Gloria Blecha (she/her)
Vice President, Programs & Operations
gloria@sclerodermaresearch.org
Bio
Gloria Blecha joined our team as Development Manager in January of 2020. She was later promoted to Director of Community Engagement and is currently our Senior Director of Community Outreach & Education. She is a successful fundraising professional with over 13+ years of experience fundraising for health-based nonprofit organizations.
Gloria began her career in the nonprofit sector at Hospice East Bay, after 3 years of working in air quality testing research and project management and a cumulative 20 years of working in retail including Nordstrom. She found that her skill set – project management customer, problem solving, attention to detail and customer service – was a match for fund development work and found her passion for cause related fundraising.
Her excellent donor-relation and event planning skills along innovative ideas resulted in continued growth for the Hospice East Bay as well as a promotion from Development Coordinator to Development Associate. During that time, she also graduated from John F. Kennedy University’s Fundraising Academy. She later served as the Annual Fund Manager for the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano.
After living all over the world due to her father’s career in the Army, Gloria finally settled in California and graduated with a B.S. in Biology from Saint Mary’s College. She now lives in Walnut Creek with her husband, two daughters, and many plants.
