Melanie Littlejohn, president & CEO, and Frank Ridzi, vice president of community investment, presented on a panel at the Lender Center 2026 Expo.
Darrell Buckingham, senior program officer, strategic initiatives, was selected as co-lead for the New York Funders grants managers & program officers peer community. Earlier this year, he appeared on NewsChannel 9’s Bridge Street segment to discuss Black Equity and Excellence community investments and highlight Advance Student Resource Systems, Inc. (ASRS) and their STEM programming. He was also appointed co-chair of the Onondaga County Housing and Transportation Taskforce. He presented “Local Lead Landscape and Collective Community Impact” during the Syracuse STEM National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) program. At the Association of Black Foundation Executives (ABFE) Harambee Conference 2026, he spoke on the “Strengthening Black Movement Ecosystems for Impact” panel.
Pragya Murphy, MBA, CAP®, director of philanthropy & impact investing, and Frank Ridzi, vice president of community investment, presented “Structuring & Deploying Impact Investments for Workforce Development” at the Mission Investors Exchange (MIE) Community Foundations Gathering.
Frank Ridzi, vice president of community investment, presented “Trust-Based Philanthropy Approaches to Preventing Learning Disabilities Related to Lead Poisoning” at the Learning Disabilities Association of America (LDAA) 63rd Annual Conference in St. Louis, Missouri. He was also a keynote speaker at the International Society for Quality of Life Studies (ISQOLS) practitioners’ perspectives virtual workshop, where he presented “CNY Vitals – the Syracuse, New York Community Indicators Project: Reflections on New Technological Approaches to Support Data-Driven Impact and Participatory Community Engagement.”
Monica Merante, CAP®, senior director of philanthropic services, co-presented at the AdNet 2026 Conference in Phoenix, Arizona, with Tim Bresnahan, vice president, advancement and philanthropic services at the Community Foundation of Greater Atlanta. She currently serves as president of the AdNet board of directors and is in the final year of her nine-year term.
Danielle Johnson, senior director of grants & programs, presented an overview of the funding landscape and grant writing strategies to Syracuse University museum studies students.
Jan Lane, AEP®, CAP®, director of philanthropy, completed coursework through the American College of Financial Services (ACFS) and earned the Accredited Estate Planner® (AEP®) designation. This graduate-level certification, awarded by the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils (NAEPC), recognizes professionals with at least five years of experience in law, accounting, insurance, finance or philanthropy who follow a team-based approach to client planning.
Qiana Williams, senior program officer, co-facilitated the GoodNation Foundation’s Roundtable on Ending Poverty (NREP) webinar and serves on the planning committee for the GoodNation Foundation (GNF) Coalition to End Poverty.
