Notice: Test mode is enabled. While in test mode no live donations are processed.
Dinessa Solomon is the co-founder, executive director and chief fundraiser for
Foundations for Families. She has secured federal, state and private funding to
support the organization and program services. Dinessa is responsible for
securing relationships that build the capacity of the organization to serve
clients. She assists in providing direct service and maintaining relationships
with funders and direct service providers. In addition to her role at Foundations
for Families, Dinessa leads private philanthropic fundraising for Vanderbilt
University. Prior to Vanderbilt University, Dinessa led Foundation fundraising for Ohio State
University’s academic units and the Wexner Medical Center. Dinessa has worked with community
organizations and managed the Ohio Attorney General’s Victim Support grant program that funded
over 300 victim service programs throughout the State. Ms. Solomon has a Bachelor of Arts Degree
from Arizona State University.
Audrey Howard serves at the Manager of Finance for Foundations for Families.
She is responsible for managing all federal, state, and private funding, including
donations from individuals. Audrey is responsible for developing all fiscal
infrastructure and practices in accordance with funders policies and procedures
and the National Association of Auditing Procedures. Ms. Howard supports the
executive director in managing the organizations budget, expenditures and
volunteer program, which is used to ensure we meet our cash and volunteer match requirement.
Audrey is also responsible for the Grace Food Pantry which is operated monthly. Ms. Howard is
responsible for creating and maintaining community partnerships in order to provide this service
successfully. Ms. Howard has a Bachelor of Arts Degree from The Ohio State University.
Fredena Williams serves as the volunteer coordinator for Foundations for
Families. She is responsible for marketing volunteer opportunities,
organizing volunteer trainings, scheduling volunteers for work and recording
and documenting their work. All volunteer work is used by Foundations for
Families to meet our federal cash and volunteer match. Ms. Williams also
works for the City of Gahanna in the Building and Zoning Department. Ms.
Williams holds her Bachelor of Science Degree from Oklahoma Christian University.
Marsha Rose Wickliffe, has more than two and a half decades of working with children,
youth, and families to help improve their outcomes at the city, county, state, and
national levels. Her community work began after college at a settlement house, working
with latency-age and teen boys and girls. Following law school, she spent five years
working at Cleveland Legal Aid Society, representing indigent individuals in
landlord/tenant, unemployment, and social security cases. Moving from direct-service to
administration, Ms. Wickliffe worked in the first of two urban child welfare agencies in
Ohio, helping staff work directly with birth parents and community partners to safely
keep children and youth in their own homes and communities, whenever possible. She
was then thrust on a national stage, working at the Annie E. Casey Foundation as a Program Administrator with Family to Family. These experiences prepared her to serve as the Director of the Southside Settlement House. Prior to joining Foundations for Families, she helped recruit and prepare trainers to prepare staff to work in one of Ohio’s 88 public child welfare agencies. She has a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Cincinnati and a Juris Doctor Degree from Howard University School of Law.
