Greta von Unruh

Senior Project Director

Nothing excites me more than marshaling power and resources for big ideas that are increasing prosperity, opportunity, and creativity in communities.  I am incredibly inspired by local leaders and innovators who take on these challenges and I excel at building systems and relationships to help support them.

In college, I was so determined to engage in community-based nonprofit work that I created my own internship and helped a local neighborhood get organized, form a nonprofit, fight crime, and attract much-needed infrastructure to their area. Throughout that time, I was most inspired by the individuals who stepped up within the community to lead the effort in the face of great personal risk. This experience taught me early on that even the best economic and community development practices of the day must be tailored to the unique nature of the nonprofit, its leaders, and the community.

While helping powerful people execute powerful ideas can be challenging, the mix of creativity and heavy lifting it requires energizes me. Most of all, I am proud to be a part of helping create more successful and resilient individuals, nonprofits, and communities.Greta has been helping organizations achieve excellence in health and human services, education, and community and economic development for the past 25 years.

She has worked in research, strategic planning, fundraising, and development for a variety of organizations and clients, such as the Florida Public Health Institute, the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the Palm Beach County Cultural Council. This breadth of experience gives her unique insight into how nonprofits can grow strong, meaningful relationships in their communities.

Excelling in the field of community and organizational performance and outcomes for the last decade, Greta has provided marketing, fundraising, and business intelligence to private companies, public agencies, and nonprofits to help guide their decision making. Her thought leadership and highly effective execution skills have contributed to client successes that include an endorsement from the State of Florida’s CFO for a website launch and new partnerships to support local entrepreneurism and innovation.

A passionate and technologically savvy communicator, Greta is adept at finding synergy between the goals of visionary business leaders and the mission-driven nonprofit community.

Summary of Experience

• Coordinated a multi-million dollar, interdepartmental revitalization program in Palm Beach County (FL), resulting in improved infrastructure, community stabilization, and increased property values.
• Researched and developed the MacArthur Foundation’s metropolitan regional grantmaking strategy, resulting in new tri-county planning initiatives around transportation, economic development, and land use in Southeast Florida.
• CEO of a county-wide economic development research institute that was the primary source of local market intelligence for area Workforce Boards, Chambers, and EDOs.
• Secured public, private, and philanthropic funding, plus additional “in kind” resources, for a variety of capital and community campaigns, including $2.4M in new capital for a health and human services nonprofit in Augusta, GA.
• Volunteer work includes:
  • Leadership Palm Beach County
  • Ethics Partnership Council at Palm Beach State College
  • CredAbility
  • The Economic Council of Palm Beach County
  • Nonprofits First
  • South Florida Regional Planning Council
• Bachelors in Social Work from Florida Atlantic University and Masters from Barry University.