Rachel Garbow Monroe, president and CEO of the Owings Mills-based Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, will co-chair the transition team for John A. Olszewski Jr., who was recently elected Baltimore County Executive.
Olszewski, best known as “Johnny O,” announced Nov. 14 that the team will be co-chaired by Monroe and Calvin G. Butler Jr., CEO of the Baltimore Gas and Electric Co.
“Calvin Butler and Rachel Monroe are two of the Baltimore region’s most dynamic and effective executives, and I am grateful to them for providing their vision, expertise and energy to leading an open and inclusive transition process,” Olszewski said in a statement.
A Stevenson resident and Beth El congregant, Monroe, 49, has held leadership roles with the Weinberg Foundation since 2005 when she was appointed its first chief operations officer. She became president of the foundation in 2010.
One of the largest private foundations in the United States, the Weinberg Foundation has assets of approximately $2.3 billion and distributes approximately $100 billion in grants to nonprofits annually.
In a 2016 interview with Jmore, Monroe spoke about her views on leadership.
“I believe that change often has nothing to do with money,” she said. “Money is a tool, but it is not necessarily the power of change. Driving real change, in my experience, relies upon fundamental, intangible qualities including recognition of opportunities, building a powerful team to create and act upon a vision, and empowering others to act on that vision. …
“… The Weinberg Foundation, alone, could never be as effective without amazing partners and a commitment to collaboration.”
Prior to working at the foundation, Monroe served as chief operating officer for The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore; worldwide director of marketing for the architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; and marketing manager for the Jewish Community Centers of Chicago.
At the Weinberg Foundation, Monroe has helped to launch initiatives including the Israel Mission Alumni Scholars Program, the Baltimore Elementary and Middle School Library Project and the Baltimore City Community Grants Program in partnership with Baltimore’s Mayor Catherine E. Pugh.
A native of Alexandria, Va., and mother of three, Monroe currently serves on the board of the Center Club and volunteers at Northwestern University. In the past, she has served on numerous Jewish and secular community boards including Leading Edge, a partnership of Jewish foundations and organizations that aims to strengthen the pool of Jewish communal leaders to fill senior level positions; and Baltimore’s Promise, a citywide initiative comprising public, business, higher education, nonprofit, community and philanthropic leaders.
Reached by telephone on Nov. 14, Monroe told Jmore, “I am honored to serve and hope to do whatever I can to help advance the agenda of Baltimore County and to strengthen the relationship between Baltimore County and Baltimore City.”
Olszewski, 36, will be sworn into office on Dec. 3. He will succeed Donald I. Mohler III, who assumed the county executive position after the passing of Kevin Kamenetz in May.