KATE ECKER JOINS COMMUNITY FOUNDATION STAFF

Takes post as director of development.

For Immediate Release

Contact: Gloria Duncan 707/579-4073

Santa Rosa, CA — December 18, 2002 Kate Ecker, a consultant specializing in strategic marketing with wide experience in financial services, travel and entertainment, consumer products and telecommunications has joined the staff of Community Foundation Sonoma County as the new director of development. She replaces Lauren Maddox who is returning to the east coast after the first of the year.

A Harvard graduate, Ecker also holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business where she was a member of the Public Management Program.

“We are so fortunate to have found someone with Kate’s skills,” said Kay M. Marquet, Community Foundation president and CEO. “Lauren Maddox has done an outstanding job and though we’re sorry to lose her, we are delighted that Kate has agreed to join us. These are challenging times and I’m confident that Kate’s exceptional background and experience will be a great benefit to the Community Foundation.”

Ecker has lived in Sonoma County since 1991. She is a founder and was the first president of the Bennett Valley Education Foundation and recently became a trustee of Sonoma Academy. She has been a member of the Community Foundation’s Friends Advisory Council for the past several years.

Before coming to Sonoma County, she was a senior consultant for Arthur D. Little, Inc. and lead consultant for Peat, Marwick, Mitchell and Company. As a general partner in Schwartz and Ecker Productions, she received awards from the American Film Institute and the national Educational Film and Video Festival for an education video which she produced and marketed. Most recently she has been a principal in US Marketing Services, working on marketing and business strategy, new product and service development and implementation, distribution strategy and project management.

Community Foundation Sonoma County was established in 1983 to create an ongoing source of funds for local charitable organizations. Since that time, it has distributed more than $46 million in grants and scholarships, including more than $10 million in 2001. It is a vehicle for community philanthropy which enables individuals of modest means and significant wealth to contribute to a permanent endowment for the people of Sonoma County.

For more information, visit the Community Foundations’ website at www.sonomacf.org

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