Delaware Community Foundation names new board leadership
The Delaware Community Foundation announced the appointment of Chanta Howard-Wilkinson as its chair for fiscal years 2026 and 2027. Mariah Calagione will be stepping up to assume the role of vice chair formerly held by Howard-Wilkinson.
Drew Fennell completed her term of three years as chair and will remain on the executive committee as immediate past chair. During her tenure, Fennell oversaw DCF’s pivot into new political realities, the launch of a revised development approach and significant expansion of work into Sussex County.
“DCF has always been honored to have incredible leaders on our board, from our founding in 1986 to today, the very best our state has to offer,” said Stuart Comstock-Gay, president and CEO. “This year is no exception. We are thrilled to have Chanta take the helm of the board, and we welcome Mariah to the executive committee.”
Howard-Wilkinson leads Chanta Wilkinson Consulting LCC, a Lewes-based diversity, equity and Inclusion consultancy. She holds a juris doctor degree from the Rutgers University School of Law and served as a deputy attorney general and an EEO/affirmative action coordinator for the New Jersey Office of Attorney General. She serves on the boards of Lewes Public Library and Delaware Public Media.
Calagione is co-founder of Dogfish Head, the Milton-based beverage and hospitality company owned by Boston Beer Company. She has 30 years of experience in the beer and hospitality industries, as well as in local television and marketing. A graduate of Brown University, Calagione served as board of trustees chair for Northfield Mount Hermon School in Massachusetts.
The executive committee is rounded out by Pete Kennedy, treasurer; Cindy L. Szabo, secretary; and Dan Cruce and Margie Lopez Waite, who serve as at-large members.
Newly joining board members are Gina Ward and Dr. William M. Chasanov.
A Lewes resident, Chasanov is senior vice president, chief health system design officer at Beebe Healthcare. He received his medical degree at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and earned a master of business administration degree from the University of Delaware. Chasanov serves on several boards, including the Medical Society of Delaware and the Infectious Disease Society of America.
A Wilmington resident, Ward served for more than five years as a public representative on the Delaware Health Resources Board, appointed by then-Gov. Jack Markell in 2012. In 2018, she and her husband Rod established the Riverview Works Fund at the Delaware Community Foundation, with a focus on education and wellness. She currently serves on the board of Rodney Street and is vice chair of the Tower Hill School board of trustees.
Completing their terms on the DCF board are Kelly Firment and the Hon. Tamika Montgomery-Reeves. Firment, director of affinity management for Bank of America, served 10 years – the maximum number of terms – and contributed greatly to the DCF on almost every committee, and as board chair from 2020 to 2022. Montgomery-Reeves, a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, served six years.
