Jessica Gebhard, Executive Director
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Jessica started her role at the Luther I. Replogle Foundation in September 2021. She has several years’ experience on the grantee side of things, having held development and administrative positions at several nonprofit organizations in the Washington, DC area. Between 2019 and 2021, she was a member of the Board of Directors; she was instrumental in recent efforts to continue to define the Foundation’s mission and vision, and is eager to assist the Board in continuing their efforts in that project.

As Executive Director, Jessica is responsible for managing all aspects of the grant-making process ― beginning with scrutiny of Letters of Inquiry and Applications, making site visits, and ending with the review and analysis of progress reports from current grantees before a grant is closed for the year.  She also oversees the management of the Foundation’s financial resources; drafting the Budget, keeping the accounts up-to-date, and maintaining communication with the investment manager and the accountant. Twice a year, she organizes the Board meetings during which the Directors set policy and allocate grants.

Jessica graduated from Brown University in 2012 with an undergraduate degree in Linguistics.  She earned a MA in Anthropology from the University of Denver in 2015, after writing her thesis about newspapers written in Japanese American internment camps during WWII.

Gwenn Gebhard, Consultant

At the end of November 2021, Gwenn stepped down from her post as Executive Director, a position she has held for over 30 years. In that time, she has kept the Foundation on the leading edge of the use of computer technology and was an early adopter of online grants management.

Gwenn graduated from Brown University in 1982 with an undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies.  She earned a MA in Public Policy and a MA in Public Health through a joint degree program at Columbia University in New York.  After working for two years at the US Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, DC, she was offered the position of Executive Director of the Luther I. Replogle Foundation in 1989.