Staff

Richard E. Ward is Executive Director of the Brookline Community Foundation. Richard has held leadership positions in nonprofit organizations, philanthropic consultancy and community organizations, including the Greater Worcester Community Foundation and the Boston Foundation. At the Boston Foundation, one of the country’s oldest and largest community foundations, Ward spent nearly a decade in senior positions including Director of Grantmaking and Director of Programs.

Susan Ross is the Director of Programs and Communications for the Brookline Community Foundation. Sue has experience in the legal, social services, career counseling and community outreach fields working on the front line and in operational roles on issues ranging from criminal prosecution and domestic violence advocacy to civic education and fundraising for schools. She is a graduate of Brown University and Vermont Law School. 

Bea Schembri is Finance and Administrative Director for the Brookline Community Foundation.  She has worked for more than 25 years in Managerial Accounting and Finance functions in a variety of service industries.  Bea has performed these business and financial functions through her own firm for the past eight years for small growing businesses from Boston to Rhode Island.

Brittany Dayton is Graduate Program Intern for the Brookline Community Foundation.  She commpleted her ungraduate studies at a small liberal arts school in the Midwest, Carthage College. Last year, she moved to Boston to attend Northeastern University. She is currently a graduate student in the Political Science Department, and is pursuing a Masters in Public Administration.  

Sarah Prensky-Pomeranz is the Social Capital Inc. AmeriCorps Youth Leadership Coordinator at the Brookline Community Foundation. She is overseeing BCF’s Youth Grantmaking Initiative and assisting in other youth-related programs. Sarah hails from San Francisco and just recently moved to Boston after completing her undergraduate degree at the University of Michigan this past spring. She has worked as a youth organizer with Detroit’s Youth Voice, was a teaching intern at San Francisco's Aim High, and served as a student leader at the University of Michigan Hillel. She is very excited to be joining the BCF team this year!

James Tresner is a Graduate Program Intern. He is originally from West Hartford, CT and graduated from Middlebury College in Vermont in 2009. While at Middlebury, James studied Environmental Studies and Music. After graduating, he spent 2 years working in student life at Middlebury and spent his summers working in a leadership role at camps in New Hampshire and Rhode Island. In addition to his work at BCF, James is the Site Coordinator of an extended day program in Watertown. He is excited to be involved with BCF programs, especially the Youth Grantmaking Initiative.