Triangle Community Foundation Names New Board Members

January 14, 2010

For more information, contact:
Kelly Harrell, Director of Communications
Tel: (919) 474-8370 ext. 125
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For Immediate Release

Durham, N.C. (January 14, 2010) –Triangle Community Foundation today announced the addition of three new members to its Board of Directors: James A. Stewart, Dr. Anu Kumar and Diane Evia-Lanevi.

“The Foundation is delighted to have this diverse addition of members to our board,” said Andrea Bazán, Triangle Community Foundation president.  “To have the local finance and real estate expertise that Jim Stewart brings, along with the professional experience and international expertise of both Diane Lanevi and Anu Kumar, is a true reflection of the multi-cultural community that the Triangle has become.” 

James A. Stewart is currently Chair of the Triangle Community Foundation Real Estate Foundation. Stewart’s other director or advisory board positions currently include: M&F Bank Board of Directors, Chairman, M&F Bancorp, Inc. (Publicly Traded Parent Company), Chairman; White Rock Baptist Church Trustee Ministry, Chairman; Parrish Street (Redevelopment) Advocacy Committee (Economic Development Sub-Committee); Durham YMCA Advisory Board; NC State University Chancellor’s African American Community Advisory Council, Chairman; NC State University Representative to NC Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation. Stewart holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA, both from North Carolina State University.

Dr. Anu Kumar serves as executive vice president of Ipas, a nonprofit organization that works to improve women’s lives internationally through a focus on reproductive health. She joined Ipas in January 2002 and is now responsible for development and communications as well as community outreach and mobilization. Prior to that, she worked in the Population and Reproductive Health area of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and as a Social Scientist at the World Health Organization’s Reproductive Health Research Division. Kumar has a Masters in Anthropology, a Masters in Public Health, and a PhD in anthropology, all from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  She also holds an A.B. in anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley. Currently she serves on the Boards of IntraHealth, the Center for Women Policy Studies, and Hidden Voices. Kumar has published on the topics of women’s health in India, population, and stigma. She is a native of India and speaks Hindi and Spanish.

Evia-Lanevi sits on the Board of Directors for TABLE, a newly formed nonprofit in Carrboro, the Durham Nativity School, a privately funded school for socioeconomically disadvantaged boys, and the Alumni Board of Directors at Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida. She is a member of the Friends of Nasher Board at Duke University and of the fundraising committee for El Vinculo Latino of Siler City. Previously, she has served on the Board of Directors of El Centro Hispano of Durham. Evia-Lanevi has worked as a writer, editor and translator and is the founder of The Tomorrow Fund for Hispanic Students at Triangle Community Foundation. Evia-Lanevi and her family moved to the area six years ago from Palo Alto, California after living in Geneva, Switzerland and London, England. She was born in Cuba and emigrated with her parents to the U.S. at the age of 13 months.

About Triangle Community Foundation:
Triangle Community Foundation is a nonprofit organization that manages $120 million in funds established by individuals, businesses and families. From these funds, we give grants to nonprofit organizations and administer a variety of programs for the community’s benefit. The Foundation currently manages over 740 funds, ranging in size from $10,000 to $10 million, primarily for the benefit of Wake, Durham, Orange and Chatham counties. During the 2008-09 fiscal year, the Foundation granted more than $15 million to nonprofits, schools and community efforts. On average, we distribute more than 10% of our assets each year, raising the total value of grants made since the Foundation’s inception in 1983 to nearly $144 million.