DeKalb County Community Foundation announces new grant director

SYCAMORE – The DeKalb County Community Foundation recently announced that Jolene Willis was selected to be the foundation’s new Grants Director.

Willis’s responsibilities as grant director include coordinating, evaluating, and supervising the foundation’s grant programs and scholarship awards and supporting staff in those roles, according to a news release.

Willis has a bachelor’s degree in agricultural communications from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Illinois-Springfield.

She worked for five years as the economic development coordinator for the DeKalb County government. Willis also worked in the nonprofit and higher education sectors for more than 20 years, specializing in community-based renewable energy projects, cooperative business development, and community economic development. She has served in executive and development roles in economic development public-private partnerships and for agricultural nonprofit organizations. Willis currently lives in Waterman with her husband, Chad, and their two sons.

For more information, visit dekalbccf.org/.