Grace Welcomes New Director of Alumni Relations
Renata G. Henry has been appointed Grace’s Director of Alumni Relations. Renata comes to Grace with over 10 years of experience in the advancement and alumni spaces, having most recently served as the Director of Alumni Affairs at Prep for Prep, a program of which she is also an alum.
While at Prep, Renata dedicated herself to revitalizing alumni engagement efforts and bolstering alumni fundraising in support of student programming, raising nearly one million dollars in her last year. Of her appointment, which began on July 1, Renata said, “I am so excited to join the Grace community. I am honored to be entrusted with supporting this storied community of alumni, as well as upholding the traditions they hold dear and helping them bring new ones to fruition. I look forward to meeting everyone in the fall and am thrilled to serve a community with as rich a history as Grace.”
Having begun her career in education fundraising at Teach For America, Renata found herself most attracted to the relationship building necessary in the field. That passion, paired with a love for impact-based work, led her to her first position in alumni relations at Prep for Prep as the Special Projects Assistant. After that, she transitioned to the Hewitt School, serving as their Associate Director of Alumnae Relations.
Renata is a graduate of The University of Pennsylvania and holds a B.A. in Psychology. While at Penn, Renata was a member of the New Spirit of Penn Gospel Choir, the Onyx Senior Honor Society, and interned at the Makuu Black Cultural Center. In her free time, she volunteers with her alma maters, Trinity School as a member of the Trinity School Alumni Board, and UPenn as an alumni interviewer. She also volunteers with the Junior League of Brooklyn, a women’s organization dedicated to promoting voluntarism and enacting initiatives that positively impact the surrounding Brooklyn community.
Renata is a native Brooklyn-ite, with roots in Guyana, who enjoys travel, the arts, and saving recipes (that she never tries). She is very excited to get to know the Grace community, especially its alumni across generations – both existing and those to come.