Gretchen Ruethling

Gretchen Ruethling has a diverse work experience spanning various roles and organizations. Gretchen currently works at Accion Opportunity Fund, where they hold the position of Senior Vice President of Strategic Partnerships and Programs. In this role, they are responsible for leading institutional fundraising and building national partnerships that support small businesses across the U.S. Gretchen oversees a range of educational and cause marketing programming, with a focus on serving entrepreneurs of color, women, and low- to moderate-income entrepreneurs.

Prior to their current role, Gretchen served as the Vice President of Partnerships and Development at Accion Opportunity Fund, where they led the development of national partnerships and fundraising efforts. Gretchen also played a key role in designing and evaluating entrepreneur support programs that incorporated business coaching, mentoring, events, and marketing.

Before joining Accion Opportunity Fund, Gretchen held several positions at Accion U.S. Network. As the Senior Director of Partnerships and Programs, they had overall responsibility for national partnerships and program areas. Gretchen provided leadership in partnership and program development, delivery, and evaluation, and also played a role in fundraising, budget setting, and external relationship management.

Gretchen's earlier work experience includes roles at USAID, where they served as the Acting Deputy Director and Desk Officer in the Office of Latin America, and at the USDA, where they worked as a Presidential Management Fellow. In this role, they managed national outreach initiatives and partnerships aimed at reducing hunger and increasing access to nutrition assistance programs in the U.S.

Additionally, Gretchen has worked as a Pro bono Strategy Consultant at Grassroots Business Fund, an Impact Assessment Consultant at the World Resources Institute, and a Pro bono Marketing Strategy Consultant for WildFoods (Pty) Ltd in Botswana. Gretchen has also served as a Research Assistant at Cornell University and Cisco Entrepreneur Institute, and as a Media Outreach Coordinator at Rainforest Alliance. Earlier in their career, they worked as a Reporting Assistant at the New York Times and as a Communications Consultant at CIMMYT, where they drafted communications materials and edited articles on agricultural research for publication.

Overall, Gretchen Ruethling has demonstrated a strong track record in building partnerships, fundraising, and program development across a range of organizations, with a focus on supporting small businesses, reducing hunger, and promoting sustainable practices.

Gretchen Ruethling holds a Master of Public Administration degree in International Development from Cornell University. Gretchen also earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism from Northwestern University. The specific start and end years for both degrees are not provided.