Senior Program Officer Rosa Berardi Reflects on 25+ Years with the Foundation

Dear friends and colleagues,

After almost 26 years with the Coleman Foundation, it is bittersweet to announce that my tenure will end on June 30, 2022.

It has been my privilege to serve as Senior Program Officer where I was influential in affecting many organizations and the clients they serve. I am grateful for time spent with the Foundation’s grantees who presented awareness of the needs of populations ranging from those that lack opportunities for quality healthcare, people with developmental disabilities, individuals with economic limitations, and many others. I was motivated by their passion to collaborate with them to identify ways to address such needs. I am appreciative of Coleman board members who were receptive to the requests presented on the grantees’ behalf and then were inspired to award funding.

I am honored to have been an integral part of the Foundation’s mission. Coleman has been a leader in cancer care and supportive oncology, which has grown and grounded our work in health equity. Investing in early-stage nonprofits has impacted the growth of those organizations as well as the lives of hundreds of individuals.

It was American actress Lillian Gish, whose film career spanned 75 years, who said: “What you get is a living. What you give is a life.” My life has been enriched through relationships established with grantees, colleagues, staff  and board members — I believe that quote reflects the sentiment of my departure. Wishing you all the best that life and love have to offer.

With much gratitude,

Rosa Berardi
Senior Program Officer