By Laura Haight
Communications Director

Barb Collins, co-founder of Dining for Woman, was elected as chair of the Board of Directors at its fall meeting in Newark, NJ. Barb takes over the chairmanship from acting chair Barbara Wagner.

Barb has 30 years of professional experience in board development and nonprofit administration. A graduate of the University of Minnesota with a degree in Gerontology, a multidisciplinary study of aging, she began her career in management and public relations for a retirement community in Blacksburg, VA.

Ensuing positions took her north to Minnesota and Wisconsin where roles in fundraising, development and alumni relations at William-Mitchell College of Law and St. Norbert College gave her extensive experience organizing, managing and working with boards.

In 1993, fueled by a bedrock change in her life priorities, she shifted gears and worked in consulting where she spent six years working with non-profits on strategic and development planning. It was her first step toward fulfilling a growing need to do something impactful. In 2003, a casual invitation to a potluck supper celebrating Marsha Wallace’s birthday started a movement that is changing the world.

Barb lives in Greenville, SC, where she has focused her efforts on growing Dining for Women, and being an active volunteer in her community, working with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in South Carolina, and a past member of the Parent Council at Furman University. 

The board also established a one-year position to be held by a member and bring the grassroots perspective into the boardroom. Anne Capestrain, chapter leader in Springfield, IL., was elected to this position.

A philanthropist and retired nurse with nearly 30 years of experience in hospital and clinic settings, Anne has devoted both her personal and professional life to helping women and families through support and education. Her family foundation, The Tracy Foundation, supports and strengthens organizations and communities in Brown County, IL, and is a vehicle for the family’s philanthropic interests.

She received a B.S. in Psychology from Benedictine University in Sprintfield, IL, in 2011, completing a degree she began years ago but back-burnered when she started her family.

Anne has been a chapter leader in Springfield since 2006 and was instrumental in starting both the Quincy and Chicago chapters.

Today Show viewers were treated to Anne’s hospitality when she hosted a chapter meeting for the televised segment in 2007.

Posted Nov. 19, 2013