Jean Ahwesh is among the most respected and seasoned professionals and executive leaders in the consulting, transitional, and interim nonprofit sector, specializing in advancement, philanthropy, and organizational and foundation management in higher education, healthcare, medical research, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
Successfully served as the President or Executive Director of Institutionally Related Foundations (IRF) at several national universities and healthcare foundations; she earned a successful track record in strategy formulation and tactical execution, emphasizing the executive leadership of the board and management of staff.
As an affiliate with the AGB Search (Association of Governing Boards) and the Interim Executive Network in Washington, DC, Jean successfully drove change in the interim space, assisting multinational charitable and family foundations with granting priorities, mentoring, and coaching at all levels. Special skills include the architecture of coordinating multi-channel direct response and communications programs to serve as a bridge among all groups of donors and prospects, including mid-level, principal, and leadership giving programs through all channels.
Technical skills include building and assessing infrastructure to achieve goals and objectives, best practices in IRF board governance, foundation grants, direct response, capital campaigns and leadership, and principal gifts. She is respected for having the highest integrity and professional ethics. Effectively negotiated, organized, and implemented various projects involving varied sectors, working at the CEO level with multiple stakeholders (boards of directors, volunteers, staff, and significant benefactors) in organizations with complex infrastructures.
Executive Experience
Leadership positions include President of the Watson Institute (formerly DT Watson), Vice President and Chief Development Officer of Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, President of Fairmont State University Foundation, Vice President of Pennington Biomedical Research Foundation of Louisiana State University, Associate Vice President of Donor Experience, Moore/Edge Direct, and President, Keystone Partnership Foundation.
Education
Ms. Ahwesh earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology from West Virginia Wesleyan College. She received a Master of Business Administration in marketing management from Waynesburg University, where she is currently an adjunct faculty member in the Graduate School of Business Administration. She graduated from the technology commercialization program at the Graduate School of Industrial Administration at Carnegie-Mellon University and graduated from Leadership Pittsburgh, XIII.
Board Membership
A frequent speaker at international, national, and regional fundraising and nonprofit management conferences. Previously, Jean served as President of the Fairfax County, Virginia, Police Department’s Citizens Police Academy’s 37th Class, Trustee of the Waynesburg University’s Board of Directors, a member of the President’s Leadership Council of West Virginia Wesleyan College, and Secretary of the Board of Trustees of Sherwood Oaks (a division of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center). Jean previously volunteered in the athletic department at Stanford University and USA Diving. Jean is President of the Andrew Kuremsky Charitable Fund of the Pittsburgh Foundation.
Personal
A lifelong resident of the Pittsburgh, PA, area, Jean relocated to Northern Virginia in 2018. Jean has two sons: Andrew, deceased, formerly a police officer with the Fairfax County (Virginia) Police Department, and Connor, a Rosalind Franklin Medical School graduate in Chicago, IL, is a physician assistant in Maryland. Jean and her family enjoy traveling domestically and internationally.