Board of Directors

Jeff Small joined the Trust in September 2014 after working with nonprofit groups in Indianapolis for more than a decade. Small served as a writer and project manager at Johnson, Grossnickle and Associates (JGA), a philanthropic consulting firm in Indianapolis specializing in strategic planning, development planning, feasibility studies and capital campaign counsel. Prior to his time with JGA, he held positions in the Research Department of the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, the Indianapolis Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services, and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Indianapolis. In addition, he holds a master’s degree in philanthropic studies from Indiana University.

In his current position, Small oversees the Trust’s giving areas, sets grantmaking standards, designs grantmaking infrastructure, directs the program staff and evaluates the impact of various Trust programs on grantees, beneficiaries and the communities of metropolitan Phoenix and Indianapolis.

Brienne Hooker is the executive director of Jasper Newton Foundation. During her seven years with the Jasper Newton Foundation, she has navigated the Jasper Newton Foundation through an organizational restructuring that has energized her board and local donors and resurrected the local Meals on Wheels program. She is a Mutz Philanthropic Leadership Institute 2021 Graduate and Strosacker Early Learning Fellow. With the community leadership of the Foundation, JNF has supported the creation of nearly 100 early learning seats in Jasper and Newton Counties since 2020. Brienne currently serves on the Indiana Philanthropy Alliance Board and will be joining the United Way Northwest Indiana Board in 2023. She lives in Rensselaer with her family.

Patti Hays is CEO of AWS Foundation in Fort Wayne, IN. Funding primarily in northeast Indiana, this public foundation serves to provide a more inclusive NEI for those with disabilities. ​Patti is a graduate of West Virginia Wesleyan and LSU Medical Center. With over 40 years of experience in nursing education, clinical nursing, and hospital administration, she has been an active servant leader in the community since moving to Fort Wayne in 1990. She serves as vice chair of the Executive Board of the Allen County Department of Health, co-founder of AVOW, and an active member of the boards of Greater Fort Wayne, Arts United, FW Philharmonic. She has been actively involved with other health and arts-related organizations, as well as local politics. Patti and her husband, cardiologist Peter Hanley, have three adult children and eight grandchildren.