Carolyn Rau, GMA’s Co-Managing Director for Operations, coordinates the firm’s resources to ensure responsive client relationships. Carolyn knows GMA’s services, clients, and staff extremely well; she is an adept leader, an employee shareholder, and a member of GMA’s board.

Carolyn’s earlier role in grantmaking at GMA deeply informs her current responsibility for managing the firm,  establishing new client relationships and fostering GMA’s employee experience.

Carolyn consults with foundations large and small on all facets of their operations, including their implementation and successful adoption of grants management software. She makes the case for operations assessments in a brief article for foundations wishing to find firmer footing, with closely aligned systems, processes, people, and values. Earlier in her career, Carolyn supported a number of foundations’ grantmaking and led the GMA Funder Community’s Opioid Response Fund – a six-month pooled giving and immersive learning program.

Carolyn is a graduate of Exponent Philanthropy’s Next Gen Fellows program; she holds a B.A. in Political Science, French, and Peace and Justice Studies from Villanova University and a master’s degree in Management and Organizational Leadership from Suffolk University. Beyond her commitment to social justice, she always has a jigsaw puzzle going  and enjoys playing any sport under the sun.