Leadership Team

Kathi Barry Albertini, Knowledge Management Committee Co-Chair

Kathi Barry Albertini became a RWGC member in 2014. During her career
she provided database services to Women’s World Banking and learned
how women’s work impacts the economy as well as the home. Since
selling her business, Management Growth Institute, Inc. which brought
together CEOs of private businesses, Profit Enhancement Groups (PEG),
she has enjoyed becoming a grandmother of four, written a novel, helped a
grassroots organization send 60,000 postcards to get out the vote in 2020,
published a tribute to her artistic mother, worked to form an urban
cohousing community in Rochester, currently working with others to modify
NYS regulations to become cohousing friendly; worked with a local nonprofit, Friends of Borgne, that does educational projects in Borgne, Haiti

Melinda Andolina, Circle Chair

A member since 2009, Melinda has served on the Grantmaking Committee,
chaired the Membership Committee and led the Hunter Derby fundraiser in
2014, raising $7,500 for the RWGC. Melinda is a native of Rochester, NY
who retired in 2009 from a 28-year career as an insurance executive with
Chubb with responsibility for developing commercial business in western
New York. She is an avid horsewoman and competes with her own horse at
local and state horse shows. She uses that talent in her volunteer work at
Heritage Christian Stables in their therapeutic riding program for people
with disabilities and now serves as a board member at Heritage Christian
Services Foundation. Melinda has done extensive fund raising and
volunteer work for Bridges to Community, building homes for people in
remote areas of Nicaragua.

Teri Davis, Membership Committee Co-chair

Teri became a member of the Giving Circle in 2014. She joined the
Membership Committee to get involved in Circle activities and found it was
a great way to meet other Circle members. She became Co-chair of the
Membership Committee in 2017. Teri categorizes her long career with
Xerox into three areas: curriculum development and training, program and
project management and Chief of Staff to Xerox’s Information Management
CIO, where one of her responsibilities was to coordinate all
communications with the global organization’s 1,500 people. Teri is a
member of the Optimist International Organization, a community service
organization focused on improving the lives of youth, and has held
numerous leadership roles at the Club, District and International level. She
embraces a quote from Muhammad Ali – “Service to others is the rent you
pay for your room here on earth.

Rita Garretson, Secretary

Rita joined the Giving Circle in 2013. She served on the team that
developed the 2019-2021 Strategy Map, and spent several years on the
Grantmaking Committee. Following graduation from Clarkson University
with a BS in Mathematics, she began a 21-year career with Rochester Gas
and Electric, including economic and accounting analysis, systems
operations, strategic planning, purchasing, and materials management.
While at RG&E she earned an MS in Applied Statistics from Rochester
Institute of Technology, and an MBA from the Simon School of the
University of Rochester. In 2014, she retired from a 10-year position as
Director of C.A.S.H. (Creating Assets, Savings and Hope), a not-for-profit
community collaborative focused on improving the economic security of low
income working families in Monroe County. Community service is a focus
for Rita – she is an active member of the Greece Rotary Club, the Zonta
Club of Rochester, the Greece Education Foundation, and the League of
Women Voters. She enjoys time with family and friends, reading, music,
cooking, and the occasional bicycle ride with her husband.

Kathy Hagen, Grantmaking Committee Co-Chair

Kathy Hagen joined the Rochester Women’s Giving Circle in 2021 and proudly serves as
Co-Chair of the Grant-making Committee. Originally from the Buffalo suburbs, Kathy has
called Rochester home for over 30 years. A lifelong learner with an innate curiosity, she
brings a wealth of experience from a diverse background—including interior design,
nonprofit business operations, massage therapy, and hypnosis practice.
Kathy is now channeling her multifaceted expertise into her role as a small business
consultant, specializing in fostering a leadership mindset. With an MBA from the Rochester
Institute of Technology, she aims to empower leaders to maintain their focus on achieving a
positive mind view while employing the most effective tools to streamline operations.
In her free time, Kathy enjoys reading, learning, walking, yoga, and spending time with her
partner and two dogs.

Nancy Hessler, Membership Committee Co-Chair

Nancy joined the Rochester Women’s Giving Circle in late 2012. She
became active with the Membership Committee and served on the second
five year strategic planning committee. Nancy has been a leadership
effectiveness consultant for the past 12 years. Prior to that, Nancy served
in various Human Resources leadership roles for Xerox Corporation,
Rochester Gas and Electric, and Nortel Networks for 22 years and as the
Dean of Students at the Eastman School of Music for 8 years. She
continues to serve on not-for-profit boards and participates in multiple fund
raising activities. Nancy spends much of her free time outside, downhill
skiing, long distance bicycling, hiking, kayaking and gardening.

Carol Hidy, Grantmaking Committee Co-Chair

Carol joined the Giving Circle in 2013. She has co-chaired the Grantmaking Committee since 2017 after serving on the Grantmaking and Partner Committees for multiple years. Carol grew up in Ohio and has a B.S. and MBA from The Ohio State University. Carol retired in 2012 after 33 years in the information technology services industry working for General Motors, Electronic Data Systems and Hewlett Packard as a leader and account executive serving manufacturing and healthcare clients in North and South America. She was an executive sponsor in her company’s women’s network and mentored women throughout her career. Carol is a volunteer for the Rochester Area Interfaith Hospitality Network and has served countless hours in leadership and volunteer roles for her church community. Carol enjoys caring for her home and family and maintaining relationships with friends near and far.

Annette Meade, Knowledge Management Committee Co-Chair

Heather Menzies Jones, Communications Co-Chair

Heather joined the Giving Circle in 2011. She grew up in Charlotte, North
Carolina and moved to Rochester in 1980. She has a BA in English from
Cal State LA, an MS.Ed. from the University of Rochester and an MA in
English Literature from SUNY Brockport. She was an English teacher for
twenty-one years, the last fifteen at Fairport High School from which she
retired in 2016. Heather is a writer and self-published her first novel
NanoMan about chemistry professors behaving badly. In 2018 she lived in
Berlin for six months and took intensive classes in German. She has
volunteered at the Rochester Interfaith Hospitality Network, Saint’s Place
and the Maplewood Library where she tutors adults who are learning
English. Heather and her husband are avid travelers and enjoy family times
with their children and grand-children.

Linda Josephs, Partner Committee Chair

Linda joined the Giving Circle in 2017. She served on the Grantmaking
Committee to get a better understanding of the agencies and the RWGC
process to select grant recipients. She also served as a Partner to one of
the agencies selected in the 2018 grant cycle. Linda grew up in the New
York City area where she pursued a career in Information Technology
working for Warner Communications, CIT Financial and Citibank. She
moved to Rochester in 1991 to pursue a management opportunity with
Xerox and then EDS. Her last role before retiring in 2017 was as Project
Manager for Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield. Linda has been composing
classical music since 2009 and has had her works performed at the
University of Maryland, SUNY Fredonia and Onondaga Community College
as well as venues around the local Rochester area. She volunteers with Ad
Hoc Music as Vice President and Treasurer. Linda works out regularly and
is a lifelong learner who enjoys taking online courses. She is currently
pursuing interests in graphic design, photography and painting.

Jill Miller, Treasurer

Jill has been a member of the Giving Circle since 2010 and an influential
knowledge management champion. She led the use of Dropbox as a
process enhancement tool for the Grantmaking and Partnering
Committees, and is using it as a records management tool for the Steering
Committee. Jill has resided in the Rochester area since 1973; she received
her PhD in Computer Science from the University of Buffalo in 1979 and
then worked at Xerox for 25 years. During her last 15 years at Xerox she
worked as a senior manager in the Research Labs and was then
responsible for introducing a corporate records management system to the
company. She is an avid duplicate bridge player and international traveler,
and regularly enjoys aerobics and walks with her husband Sandy and dog
Bogie. She has done volunteer tax preparation for CASH for about 10
years and tutoring for Literacy Volunteers for almost 20 years. She was
previously Billing Treasurer and Finance Vice President at Temple Sinai,
and remains an active volunteer at the temple.

Sue Moore, Grantmaking Committee Co-Chair

Sue joined the Giving Circle in 2016 and served on the Grantmaking
Committee in 2017. She grew up in Ohio and attended the University of
Cincinnati where she received a Bachelors in Business Administration and
an MBA. After graduation, she moved to Rochester and began a 39-year
career at Xerox, starting as a Financial Analyst and working to become a
Vice President of Finance. She worked in many areas, including the
original copier business, financing, the personal computer business,
business services, and the long-term research innovation group. Sue
retired from Xerox in 2015. Sue has two children and four grandchildren in
Rochester, and is regularly called upon to babysit. She is active on the
Finance Committee of the Board of Our Lady of Mercy School and in St.
Louis Church. She is also an avid bicyclist, gardener, and workout
enthusiast.

Abbie Schonfeld, Communications Committee Co-Chair

Abbie joined the Giving Circle in 2017. She grew up in the New York City
area attending New York University (BA) and Teachers’ College at
Columbia University (MS Ed). After living for a year in Tucson, Arizona,
Abbie settled in Rochester in 1974. She retired from a teaching career of
30+ years in 2013, having spent those years teaching, developing
curriculum and presenting staff development in the preschool-grade 2
community. During those years, Abbie’s activities included being a docent
at the Memorial Art Gallery, a Brownie Scout leader and a Board of
Trustees member in her faith community. Since retiring she has pursued a
long time wish to study watercolor painting. Abbie is an enthusiastic
traveler, camper, cook and reader. She spends as much time as possible
with her children and grandchildren.