The Pentagon Federal Credit Union Foundation (Pentagon Foundation) has named Kate Kohler to the position of Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President. In this position, Ms. Kohler will be responsible for the leadership and management of the foundation’s day-to-day operations and fundraising efforts. She will be coordinating the Foundation’s strategic and marketing strategy as well as serving as the primary liaison with donors to support the Foundation’s programming. She will report to James R. Schenck, President of the Foundation and Executive Vice President at the Pentagon Federal Credit Union.
Ms. Kohler is a military veteran, having served seven years in the U.S. Army as a Military Police Officer in the Republic of Korea, Fort Hood, Texas, Bosnia, and Kuwait. Before joining Pentagon Foundation, Ms. Kohler was responsible for developing relationships within the financial services industry at Morgan Stanley and Co. and Morgan Creek Capital Management.
“Kate has a long track record of public service as well as fund-raising success,” said James Schenck. “Her background and experiences will allow us to continue to grow our outreach and support for our wounded men and women in uniform and their families. One of Kate’s first challenges will be to raise the $12.5 million required to build the Defenders Lodge adjacent to the Polytrauma VA Center in Palo Alto, California to help our recovering warriors and their families.”
Ms. Kohler holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point, a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. Ms. Kohler serves on the Finance and Operations Committee and the Thayer Award Committee for the West Point Association of Graduates. She is the Vice-President of the Board for the West Point Society of New York. Ms. Kohler is a competitive age-group runner, triathlete, and an Ironman finisher. She is a native of Towanda, Pennsylvania.
About Pentagon Foundation
The Pentagon Federal Credit Union Foundation (www.pentagonfoundation.org) is a nonprofit national charity working to meet unmet needs of the military personnel and their families in the areas of financial literacy, housing and support for the wounded. The Pentagon Federal Credit Union created the organization in December 2001 because of concerns that too many fighting men and women faced financial difficulties while serving in the military. Since its creation, the Foundation has helped military personnel and their families who face financial issues due to predatory lending practices and it has extended compassion and a helping hand to severely wounded warriors as they transition to civilian life. Because the Pentagon Federal Credit Union pays all labor costs and overhead expenses, 100 percent of the funds the Foundation receives from charitable donations go to support its programs.
The Foundation accomplishes its mission through three programs: The Asset Recovery Kit (ARK) offers emergency loans and financial counseling to military men and women to help them avoid the trap of payday lending, Dream Makers offers grant for first-time homebuyers with a goal to making the dream of home ownership come true for those of modest means who work in service to our country’s national security, and The Military Heroes® program provides wounded soldiers with services that the Defense Department cannot offer due to budgetary and regulatory restrictions. These unmet needs — identified by military Command and the Military Severely Injured Center — have included computers in military-run convalescence facilities and emergency financial support for families facing crises, to a hospice room in Walter Reed Army Medical Center, to a transitional housing facility for severely wounded military personnel.
The Foundation has expanded its special project efforts in 2009 by accepting the task to raise $12.5 million for a Defenders Lodge adjacent to the Palo Alto Veterans Administration Hospital. The Defenders Lodge will be a 52-bed hotel constructed on U.S. government land donated for that purpose, but will be financed entirely through private contributions. It will provide a free safe place to stay for the over 10,000 patients annually who come to the Palo Alto VA Hospital for treatment from the western United States. The Palo Alto VA Hospital is the regional treatment center for Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center (one of only four in the country), Spinal Cord Injury Center, a Comprehensive Rehabilitation Center, a Traumatic Brain Injury Center, the Western Blind Rehabilitation Center, a Geriatric Research Educational and Clinical Center, a Homeless Veterans Rehabilitation program, and the National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
The Foundation last took on a special project in 2005, raising funds for military families and veterans after Hurricane Katrina. The Foundation provided emergency financial assistance as well as wheelchairs and walkers to veterans evacuated from the Armed Forces Retirement Home in Gulfport, Mississippi.
Contact:
Ben Scandlen
Tel. 703-838-1350
Email: Email Contact

Posted: 07|8|09 at 9:02 pm. Filed under: Finance News.