Taos Community Foundation Appoints Its First Chief Executive Officer

The Board of Directors of the Taos Community Foundation is pleased to announce the appointment of CJ Grace as its first Chief Executive Officer, effective February 14, 2024.

CJ exemplifies the leadership skills and background required for the TCF to continue its impactful work in our communities.

Ms. Grace was previously Director of Federal Programs for the Taos Municipal Schools and Taos High School principal and has extensive knowledge of our communities.

“CJ is a proven leader with a deep knowledge of the needs of our community’s families,” said George Jaramillo, board chair. “She is the right choice for this stage of TCF’s evolution as a community foundation. She has a deep knowledge of and a strong connection to Taos.”

“This comprehensive process involved the entire Board of Directors and a search committee appointed by the board,” said Dave Lambert, chair of the search committee. “We looked all over the country and hired a search firm that reviewed hundreds of resumes, and we realized that the best candidate would likely be in Taos. The new CEO needs to understand the diversity and complexity of our communities.”

The selection process included a series of extensive interviews with the board and current staff. The board based their decision on the candidate that aligned with the short term and long-term goals and objectives of the foundation. The new CEO needed to have a connection with the communities that TCF encompasses while working with staff effectively and impactfully. Ms. Grace was chosen by the board as the new TCF CEO based on these parameters. All the candidates interviewed were well versed and qualified for the position.

The Taos Community Foundation now has more than $20 million under management, and last year, it granted more than $5 million through 536 individual grants and $111,000 in student scholarships. Ms. Grace has experience managing multimillion-dollar budgets. TCF is committed to ensuring the trust of the communities it reaches through our conscientious pursuit of transparency, honesty and integrity.

“TCF has evolved and continues to grow, building on the work of all our boards and staff,” said Alix Henry, immediate past board chair. “Now in our 30th year, this is the time for us to analyze our impact and make sure we continue to do our best for our donors and for Taos.”

The Taos Community Foundation is a 501 (c)(3) organization foundation, publicly supported by families, individuals, foundations, other nonprofits, and government entities and overseen by an independent, community-based board of directors.

For more information, access www.taoscf.org or Michael Santistevan at msantistevan@kitcarson.com

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