Naomi Giges Downey

Naomi Giges Downey is a seasoned fundraising, communications and marketing professional who has served in leadership roles for causes that support hunger, poverty, children’s mental health and well-being, bridge building, education and community development, among others. She has worked for organizations such as The KIND Foundation, the Child Mind Institute, City Harvest, the Food Bank for Westchester and City Parks Foundation. Naomi has more than 25 years of nonprofit experience and has raised over $70 million throughout her career. She has worked with all types of donors and overseen additional external relations functions including marketing and communications, developed comprehensive fundraising strategic plans and managed all types of special events. Naomi began her career managing VIP relations and community outreach programs at Carnegie Hall.

As a leader in the nonprofit sector, specializing in management, strategic planning, development and communication, Naomi has spearheaded multimillion-dollar budgets, programs, partnerships and investments. Most recently, Naomi oversaw the financial expansion, program design and organization growth of Empatico, the signature initiative of The KIND Foundation, through collaborations with grantmaking organizations, corporations, philanthropic changemakers and leading nongovernmental organizations.