— Photo by Erich Camping

Staff Spotlight: Annette Jiménez Gleason

When Annette Jiménez Gleason enters a room, she brings enthusiasm and color. She can often be seen dressed in vibrant red, floral patterns, and bold prints. Her face lighting up as she describes a Carnival-themed dance recital she went to over the weekend. 

That same energy carries into her work at the Community Foundation, where she uses grantmaking to address inequities and improve access to the arts, historic preservation, and the environment.

“I want to make sure as many people as possible know that the Community Foundation is there for them,” says Annette, senior program officer at Rochester Area Community Foundation.

Annette sees building relationships as essential for the positive change our community craves, and knows that doesn’t happen from behind a desk. After work hours, Annette can be found grabbing empanadas at the Puerto Rican festival, enjoying performances at the Smith Opera House in Geneva, discussing sustainability with local residents, or touring Black historical sites with the creators of the Clarissa Uprooted exhibit.

The Road to Becoming a Program Officer 

When Annette first moved to Rochester, she wrote for the Democrat and Chronicle and later for El Mensajero Católico/Catholic Courier, where she focused on issues important to our local Latino/a community. For fifteen years, she served as the volunteer publicity director for Borinquen Dance Theatre, which celebrates Puerto Rican heritage through dance.

Annette’s journalistic curiosity combined with her strong cultural foundation were assets when she joined the Community Foundation in 2018 as a program officer. As Annette got more exposure to the tools of philanthropy, she learned about the Community Foundation’s giving circles and and saw an opportunity to build stronger Latino representation. In 2022, she helped launch the Latino Giving Circle as a way to support efforts by and for the Latino community.

What Drives Annette’s Community Involvement 

A belief that we are all interconnected motivates Annette to address inequalities through her work. Annette’s favorite part about her work is getting to support organizations working across the region to ensure that every person has access to the arts, a sustainable environment for the future, and historical narratives and projects that represent their experiences. 

Some of Annette’s favorite nonprofit arts events involve children. Witnessing pure joy on their faces during performances makes her feel lucky to live in a place with such dedicated arts organizations. 

“I didn’t have access to arts programming when I was young,” says Annette. “So, it makes me happy to do work that strives to offer that opportunity to as many children in our region as possible.” 

Inside Grantmaking 

In her role, Annette often hears assumptions about what philanthropy looks like — and what it doesn’t. We asked Annette to bust three common myths related to grantmaking. Here is what she shared: 

The arts are not only supported by major gifts. We all hear about philanthropy that is so significant that a room gets named after the donor — and those gifts can be transformational. But you can make a real difference for our arts community with gifts of all sizes, especially when supporting grassroots institutions. Showing up as a patron in the audience and inviting a friend to join you is also incredibly meaningful. 

Environmental philanthropy isn’t about politics. It’s about making sure everyone has clean air, healthy food, connections to nature, good jobs, and healthy outcomes. I feel deeply fortunate to be surrounded by natural beauty, from the Genesee River to Lake Ontario and the Finger Lakes. Protecting and investing in our natural resources is just good stewardship of the gifts we have as a region. 

Historic preservation is so much more than protecting old buildings. Our communities also needed stories, interpretation, and uses for those spaces. This shift in what it means to fund historic preservation has made space for projects focused on oral history, storytelling, and programming that shares culture. We have a chance to put particular focus on lifting up histories that weren’t preserved in brick and mortar. 

Whether she’s attending a neighborhood festival, talking with residents about sustainability, or applauding young performers, Annette sees every interaction as an opportunity to connect people with the resources and opportunities that help communities thrive. Last month, Annette was recognized among Rochester Business Journal’s 2026 Women of Excellence.

Join Annette and make an impact through the arts, historic preservation, and the environment.