Jacobs Center Appoints New Director of Strategy and Philanthropic Partnerships

The Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation is pleased to announce the appointment of Elenore Garton as Director of Strategy and Philanthropic Partnerships. Garton brings a background in philanthropy-focused strategy development and evaluation to the organization and joins the team as it moves into an exciting phase of aligning resident leadership and sustainability development.

“I have long admired the work of the Jacobs Center for its authentic resident-led efforts to create lasting community change,” said Garton. “I am honored to be able to help further the truly innovative and critical work being done here.”

In her role, Garton will focus on devising multi-year strategic plans to advance programs and sustain and grow philanthropic partnerships. She will also coordinate with the Jacobs Center’s shared learning staff to develop protocols for measuring and evaluating impact and design learning materials to share best practices with the field.

“We are excited that Garton has joined the Jacobs Center,” said Reginald Jones, President & CEO. “She brings tremendous skills that will strengthen our efforts to further define our continuing work and advance philanthropic relations.”

Garton most recently worked as a strategy consultant to nonprofits and philanthropic organizations, providing assistance in organizational capacity analysis, strategic planning, and fundraising strategy development. Previously, she was a Senior Researcher and Lecturer at the Sillerman Center for the Advancement of Philanthropy at Brandeis University, where she oversaw its research and education work. A trustee of the Marie C. and Joseph C. Wilson Foundation for 18 years, she is the foundation’s current vice-chair and leads its strategic initiative on family and child homelessness. She also co-chairs the Juvenile Justice Work Group of the Youth Transitions Funders Group and serves on the Council on Foundations’ Committee on Family Philanthropy, where she is chair of its 2013 Family Philanthropy Conference.

Garton has a Ph.D. in Social Policy from The Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University and a Master of Public Administration degree from Cornell University. She replaces Kristine Breese, who is pursuing other opportunities after leading the Jacobs Center’s resource development work for nearly three years.

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The Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation (JCNI) and Jacobs Family Foundation (JFF) are partnering with resident teams in southeastern San Diego to transform 60 acres of blight into The Village at Market Creek, a LEED-certified neighborhood and vibrant cultural destination. Through a network of nonprofit and for-profit partners, locally-owned businesses and national tenants, a community and conference center, and a portfolio of social enterprise projects, JCNI and JFF are creating assets that will be transferred to community ownership when the foundation sunsets in 2030. Under the banner of “Resident Ownership of Neighborhood Change,” the people who live and work in the community create the vision, lead the implementation, and will own the assets related to this work.