Foundation Team

Betsie Trew was recruited in August of 1998 to serve as the first Executive Director of the Washington County Community Foundation when the Foundation had less than $250,000 in assets.  In recognition of her successful efforts to grow the Foundation’s assets and its community impact, she was named President & CEO in 2010.  Under her leadership, the Foundation has been recognized as one of the fastest growing community foundations in the country by CFLeads, the country’s national network of community foundations committed to community leadership.  Cumulatively, the WCCF has awarded over $30 million in grants to local nonprofits and has assets of more than $50 million. 

During her tenure, the WCCF was one of the first community foundations in the country to be approved for the National Standards for Community Foundations. She also led the effort in 2013 to initiate WCCF Gives, an annual community-wide giving event that supports over 100 local charities and cumulatively has raised close to $12 million.  Also in 2013, she helped to facilitate the Foundation’s first real estate gift, the Samuel T. Brownlee House, a grand 1848 facility that is included on the National Register of Historic Places. She also led the effort to secure more than $1.5 million to rehabilitate the structure and to build an endowment to care for the building in perpetuity. The Foundation’s offices are located on the second floor of the Brownlee House, and Scotch-Irish Heritage Rooms are located on the first floor. A previous three-car garage has been repurposed into the CARE Education Center. 

Trew led the Foundation’s efforts to create the Close to Home Disaster & Emergency Fund, which has provided over $1 million in grants to local nonprofits working to address the impacts of the COVID-19 virus in our community as well as other emergencies.  In 2023, she led the effort to create the Community Snapshot, a web-based community needs and assets database to help educate Foundation donors and community leaders about the needs of our greater community, as well as the most pressing needs of individual nonprofits. 

Immediately prior to her position at the Community Foundation, she was Vice President, Community Services for the United Way of Washington County.  Previously, she was employed at US Steel in both Washington and Pittsburgh, where she held positions in human resources, sales, and accounting. 

Trew is a Past President of the Rotary Club of Washington and the Rotary Club of Monongahela. She has also served on the Washington County Tourism and Promotion Agency Grants Committee and the Community Connections Grant Committee for Washington County. In 2009, she received the ATHENA Award from the Washington County Chamber of Commerce which in part, recognized her efforts to support disadvantaged women and children through the Foundation’s Mother’s Fund. She also received the Lewis Green Club Service Award from the Rotary Club of Washington, the Community Service Award from the Zonta Club of Washington, the Community Service Award from the Literacy Council of Southwestern Pennsylvania, and the Trailblazer Award from Food Helpers.  She also has served as a member of the Board of Directors for Grantmakers of Western Pennsylvania in Pittsburgh, PA. 

The first in her family to attend college, Trew is a magna cum laude graduate of California University of PA, where she earned a degree in Business Administration and Management. She is also a graduate of the Executive Leadership Program at the University of Michigan and the initial Community Foundation Course at the Center on Philanthropy (now the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy) at Indiana University.  

She resides in Bentleyville with her husband Jack. They enjoy spending time with their five grown children and seven grandchildren.  Betsie and Jack are members of the Foundation’s Family of Founders and Golden Oak Guild recognition societies. 

Susan Cook is the Manager, Development & Donor Services for the Washington County Community Foundation. Prior to her position here she worked for 12 years as a Senior Development Manager for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society in Pittsburgh. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts from Penn West California.

Susan is a lifelong resident of Canonsburg, PA and resides with her pups, Cookie and Tyson, along with her fiancé, Bill.

Megan Fabyonic is the Manager, Communications & Marketing for the Washington County Community Foundation.

She attended West Virginia University where she obtained a Bachelor of Science in Journalism with an emphasis in Advertising. She also studied Marketing and Communications as minors. While in school, she was Creative Director at a student-run agency on campus. Her teams’ campaign that centered on building education and awareness surrounding unsheltered homelessness in Morgantown won the 2022 WV PRSA Crystal Award for Best Community Relations Campaign.

With a strong data and math background, Emeline "Em" Ferguson is the WCCF's resident expert on the various software programs used by the Foundation to process gifts and grants. She was integral to the WCCF's transition to its current customer relationship management system, and lead the conversion to Submittable for grant requests and reports. Her knowledge of Excel, which she uses on a daily basis, includes advanced formulas, data tables, pivot tables, graphs, etc.

Em is a graduate of Grove City College, and is currently studying for the Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy designation, administered through the American College of Financial Services.

During her college years, Em was involved in numerous mission trips which included volunteering in Scotland and New York, at homeless shelters in Los Angeles, and in Houston after Hurricane Harvey. She is a Washington County native and currently resides in Cecil Township with her dog, Fig.

Joann Naser is the Manager for Nonprofit Leadership & Engagement for the Community Foundation.

Immediately prior to her position at the Community Foundation, she was the Chief Development Officer for Transitional Paths to Independent Living (TRPIL)/Voices for Independence, a nonprofit organization that serves people with disabilities throughout Western Pennsylvania, in Washington, PA. Previously, she served as its director of development and launched its first successful capital campaign.

Naser is a graduate of Washington and Jefferson College and PennWest California. She enjoys serving in the nursery at the Bible Chapel, reading, and attending community cultural events.

She resides in Washington County with her two young adult children.

Amy Smith is the Manager, Accounting & Financial Processes for the Washington County Community Foundation.

Although she was born in Pittsburgh, Amy grew up in San Diego, California where she started her accounting career. Upon moving back to Pennsylvania in 2008, she attended Franciscan University of Steubenville, graduating summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting. Amy and her husband have seven kids, three of which still live at home. They reside in Burgettstown and attend Promise of Victory Church in Weirton, WV, where they serve in a variety of capacities.

Amy enjoys spending time with her family, gardening, and teaching classes for children and adults at church.

Leslie Briggs is the Lifelong Learning Grants Associate for the Washington County Community Foundation. Prior to her position here she worked for nine years as a customer service representative for Clover Technologies. She obtained her Bachelors in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix.

Leslie currently serves as a volunteer Sunday school teacher at Trinity Church in Washington.

She is a native of Washington County, and she resides in Amwell Township with her husband and daughter.

Emily Fox is the Communications Associate for the Washington County Community Foundation.

Born and raised in Georgia, Emily acquired both her BA in English and her MA in American Studies from Kennesaw State University, after a brief stint in operatic studies. Her thesis focused on the intersection and impact of historic preservation and modern development in growing communities. She served as the office manager for her old hometown’s historic society and worked as a docent and curatorial assistant at a local historic antebellum plantation home.

Emily moved to Mt. Lebanon in the fall of 2018 to be closer to the rest of her family living in Dormont and Washington D.C. 

Suzanne Grove is the Donor Services Associate for the Washington County Community Foundation.

A graduate of The University of Pittsburgh, Suzanne has spent the last decade consulting in the fields of communications, media relations, and marketing for a wide variety of companies and organizations, from professional sports teams like The Pittsburgh Penguins to local restaurants, real estate firms, and nonprofits.

Additionally, Suzanne serves as both Associate Editor for CRAFT and Fiction Editor for Write or Die Magazine. She is a two-time Pushcart Prize Nominee, and her fiction and poetry have been published in more than a dozen literary journals.

She currently resides with her Norwegian Elkhound in the southwest suburbs of Pittsburgh, where she is at work on a novel.

Heather started her higher education at PennWest California studying Psychology, then took an interest in Computer Science as a second major. She became secretary of the Programming Club in 2022 and maintained that position for a year. She is currently an honors student studying at Southern New Hampshire University, where she will finish with degrees in Psychology and Computer Science. Although she grew up in San Diego, California, she has been located in the Pittsburgh area since 2015, and now resides in Washington. In her free time, Heather enjoys playing with her two cats and exploring different crafts.

Rachel Reska is the Grants Program Associate for the Washington County Community Foundation.

Rachel graduated magna cum laude from Washington & Jefferson College in 2018, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in History with a concentration in Russian Area Studies, and becoming a member of the Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Alpha Theta honor societies. Her capstone focused on the industrial growth of the Pittsburgh area in the mid-1800s and made it to the final round of edits for publication in Appalachian State University’s History Matters journal.

She currently resides in her hometown of Washington and in her free time she enjoys working with various art mediums, learning about local history, and watching Washington/Pittsburgh sports.