Our Executive Team

Carla E. Dearing

Managing Director and CEO

Carla started her career at Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc. where her responsibilities included new product and market development for Morgan Stanley Capital International, operating out of the company’s London and Geneva offices. She then co-founded a financial services advisory and fund administration firm that was acquired in 1998 by a Boston bank now owned by State Street Bank. In 2000, Carla became the founding CEO of Community Foundations of America, Inc. (CFA). With a blue-chip client list of major philanthropy institutions and funders such as the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the Ford Foundation, and more than 115 community foundations nationwide, CFA was widely recognized for its entrepreneurial drive and innovation, particularly in the areas of nonprofit technology, high net worth donor marketing and strategies for demonstrating accountability. Most recently, Carla served as Assistant Vice President, Strategic Initiatives, University of Louisville, Office of Health Affairs where she was responsible for developing strategic initiatives and working within the School of Medicine, the Hospital and the faculty practice organization to improve strategy development and execution/management. Carla graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Michigan with Bachelor of Arts degrees in economics and political science, and she holds an M.B.A. degree from the University of Chicago.