Who we are

Patrick W. McGrory

Patrick W. McGrory

Board Member and President

As a Private Wealth Advisor with Liberty Point Advisors, Patrick McGrory specializes in investment management, retirement planning, estate planning and charitable giving. Having been in the industry for over twenty years, he has been awarded the designation of Certified Financial Planner and Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor.

In addition to his work as an advisor, Patrick has played a significant role for over 25 years in his family’s foundation, the Raskob Foundation for Catholic Activities, where he currently serves as the Chairman. Patrick is a member of various councils for the Diocese of Camden, including the Bishop’s Finance Council where he currently serves as the Vice Chair as well as the Chair of the Catholic Schools Oversite Committee. His charitable work continues in his roles as a Board Member and Treasurer of the Foundation and Donors Interested in Catholic Activities and as a Board Member of The Saint John Vianney Center.

Patrick received his undergraduate degree from Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, where he served as the Hawk mascot, and continues to be deeply involved with the university and its alumni activities. He received his Master of Science in Financial Services and is now a PhD Candidate in Financial and Retirement Planning at The American College in King of Prussia, PA.

Patrick was born and raised in Wilmington, Delaware and now resides in Vineland, New Jersey with his wife, son and daughter.

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Mike Hoffman

Mike Hoffman

Emeritus Chair

Mike Hoffman is the Chairman of Changing Our World, which he co-founded over two decades ago. Changing Our World was the first philanthropic services firm to provide fundraising, management and corporate social engagement strategy to nonprofits and corporations alike, and the first fundraising consultancy to become part of Omnicom Group (NYSE: OMC). He is also the co-founder of Impact 360, a social impact technology company, and chairs its nonprofit division, SoulfulImpact.org. In addition, Mike is president and CEO of The Hoffman Brothers Foundation and is a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Mike and his wife Maggie have 3 children, Siobhan, Michael and Shannon.

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Team

Melanie Guard

Melanie Guard

Communications Manager

Melanie Guard serves as GSF’s Communications Manager, based in the United States. For the past 35 years, she has worked with numerous health care systems and hospitals leading broad-scale internal and external communications initiatives. Her expertise also includes event and conference planning; media relations and project management. Much of her career has supported Catholic organizations.

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Paola Iappelli

Paola Iappelli

Events and Operations Manager

Paola Iappelli serves as GSF’s Event and Office Manager. For 10 years she served in the office of the President and CEO of Booz Allen Hamilton, Italy, sustaining both the activities of the CEO and his institutional roles as Member of the Boards of Directors and Foundations. She also worked as Office Manager at the Rome Headquarters of Booz Allen. In Italy she has collaborated with Anthony R. Tersigni, former President and CEO of ASCENSION. She played an active role in the organization of the XXXII International Conference on Health Disparities (CISAC), which was held in the Vatican in November 2017. She has supported the activities of the Hon. Frederick Vreeland, former US Ambassador in Morocco and Under-Secretary of State, as well as Dennis Redmont, at the Council for the US and Italy. Paola also collaborated with Geneva-based Eurovision, backing up the Rome Bureau and its Vatican activities for papal trips and major events.

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Jini Sebakunzi

Program and Grant Manager

Jini Sebakunzi is the Program and Grant Manager for the Global Solidarity Fund. He is responsible for overseeing and managing all GSF programs and grants.

Jini has more than 15 years of experience in business development and project management in both the public and private sectors. He has worked in various leadership roles supporting social enterprises in Africa in partnerships with foundations, impact investors and private corporations.

Previously he worked as a Program Manager at Regions of Climate Action (R20), where his team won a two-year grant and launched a solar enterprise for rural women in Burundi, that produced an inclusive economic impact.

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Anna Springer

Team Coordinator

Anna Springer serves as GSF’s Team Coordinator, based in Rome. Prior to joining GSF in 2020, she worked with Eurovision Italy, leading a remote-based team in providing administrative services to Eurovision Services in Geneva. She is experienced in archive management, travel logistics, invoice handling, and customer database management.

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Alessandra Tarquini

Media and Communication
Senior Advisor

Alessandra Tarquini serves as GSF Media and Communication Senior Advisor, based in Rome. For over 20 years she has worked in the field of communication mostly for non-profit organizations with focus on international cooperation for development. Over the years she has gained experience collaborating in the design and development of communication strategies, communication and media activities for international organizations and global campaigns in the fight against poverty and for human rights.

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