation serving the six counties of Central California and providing over $100 million in funding to over 650 community benefit organizations over the last decade. Prior to joining CVCF, she served as Mayor of the City of Fresno from 2009 through 2016. As mayor, she implemented substantial changes to improve the delivery of city services, revitalize the downtown and urban core, promote business and job growth, address chronic homelessness, and stabilize the city’s financial position. Before becoming mayor, Ashley led a number of economic development initiatives in the Fresno region, including the Central Valley Business Incubator, Fresno State’s Office of Community and Economic Development, and the Regional Jobs Initiative. She holds MBA and BS degrees from California State University, Fresno.

Aida Vareldjian

Staff Accountant

As Staff Accountant, Aida Vareldjian performs a variety of bookkeeping, accounting, and financial control monitoring duties for CVCF, including journal entry preparation, general ledger account reconciliation, account analysis, report generation, and special projects.

Artie Padilla

Senior Program Officer

As Senior Program Office, Artie is responsible for CVCF’s neighborhood revitalization portfolio, which include developing community-driven and community-led solutions that will transform our region.

Breanna Galdamez

Donor Services & Accounts Payable Associate

As Donor Services & Accounts Payable Associate, Breanna Galdamez is an integral part of CVCF’s dynamic and high-energy Stewardship team, working in a collaborative environment to provide excellent service and support to our donors, fundholders, vendors, and CVCF team members.

Cherella Nicholson

Program Officer

Oversees the day-to-day implementation of CVCF programs, grants, and their respective deliverables.

Claudia Ruiz-Alvarez

Director of Donor Services

Focuses on providing exceptional and differentiated service to donors, prospective donors, nonprofit organizations, and colleagues. Claudia carries out CVCF’s mission by facilitating the establishment and effective operation of donor-advised, designated, scholarship and agency funds.

Cori Lucero

Merced Regional Director

Manages the Central Valley Opportunity Fund (CVOF), a philanthropic fund dedicated to improving the quality of life for residents in Merced County, California.

Elliott Balch

Chief Operating Officer (C.O.O.)

Coordinates grantmaking, community engagement, and policy work; recruits staff talent; and designs and implements strategies for program growth.

Gretchen Moore

Chief Strategy Officer (C.S.O)

Directs community engagement and communications activities to build strong relationships that create and support catalytic investment in the Central Valley.

Hannah Johnson McAbee

Director of Local Philanthropy

Responsible for the planning, oversight, and implementation of a comprehensive program that secures financial resources from individuals, corporations, foundations, and others to support the Central Valley Community Foundation’s (CVCF) annual fundraising goals and build the organization’s endowment.

Jessica Revis

Executive Assistant

Provides high-level administrative support to the CEO and assists with various projects. This includes the overall management of the CEO’s schedule and various correspondences. Often referred to as the gatekeeper, Jessica oversees all incoming requests and inquires for the CEO.

Kerri Horn

Chief Finance Officer (C.F.O.)

Provides accountability of the financial affairs of CVCF and serves as the chief financial advisor regarding fiscal resources and outlays. Kerri directs, administers, and coordinates policies and procedures related to: finance and investment management, safeguarding of assets, and compliance with internal controls.

Laura Maciel

Communications Manager

Facilitates and implements CVCF’s strategic communications plan, including developing original content that helps tell the story of the Central Valley.

Laura Ramos

Advancement Associate

Facilitating positive interactions with guests, managing the Center for Community, providing administrative support to staff, and coordination for multiple events.

Marcos Osorio

Program Officer

Oversees the day-to-day implementation of CVCF programs, grants, and their respective deliverables.

Phuong Bui

Grants Associate

As Grant Associate, Phuong Bui-Sears provides timely and effective support to CVCF staff managing programs and projects, and communicates with external parties to facilitate programmatic grant, scholarship, and accounts-payable transactions.

Sarah Moffat

Director of External Affairs

Responsible for attracting and engaging CVCF’s six-county region on portfolio issues pertaining to economic development. Supports key CVCF signature programming including Council of Business Sponsors and the Central Valley Legislators Roundtable.

Travis Jeffus

Controller

Executes a variety of accounting and financial control monitoring duties for CVCF. Travis ensures proper accounting for gifts, grants, and other financial transactions, thereby safeguarding the integrity of CVCF’s funds.

Yen Kilday

Director of Programs & Evaluation

Yen is a key system administrator who works collaboratively with colleagues throughout the organization, grant and scholarship review committees, and grantee partners to oversee and implement grantmaking by CVCF.