Foundation Team

Aliesha Walz, President & CEO of the Washington County Community Foundation (WCCF), is a strategic and results-driven non-profit leader with unique expertise in foundation administration, asset development, donor relations, and organizational impact. Recognized locally as a dynamic brand ambassador, she excels at advancing philanthropy by fostering trust among core constituencies.

Aliesha began her career as a professional writer and editor in the for-profit sector, serving as the lead copywriter at a strategic marketing and advertising agency. From manufacturing and retail to education and political strategy, diverse clients saw tangible results from her tailored solutions. Her outstanding work led to numerous agency honors including both a MarCom Award and an AVA Award for a company capabilities video featuring TSI Titanium as well as a Hermes Creative Award for the “Fayette’s Future” career technical education initiative hosted by the Fay-Penn Economic Development Council.

Aliesha began her tenure with the WCCF in 2011 as a Marketing Associate, quickly advancing to Manager of Marketing & Communications and later Chief Operating Officer. She played a key role in many of the Foundation’s signature initiatives, including the successful WCCF Gives event, which has cumulatively raised more than $14 million for charities serving the Washington County community.

In 2023, Aliesha accepted the position of Major Gifts Officer at the Washington Health System Foundation, where she rapidly reenergized its major giving and planned giving programs, effected a significant increase in year-over-year support from leadership-level givers, and helped to guide its transition from supporting organization to independent community grant-maker.

With a decade’s worth of accumulated service to the WCCF, Aliesha returned in 2025 to assume the position of President & CEO, focusing on positioning the Foundation for future growth. Aliesha is committed to strengthening the WCCF’s role as a trusted philanthropic leader while fully harnessing the tools and insights of the 21st century. By integrating authentic community engagement with data-driven decision-making, she and her team ensure donors’ charitable investments deliver tangible, measurable impact throughout Washington County.

A graduate of Saint Vincent College, Aliesha holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. After graduation, Aliesha remained involved with the institution for many years, serving as a member of the Alumni Council, co-chair of its annual Theatre Gala, as well as a member of its Capital Campaign Liaison Committee. In 2017, Saint Vincent recognized her with its Recent Alumna Achievement Award for her professional and community accomplishments.

Aliesha is a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) and graduate of the Leadership Washington County program. She holds memberships in the Association of Fundraising Professionals, National Association of Charitable Gift Planners, and the Pittsburgh Planned Giving Council.

Locally, she has served as a member of the Domestic Violence of Southwestern Pennsylvania’s Finance & Audit Committee, the Trinity Area School District’s Technical Education Local Advisory Committee, and the Equitrans Aspire Scholarship Program Panel. A skilled home chef and baker, Aliesha also enjoys sharing her talents by contributing to bake sales for the March of Dimes and St. Benedict the Abbot Church.

Aliesha lives in North Strabane with her husband, Andrew, and two young sons.

With a strong data and math background, Emeline "Em" Ferguson is the WCCF's resident expert on the various software programs used by the Foundation to process gifts and grants. She was integral to the WCCF's transition to its current customer relationship management system, and lead the conversion to Submittable for grant requests and reports. Her knowledge of Excel, which she uses on a daily basis, includes advanced formulas, data tables, pivot tables, graphs, etc.

Em is a graduate of Grove City College, and is currently studying for the Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy designation, administered through the American College of Financial Services.

During her college years, Em was involved in numerous mission trips which included volunteering in Scotland and New York, at homeless shelters in Los Angeles, and in Houston after Hurricane Harvey. She is a Washington County native and currently resides in Cecil Township with her dog, Fig.

Megan Fabyonic is the Manager, Communications & Marketing for the Washington County Community Foundation.

She attended West Virginia University where she obtained a Bachelor of Science in Journalism with an emphasis in Advertising. She also studied Marketing and Communications as minors. While in school, she was Creative Director at a student-run agency on campus. Her teams’ campaign that centered on building education and awareness surrounding unsheltered homelessness in Morgantown won the 2022 WV PRSA Crystal Award for Best Community Relations Campaign.

Joann Naser is the Manager for Nonprofit Leadership & Engagement for the Community Foundation.

Immediately prior to her position at the Community Foundation, she was the Chief Development Officer for Transitional Paths to Independent Living (TRPIL)/Voices for Independence, a nonprofit organization that serves people with disabilities throughout Western Pennsylvania, in Washington, PA. Previously, she served as its director of development and launched its first successful capital campaign.

Naser is a graduate of Washington and Jefferson College and PennWest California. She enjoys serving in the nursery at the Bible Chapel, reading, and attending community cultural events.

She resides in Washington County with her two young adult children.

Amy Smith is the Manager, Accounting & Financial Processes for the Washington County Community Foundation.

Although she was born in Pittsburgh, Amy grew up in San Diego, California where she started her accounting career. Upon moving back to Pennsylvania in 2008, she attended Franciscan University of Steubenville, graduating summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting. Amy and her husband have seven kids, three of which still live at home. They reside in Burgettstown and attend Promise of Victory Church in Weirton, WV, where they serve in a variety of capacities.

Amy enjoys spending time with her family, gardening, and teaching classes for children and adults at church.

Leslie Briggs is the Lifelong Learning Grants Associate for the Washington County Community Foundation. Prior to her position here she worked for nine years as a customer service representative for Clover Technologies. She obtained her Bachelors in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix.

Leslie currently serves as a volunteer Sunday school teacher at Trinity Church in Washington.

She is a native of Washington County, and she resides in Amwell Township with her husband and daughter.

Emily Fox is the Communications Associate for the Washington County Community Foundation.

Born and raised in Georgia, Emily acquired both her BA in English and her MA in American Studies from Kennesaw State University, after a brief stint in operatic studies. Her thesis focused on the intersection and impact of historic preservation and modern development in growing communities. She served as the office manager for her old hometown’s historic society and worked as a docent and curatorial assistant at a local historic antebellum plantation home.

Emily moved to the Pittsburgh region in the fall of 2018 to be closer to the rest of her family living in the area.

Suzanne Grove is the Donor Services Associate for the Washington County Community Foundation.

A graduate of The University of Pittsburgh, Suzanne has spent the last decade consulting in the fields of communications, media relations, and marketing for a wide variety of companies and organizations, from professional sports teams like The Pittsburgh Penguins to local restaurants, real estate firms, and nonprofits.

Additionally, Suzanne serves as both Associate Editor for CRAFT and Fiction Editor for Write or Die Magazine. She is a two-time Pushcart Prize Nominee, and her fiction and poetry have been published in more than a dozen literary journals.

She currently resides with her Norwegian Elkhound in the southwest suburbs of Pittsburgh, where she is at work on a novel.

Rachel Reska is the Grants Program Associate for the Washington County Community Foundation.

Rachel graduated magna cum laude from Washington & Jefferson College in 2018, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in History with a concentration in Russian Area Studies, and becoming a member of the Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Alpha Theta honor societies. Her capstone focused on the industrial growth of the Pittsburgh area in the mid-1800s and made it to the final round of edits for publication in Appalachian State University’s History Matters journal.

She currently resides in her hometown of Washington and in her free time she enjoys working with various art mediums, learning about local history, and watching Washington/Pittsburgh sports.