Staff Directory

Karen DiLossi

(email: kdilossi at sacredplaces dot org)
Director, Making Homes for the Arts in Sacred Places.

Karen has a B.A. in History and Drama from Washington College and an M.A. in Theatre from Villanova University. She has worked professionally in theatre since 2000, both onstage and off, serving as actress, stage manager, director, producer, administrator, and manager. Her directing credits include Jump/Cut, Twelfth Night, Tartuffe, and Pounding Nails. She is the co-Artistic Director of Madhouse Theater Company, and serves as the secretary of the Board of Directors for Flashpoint Theatre Company; she is also a panelist for the Philadelphia Cultural Fund. As the Director of Programs & Services for the Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia for over eight years, she produced the Barrymore Awards many times and directed them herself twice. Karen has taught acting at West Chester University and served as a stage management consultant for Villanova Theatre.

Daniel Duffy

(email: dduffy at sacredplaces dot org)
Project Manager, Pennsylvania Office.

Daniel has worked for several years to help low and middle income communities achieve economic mobility. As an organizer and researcher for labor unions, primarily in Philadelphia, he helped low-income workers gain the right to collective bargaining. Also, while earning a B.A. in Anthropology at Brandeis University, he conducted workshops and researched issues on rural poverty for non-profit organizations in Grenada and Mexico. He brings these experiences to Partners’ Halo Effect research, New Dollars/New Partners training and Making Homes for the Arts in Sacred Places program.

Tuomi Joshua Forrest

(email: tforrest at sacredplaces dot org)
Executive Vice President.

Tuomi has offered technical advice and consultation to thousands of congregations of all faiths on the care and active community use of their historic religious buildings since joining Partners in 1997. He has contributed to publications such as Sacred Places at Risk (1998), Open the Doors: A Guide to Serving Families in Sacred Places (2001), and Your Sacred Place is a Community Asset: A Tool Kit to Attract New Resources and Partners (2002), and he has also spoken at many conferences and workshops around the country. He is a lead designer and trainer for Partners’ New Dollars/New Partners program and currently oversees all of Partners’ programming efforts, including the development of regional office and grant funds. Previously, Tuomi worked at the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia and as an architectural photographer. He received an M.A. in American Studies from the University of Virginia and a B.A. in Political Science from Haverford College.

Leanne Gehrig

(email: lgehrig at sacredplaces dot org)
Project Manager, Chicago Office.

Leanne has a background in architecture, community development and interfaith relations. She brings five years of experience working with nonprofit organizations focused on feasibility studies, community organizing, historic district research, and event planning and coordination. She also serves on the Bishop’s Task Force on Sustainability for the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago. Leanne holds a Master of Architecture degree from Judson University in Elgin, Illinois.

Gianfranco Grande

(email: ggrande at sacredplaces dot org)
Vice President for Philanthropy and Business Development; Director, Chicago Office.

Gianfranco brings over ten years of experience in development and management of nonprofit organizations, from startups to agencies with annual budgets exceeding $45 million. He served as Principal of Philantropia, Ltd, Executive Director and President of First Step Foundation, and Vice President of Notre Dame High School. A graduate in literature and philosophy from the University of Rome, Gianfranco has worked for many years as the foreign editor at a major Italian magazine. Grande has published several works of fiction and nonfiction. He is Chairman of the Board for the “Education Center” a nonprofit organization in the Greater Chicago as well he is a founder board member of the Linardakis Foundation. Gianfranco is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professional, Chicago Chapter.

A. Robert Jaeger

(email: bjaeger at sacredplaces dot org)
President.

Bob holds a Master’s degree in preservation planning from Cornell University and an MBA from the University of Michigan. Prior to co-founding Partners for Sacred Places in 1989, Bob worked with the Philadelphia Historic Preservation Corporation as Senior Vice President for the Historic Religious Properties Program. He is the co-author of Sacred Places at Risk (1998) and Strategies for Stewardship and Active Use of Older and Historic Religious Properties (1996), author of Sacred Places in Transition (1994), and editor (from 1985 to 1989) of Inspired, a bi-monthly magazine with news and technical articles on religious property preservation.

Marie Malloy

(email: mmalloy at sacredplaces dot org)
Director of Operations.

Marie has 25 years of administrative experience in large and small non-profits, primarily religious and educational organizations. She holds a B.S. in Accounting and a B.S. in Elementary Education.

Scott Schnur

(email: sschnur at sacredplaces dot org)
Programs and Administrative Associate.

Scott brings skills in arts and non-profit administration to Partners along with a knowledge of religious history, art, and practice. He graduated from Haverford College, and has past work experience at a number of museums and artist studios in New York City.

Elizabeth Ann Terry

(email: eterry at sacredplaces dot org)
Director of Training.

Elizabeth has more than twenty years of working in the nonprofit field. She conducted hundreds of workshops for thousands of organizations through the Nonprofit Center at LaSalle University, the Center for Effective Public Policy, the Joseph Priestley District of the Unitarian Universalist Association, the Free Library of Philadelphia, the Grassroots Fundraising Institute, and through her consulting business, NIAwork. While at the Center for Effective Public Policy she compiled and edited Corporate Resources for Community Needs, a study of volunteering and giving patterns in the Delaware Valley. Before joining Partners, she was the Executive Director of The Other Side magazine. Elizabeth attended Temple University and Bryn Mawr College, and has been a lay minister since 1994. She is a member of the Society of Community Ministries, a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, and serves on the board of directors of Interfaith Working Group.

Suzanne Yowell

(email: syowell at sacredplaces dot org)
Project Manager, Texas Office.

Suzy supports the Texas Office through information management, activity coordination, communication, and office administration. She is a Fort Worth native, and has 18 years of experience with her family-owned real estate investment company.