Cleveland Metroparks is pleased to welcome Natalie A. Ronayne as its new Chief Development Officer. Ronayne will oversee all aspects of the charitable fundraising activities of the Park District.Most recently, Ronayne served as the Chief Advancement Officer of Cleveland Botanical Garden and The Holden Arboretum. Prior to the merger of Cleveland Botanical Garden and The Holden Arboretum, Ronayne was President of Cleveland Botanical Garden. Notable among her accomplishments was her launch of the Garden's applied research program with national funding to advance the Garden's role in urban land restoration and conservation. In her new role, Ronayne will lead the organization's 2017 Centennial Gift Campaign. "Ronayne brings with her tremendous experience identifying grant opportunities, managing fundraising campaigns and cultivating relationships with both private and public donors," said Brian M. Zimmerman, Cleveland Metroparks CEO. "Throughout our 100 year history, Cleveland Metroparks has worked with community members who wish to make contributions, including planned estate gifts to the Park District. With our organization's complexities and future potential, community desire to contribute becomes more robust, it's important to us that we provide strategic management and leadership of these initiatives," added Zimmerman.Ronayne started her career as a real estate consultant. Later, she spent nearly four years working for the City of Cleveland's Department of Parks, Recreation and Properties, first as assistant director before being promoted to director. During her tenure with the City of Cleveland, she secured over $8 million in federal and state grants for neighborhood and regional park projects. "The ability to secure competitive grant funds is highly desirable as we look to the availability of resources uniquely suited for key projects identified in our master plan," said Cleveland Metroparks Commissioner Bruce Rinker.Ronayne earned a bachelor's degree in biology from Wittenberg University and later attended Indiana University where she earned a master's degree in environmental policy and management.
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