Join us on June 16th for our next FERN Member Meeting, where we are pleased to welcome Eileen Coogan, CEO of Allegany Franciscan Ministries, as our featured guest. Eileen has been leading a five-year initiative at Allegany — now known as Connecting with Community for our Common Home (formerly Climate Justice) — and has graciously offered to share her experience and insights with FERN members. This is a wonderful opportunity to hear firsthand about a sustained, community-centered approach to environmental and climate work.
We will also be joined by Ethan Frey, Visiting Fellow, Florida Policy Institute who will present in the disproportionate impact of disasters on low-income households and the levers of impact for philanthropy.
Featured Speakers
Eileen Coogan
President & CEO, Allegany Franciscan Ministries
Eileen Coogan joined Allegany Franciscan Ministries, a non-profit Catholic organization focused on creating healthier, safer, and more connected communities, in 2005. At Allegany, Eileen successfully led the board and staff in navigating significant internal and external changes, developing a vision, and launching major new community-based initiatives. Practicing servant- and companion-leadership, Eileen has 40 years of experience in non-profit management and leadership. She is skilled at engaging board and staff, building powerful relationships, embracing change, designing solutions, and focusing on continuous, mission- & values-driven improvement.
Earlier in her career, Eileen served as executive VP at United Way of Palm Beach County, Florida; executive director of LynnArts in Lynn Massachusetts; and manager at Project Bread – The Walk for Hunger in Boston. A graduate of Leadership Florida and Leadership Palm Beach County, Eileen is vice chair of the board of the Center for Action and Contemplation, board member and past-president of the Blue Ridge Institute, secretary of the Mount Holyoke Club of SW Florida, a member of BayCare’s Community Benefit Council, and former board member and chair of the Florida Philanthropic Network. She earned a BA at Mount Holyoke College, an MSW from Boston College, a Certificate in Franciscan Studies from the University of St. Francis, and certificates in Post Crisis Leadership and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in the Workplace from the USF MUMA School of Business. Eileen lives in Pasco County, Florida with her husband Bernie; she enjoys travel and outdoor activities including stand up paddle boarding and hiking.
Ethan Frey, Visiting Fellow, Florida Policy Institute
Ethan's current focus is Florida’s disaster recovery system, which has long been a core part of the state’s economy, public finance, and social contract, but is being reshaped as storms grow more frequent and more intense. His work examines how this system has been built over time across federal, state, and local governments, insurance markets, and private industries; how risk and resources are distributed across places and communities; and how policy and market structures could be reorganized to better protect households, local governments, and frontline communities while strengthening Florida’s long-term economic resilience.
From 2013 to 2023, Ethan worked at the Ford Foundation, where he designed and led a cross-departmental funding strategy that paired five-year general support with coordinated investments in multi-issue state policy campaigns. His portfolio focused on expanding social investment, protecting and extending rights for immigrants and low-income communities, and testing new policy solutions across New York, Michigan, Minnesota, Louisiana, Texas, and Florida. Earlier in his career, he worked on the 2008 and 2012 Obama campaigns, organized low-wage workers with Unite Here in Miami, and served as a civil legal advocate at Project Renewal in New York.
Ethan holds a B.A. in international politics from Westminster College (PA). He serves on the board of the AAPI Civic Engagement Fund and serves in leadership at his local United Church of Christ (UCC) congregation. He has published on philanthropy, community organizing, and disaster recovery, and lives in Gainesville, Florida, with his husband and their four foster children.
Registration
Member - Complimentary
