DiscoverE Names New Executive Director

DiscoverE, the nonprofit dedicated to sustaining and growing a dynamic engineering profession, has named Kathy Renzetti, CAE, Executive Director. Renzetti takes the helm from outgoing Executive Director Leslie Collins, who departs after leading the organization through a long period of sustained growth and expansion.

In her new position, Renzetti will work with the DiscoverE board, its professional staff and volunteers, from both a global and grassroots perspective, to deliver strategic objectives from concept to implementation. She will drive fundraising strategies, developing and curating DiscoverE’s network of sponsoring companies and engineering societies. She will also lead the growth and direction of all DiscoverE programs, including Engineers Week, Future City Competition, Introduce A Girl To Engineering Day, Global Marathon By, For and About Women in Engineering & Technology and World Engineering Day.

Kathy Renzetti brings a long record of success in building nonprofit and philanthropic organizations. She most recently served as Principal at The Giving Collaborative, a position she has held since 2015. The Giving Collaborative provides personalized philanthropic consulting services to some of the most prestigious organizations in the United States and around the globe. While there, Renzetti partnered with organizations to give their philanthropy programs the necessary tools to maximize potential including directing initiatives for several capital campaigns ranging in size from $1.5-$40 million; conducting feasibility studies and organizational audits; and providing best practice and strategy for annual, major and planned giving programs, as well as board structure and governance.

Prior to The Giving Collaborative, Renzetti was Chief Strategic Officer for Association for Healthcare Philanthropy.  She joined Association for Healthcare Philanthropy in 1999 as Manager, Marketing and Communications, was named Vice President in 2007 and became Chief Strategic Officer in 2009.

“Kathy’s unique blend of marketing and communications, association and non-profit, and philanthropy leadership and expertise make her perfectly aligned to lead DiscoverE to its next phase of growth and influence within the engineering, technology and STEM communities,” said Amy Barrett, P.E., President, DiscoverE’s Board of Directors.  “We are thrilled to welcome her and we look forward to great success in the coming months and beyond. We also want to thank Leslie Collins for her dedicated service and unwavering stewardship of this vital organization.”

“DiscoverE enjoys a unique and highly valued reputation for both its thought leadership initiatives and programming excellence,” said Renzetti. “I look forward to working closely with all of the organization’s stakeholders to continue to provide essential professional development for those already in engineering careers, as well as expanded outreach to the critical young engineering leaders of the future. I am also committed to building on the organization’s leadership role in expanding diversity in engineering, as we look to empower talented individuals across gender, ethnic and social-economic lines.”

Renzetti serves on the board of the United States Tennis Association Mid-Atlantic Section (USTA MAS) and on the steering committee for the Business Women’s Giving Circle of the Community Foundation of Northern Virginia, focused on investing in innovative programs that empower girls and young women in STEM. She is a Certified Association Executive (CAE) since 2009.

A graduate of the University of Virginia, Renzetti, her husband and their two children reside in Tysons Corner, Virginia.

Source: DiscoverE

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