WiRED Welcomes Elizabeth A. Touma to the Governing Board

BY ALLISON KOZICHAROW AND BERNICE BORN

WiRED International is pleased to announce that Elizabeth A. Touma (Bess) has become its most recent Governing Board member.

 

On receiving the appointment, Ms. Touma said, “I feel honored to watch WiRED mature and grow, because behind its expansion is a vast number of people who have benefited from its programs and services.”

 

Ms. Touma may be new to the Board but not to WiRED. She started working with WiRED in 2000 to create and implement a fundraising strategy that would provide a solid foundation of charitable contributions for long-term sustainability. Over the years Ms. Touma has served WiRED in a number of staff roles to advance the organization’s programs.

 

Ms. Touma is a certified fundraising executive and non-profit management professional with experience in higher education, performing arts, social services and international humanitarian organizations. At the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Ms. Touma served as Vice President for Advancement and oversaw the planning of the Conservatory’s centennial year programs and campaigns to increase scholarship funds and named academic chairs. She also served five years on the Susan G. Komen Foundation grants committee.

 

As a volunteer, Ms. Touma created and launched long-term development programs for Veterinary Street Outreach Service, which provides free veterinary medical care for the companion animals of homeless
San Franciscans.

 

Since 2014 Ms. Touma has volunteered at the Marine Mammal Center, the world’s largest marine mammal hospital and educational center dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation and release of ill and injured marine mammals.

 

Ms. Touma received a bachelor of science degree from Michigan State University and a master of science degree from the University of Detroit.

 

WiRED Director Gary Selnow, Ph.D., said, “Bess has proven expertise in many non-profit roles. Her familiarity with WiRED’s programs and her abiding interest in humanitarian work make Bess a wonderful addition to our board.”