Sonia Delgado has been elected to become the next Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Princeton Area Community Foundation.

Delgado, a Partner at Princeton Public Affairs Group who was raised in Trenton and lives in Lambertville, will assume leadership of the Board in December at the end of the term of the current Board Chair, Anthony “Skip” Cimino.

“Sonia is a tremendous leader,” said Cimino.  “She will bring her incredible knowledge of the community and her passion for service to the position. As the Community Foundation enters a new era as a result of the pandemic, the Board of Trustees has selected an experienced, well-thought-of trustee, who is the right leader for the right time.”

Over the next six months Delgado, Cimino and Jeffrey M. Vega, Community Foundation President & CEO, will work together closely to transition leadership.

“I’m honored to have the chance to build on the work of our previous leaders,” said Delgado. “We have a lot of wonderful things to aspire to in the next three years, and I’m really thankful for the opportunity.”

Since its founding 30 years ago, the Community Foundation has used the power of philanthropy to make a difference in the region. A local philanthropy expert, the Community Foundation connects donors with causes they care about and provides grants and educational opportunities to nonprofits that serve the community.

At its June meeting, the Community Foundation Board of Trustees voted unanimously to select Delgado as the next leader of the Board. She served as a Trustee from 2011 to 2016, and then returned when she was appointed as a Trustee at the December Board meeting. This year, she has served as Chair of the COVID-19 Relief & Recovery Fund Grants Evaluation Team as well as Chair of the Committee on Impact, which provides oversight of the Community Foundation’s responsive and strategic grantmaking programs.

Over the past year, the Board’s Governance Committee followed best practices to identify the next Board Chair. Several candidates were considered and interviewed, based on the strategic needs of the organization and the community.  The recommendation to appoint Delgado was brought to the Board six months before the end of Cimino’s term to allow for a seamless transition.

“Sonia is a leader for the transformational time the Community Foundation is facing, and she’s a very important thought partner for our CEO, Jeff Vega,” said Jamie Kyte Sapoch, the Governance Committee Chair. “She will be a terrific leader, filling the big shoes that Skip will leave. It was our honor to make the recommendation to the Board.”

Delgado is an expert in health policy, business development, and strategic planning, with more than two decades of experience in analysis and management of legislative and regulatory issues in healthcare, public sector, and corporate settings.

Last year, she was named to the Insider 100 Policymakers list. She has also received the NJBIZ Best 50 Women in Business Award and the Women’s Political Caucus Woman of Achievement Award.

A member of the Board of Latinas United for Political Empowerment Political Action Committee (LUPE PAC), she also previously served on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation New Jersey Initiatives Advisory Committee, and the Boards of Greater Trenton Behavioral HealthCare and Oaks Integrated Care.

About the Princeton Area Community Foundation

The Princeton Area Community Foundation promotes lasting philanthropy and builds community across Mercer County and central New Jersey. As a community convener, philanthropic resource, and manager of charitable funds, it helps people and companies make effective charitable gifts and awards grants to nonprofits. Since its founding in 1991, the Community Foundation has made grants of more than $154 million and provided an additional $21 million in support to our nonprofit fundholders. With over 400 charitable funds, in 2020, the Community Foundation awarded $19 million in grants to support the critical work of nonprofits in making the communities they serve more responsive to the needs of their residents. It has been named by Charity Navigator as One of America’s 10 Best Community Foundations. Learn more at www.pacf.org.