Two staff members at the Kalamazoo Community Foundation are beginning new duties in a move that strengthens services in the donor relations area.

Ann Fergemann, a 25-year veteran of the Community Foundation, fills a new role focusing on donor engagement and stewardship. Fergemann has worked in donor relations for the past 15 years, the last five as vice president.

Joanna Dales, a donor relations officer with the Community Foundation, is the new vice president of Donor Relations. Prior to joining the Community Foundation in 2007, she spent more than 10 years in the donor relations field in Washington, D.C., and New York State.

"These changes will increase our capacity to deliver world-class service to our donors," said Community Foundation President/CEO Carrie Pickett-Erway, "while allowing one colleague to focus on the work she loves the most and the other benefiting from a wealth of institutional experience and success."

According to Fergemann, the move "will allow me to devote 100 percent of my energies to helping donors achieve their charitable goals." Dales said her new assignment "is a wonderful opportunity to follow in Ann’s footsteps and for the Donor Relations team and me to continue learning from Ann, who enjoys a national reputation in this field."

Fergemann, who holds a bachelor's degree in secondary education from Iowa State University and an master's degree in counseling and personnel from Western Michigan University, began her career as a teacher and counselor before joining the counseling staff at Kalamazoo Valley Community College. She joined the Community Foundation in 1989 as a program officer, moving up in the organization to donor relations officer, then senior donor relations officer before being named vice president of Donor Relations in 2007.

Dales, who holds a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Michigan and a master's degree in business administration from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, worked in Washington, D.C., as manager of Research & Records at the National Trust for Historic Preservation and then as director of Annual Giving for the American Symphony Orchestra League. Her work in New York State included development work at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy and as director of Administration & Development at the Preservation League of New York State in Albany.