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Pictured left to right: Rt. Rev. A. Robert Hirschfeld, Tenth Bishop in the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire, Pawn Nitichan, executive director of City Year New Hampshire and vice president of the national organization City Year, Inc., Dianne Mercier, president of People's United Bank in New Hampshire.

Pictured left to right: Rt. Rev. A. Robert Hirschfeld, Tenth Bishop in the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire, Pawn Nitichan, executive director of City Year New Hampshire and vice president of the national organization City Year, Inc., Dianne Mercier, president of People's United Bank in New Hampshire.

Bishop A. Robert Hirschfeld, Pawn Nitichan and Dianne Mercier join Foundation Board

Bishop of the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire, Executive Director of City Year New Hampshire and President of People’s United Bank in New Hampshire join 13-member governing board

By Lois R. Shea, Senior Writer and Communications Officer  |  

CONCORD, NH (PRESS RELEASE) – The New Hampshire Charitable Foundation Board of Directors recently welcomed three new members: Bishop A. Robert Hirschfeld of the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire; Pawn Nitichan, Executive Director of City Year New Hampshire; and Dianne Mercier, President of People’s United Bank in New Hampshire.

The Charitable Foundation’s Board of Directors is the governing board for the statewide nonprofit, overseeing grantmaking, finances, stewardship of philanthropic resources and Foundation initiatives. The board’s 13 members are leaders with substantial experience and accomplishments in the public, private and nonprofit sectors in New Hampshire.

The Rt. Rev. A. Robert Hirschfeld has served as the Tenth Bishop in the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire since August 2012. Bishop Rob provides spiritual oversight to 46 congregations and eight seasonal chapels. He also serves as President, ex officio, of the Board of Trustees to the two Episcopal Schools of the Diocese: White Mountain and Holderness. He has a Bachelor of Arts from Dartmouth College and a Master of Divinity from Berkeley Divinity School at Yale where he was also awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity. He is the author of “Without Shame or Fear: from Adam to Christ.”

Bishop Rob also serves on the Charitable Foundation’s New Hampshire Tomorrow Leadership Council, which informs the Foundation’s initiative to increase opportunity for New Hampshire’s young people.

Pawn Nitichan is the Executive Director of City Year New Hampshire and a Vice President of the national organization City Year, Inc. Under her leadership, City Year New Hampshire has more than tripled its service capacity and developed a widely recognized culture of idealism. The organization consistently provides high-quality service to kids and communities as reflected in numerous awards, including 10 Best of City Year Awards (City Year National’s highest recognition) and the Dunfey Award for Excellence in Nonprofit Management.

Nitichan serves on the boards of Reaching Higher New Hampshire and Manchester Proud. She is a member of the Governor’s Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Council.

Dianne Mercier is the president of People’s United Bank in New Hampshire. She has served as Senior Vice President and Group Manager for Commercial Lending at Ocean Bank and was State Director, Community Banking for Citizens Bank.

Mercier is actively involved with the Boys and Girls Club of Manchester and the Greater Manchester Family YMCA. She is a member of the Charitable Foundation’s New Hampshire Tomorrow Leadership Council, serves on the Board for the Central Business District Committee for the City of Manchester and is a Trustee for the Elliot Health System. Mercier was named an Outstanding Woman in Business by New Hampshire Business Review in 2012, and Business Leader of the Year in 2014. She was named Manchester Citizen of the Year by the Daniel Webster Council of the Boy Scouts of America in 2016 and was named Citizen of the Year by the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce in 2017.

About the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation
The New Hampshire Charitable Foundation is New Hampshire’s statewide community foundation, founded in 1962 by and for the people of New Hampshire. The Foundation manages a growing collection of 1,900 funds created by generous individuals, families and businesses, and awards more than $40 million in grants and scholarships every year. The Foundation works with generous and visionary citizens to maximize the power of their giving, supports great work happening in our communities and leads and collaborates on high-impact initiatives. For more information, please visit www.nhcf.org or call 603-225-6641.


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