The Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Hartford has appointed a new leader with 10 years of experience working for the West Hartford-based group.
Kathryn Gonnerman will become president and CEO of the foundation starting Aug. 18. She will oversee a nine-member staff and will be tasked with expanding the foundation’s mission and growing its assets under management, which stand at $190 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.”
Gonnerman worked at the foundation from 2013 to 2024 in several leadership positions. She began as the marketing director and was promoted to executive director of the foundation’s Center for Innovative Philanthropy.
In 2018, Gonnerman served as interim CEO of the foundation and was appointed vice president of philanthropy in 2019. She restructured and grew the development team staff, and managed fundraising and donor relations, generating $4 to $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.
Gonnerman has also worked for the California Community Foundation, one of the largest community foundations in the country.
Gonnerman, who speaks Mandarin Chinese and Spanish, received her master’s and bachelor’s degrees from Yale University in East Asian Studies.
She was named one of Hartford Business Journal’s 40 Under Forty in 2016.
Founded in 1972, the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Hartford works to solve problems, strengthen community organizations and provide permanent support for Greater Hartford’s Jewish community. The Foundation awarded nearly $7 million in grants in fiscal year 2025.
