Get to know some of Cincinnati’s most engaging leaders in this unique series organized by ULI Cincinnati’s Women’s Leadership Initiative (WLI). In this series, Coffee with a Game Changer, featured leaders will participate in a conversation where current and future members will hear both the challenges and highlights of their professional stories.

Meet our game changers for January 13 from the Greater Cincinnati Foundation, Ellen Katz and Meghan Cummings. Together these women are –

• Changing the conversation about race in our region.
• Catalyzing a movement for racial equity and the economic mobility of Black women
• Rapidly growing and deploying assets to advance our region
• Co-creating solutions with community, shifting power and access to those whose problems institutions attempt to solve
• Creating innovative strategies to engage the business sector in being critical social change partners

FEATURED GUESTS

Ellen M. Katz, President & CEO of Greater Cincinnati Foundation (GCF), has over 30 years of experience in the nonprofit sector. Prior to joining GCF in 2015, she spent 10 years as President & CEO of The Children’s Home of Cincinnati. There she led the organization’s evolution from a $6 million operation of a few programs to a comprehensive $20 million organization meeting the behavioral health and special education needs of more than 6,000 children and families each year.

Under Ellen’s leadership, GCF has deepened the engagement of its donors and is positioned as a critical, intersectional leader in the advancement of the region. Since her arrival in 2015, GCF has seen more than a 50 percent growth in net assets & grantmaking, as well as a doubling of annual contributions. Ellen has led the charge to invest millions in the social & economic advancement of people of color, aligning all of the foundation’s activity to ensure greater racial equity and growth potential for the Greater Cincinnati community. In 2019, GCF received a CLIMB Award from the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber for boldly catalyzing a new narrative around race and racial equity in the region.

Ellen also contributes to the community at large, having served on numerous state and local boards. She currently Chairs the board of Bethesda Inc. and led the development of its multi-million-dollar grantmaking strategy throughout the Greater Cincinnati region. She also serves on the boards of 3CDC, Cincinnati Regional Business Committee, and OneNKY Alliance.

Meghan Cummings is the Executive Director of the Women's Fund of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation. She brings a broad perspective of leadership and tackling complex systems issues through her experience with non-profit organizations, a corporate charity and a community foundation. She is passionate about addressing poverty and equity issues by igniting public will and inspiring individuals, companies and foundations to collaborate in new ways.

She is a past president of the Greater Cincinnati Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and has worked extensively on the chapter's diversity and inclusion efforts including the creation of a diversity pipeline program called New Faces of Fundraising. She was named to the 2014 class of the Cincinnati Business Courier's Forty under 40. She serves on the board of Philanthropy Ohio and is an advisor to Queen City Certified, the first employer certification program for gender equity in the US workplace.