Yvonne Maher Named Executive Director of the Penguins Foundation
In her new role, Maher will oversee all operations of the Penguins Foundation including oversight of all Foundation staffing and programming to promote the Foundation's core pillars of wellness, youth hockey, education and community impact. She is also responsible for the organization's strategic plan to further advance the positive impact on Pittsburgh area youths through the power of hockey. She will report to the Foundation Board of Directors and to Tracey McCants Lewis, the Penguins' chief people officer and general counsel, and will serve as the liaison between the Penguins Foundation's internal and external stakeholders.
"We are thrilled to welcome Yvonne Maher to the Pittsburgh Penguins as our new executive director of the Penguins Foundation," said Acklin. "She joins our team with a dedicated passion and a proven track record of driving social equity impact at the highest levels of the non-profit community in Pittsburgh. With Yvonne's leadership and experience, we look forward to embarking on the second decade of the Penguins Foundation, and continuing to have a positive impact on our city and region."
Maher joins the Penguins organization from Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh where she served as the vice president of advancement and community engagement for the last three years. Her duties included overseeing communications, membership, development, government relations, and community engagement for the four museums (Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Carnegie Museum of Art, The Andy Warhol Museum, Carnegie Science Center). During her tenure, Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh saw gifts and commitments of almost $150 million.
"I am honored to join such an esteemed Foundation, and I look forward to building on the great work that has been accomplished over the last decade," said Maher.
During her time at Carnegie Museums, Maher built a strong and dynamic team of fundraising professionals; secured significant COVID-19 relief funding that helped sustain Carnegie Museums through the first two years of the pandemic; worked with her team to grow Carnegie Museums' membership to record levels and establish new Community Access Memberships that include free membership for teens; and collaborated with other senior leaders to integrate fundraising goals with strategic priorities both at the individual museums and for Carnegie Museums as a whole.
"Yvonne and I joined Carnegie Museums within weeks of each other, and I have benefited greatly from her leadership and counsel ever since," said Carnegie Museums President and CEO Steven Knapp. "I am constantly impressed by the development team she built since her arrival, and there is no question that our ability to emerge so strongly from the early years of the pandemic was due in no small measure to her success in leading efforts to secure COVID relief funds. I know my colleagues join me in thanking her for her many contributions and wishing her all success in her next endeavor."
Prior to Carnegie Museums, she spent nearly 14 years with the Pittsburgh Foundation from 2006-19, first as the director of development for planned giving, and most recently as the organization's executive vice president. With the Pittsburgh Foundation, she was part of a leadership team that oversaw over $1.3 billion in company assets and distributed more than $50 million in grants in 2019. She also spent four years as the director of development at Penn State University from 2002-06.
Maher has an undergraduate degree in communications from Mercyhurst University, a master of arts in communication studies from Edinboro University and she received a certificate of authentic leadership from the Harvard Business School in 2016.
The current executive director of the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation, Jim Britt, a 20-year veteran of the Penguins organization, will be transitioning to an executive role within the organization.
The Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit created in 2010 with an effort to focus the organization's wide-ranging charitable and community outreach efforts benefiting the youth in our region. To learn more, visit
https://www.pittsburghpenguinsfoundation.org/
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