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 15 members of the Board of Directors are each elected for a three-year term starting at the annual meeting in January.  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:
Jim Stock, Chairperson New Alsace	Perry Taylor, President Moores Hill
David Wismann, Vice-President Aurora	John Rumsey, Treasurer Aurora
Mary Ewbank, Secretary Hidden Valley Lake

Directors:
Tami Bovard, Aurora	Paula Bruner, Greendale
Dave Deddens, St. Leon	Mark Graver, Dillsboro
Deanna Hacker, Hidden Valley Lake	Mike Hornbach, Jackson Township
Becky Lyons, Lawrenceburg	Barry Nanz, Lawrenceburg
Jon Strautman, Aurora	Judy Ullrich, Aurora

Courteous, Professional DCF Team

The DCF Team 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 the Foundation board of directors. The DCF Team is made up of five full-time employees and non-staff member Lisa deHart Lehner, the Foundation's legal counsel.

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.
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.
Program Director Denise Sedler joined the Foundation staff in October 2008. She has significant experience in the areas of communication, marketing, administration and finance. As Program Director, Sedler manages grant and scholarship programs at DCF. She spent nine years with Procter & Gamble in administration, finance and as an Employee Program Specialist in the company’s human resources department. She also served as Employee Program Specialist for IBM Corporation.
Administrative Assistant Andrea Nappier joined the DCF staff in mid-2008. Nappier brings a wealth of professional experience to the Foundation with a vast background in administration as well as experience in marketing.
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.