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New board of directors (left to right): Kristin Girald, Evelyn Aissa, Sarah Mattson Dustin and Ritu Ullal. (Photo by Cheryl Senter.)

New board of directors (left to right): Kristin Girald, Evelyn Aissa, Sarah Mattson Dustin and Ritu Ullal. (Photo by Cheryl Senter.)

Evelyn Aissa, Sarah Mattson Dustin, Kristin Girald and Ritu Ullal join New Hampshire Charitable Foundation Board of Directors

The 11-member governing board oversees grantmaking, finances, stewardship of philanthropic resources and strategic initiatives for New Hampshire’s statewide community foundation.

By Kristen Oliveri, Vice President of Communications and Marketing  |  

Concord, NH (PRESS RELEASE) – The New Hampshire Charitable Foundation Board of Directors recently welcomed four new members: Evelyn Aissa, deputy director of the Partnership for the Future of Learning; Sarah Mattson Dustin, executive director of New Hampshire Legal Assistance; Kristin Girald, experienced institutional investor and corporate leader; and Ritu Ullal, physician at Dartmouth Health’s Child Advocacy and Protection Program. Board members are elected to serve two three-year terms.

The Board of Directors also confirmed its officers through June 2023: Barbara Couch, chair; Bishop Rob Hirschfeld, secretary; Joe Morone, vice chair; John Weeks, treasurer; and Pawn Nitichan, at-large Executive Committee member.

The Charitable Foundation’s Board of Directors is the governing board for the statewide nonprofit community foundation, overseeing grantmaking, finances, stewardship of philanthropic resources and Foundation initiatives. The board’s 11 members are leaders who represent a wide variety of experience and accomplishments in the public, private and nonprofit sectors in New Hampshire.

We are excited to welcome four new leaders to the table as we begin to implement our new strategic plan, Together We Thrive,” said Richard Ober, president and CEO of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation. “Evelyn, Sarah, Kristin and Ritu bring an incredible breadth of expertise and experience that will advance the Foundation’s purpose to help make New Hampshire a community where everyone can thrive.”

Evelyn Aissa is the deputy director of the Partnership for the Future of Learning, a national network of 700+ individuals and organizations working to protect, strengthen and advance K-12 public education equity and meaningful learning. She is the former executive director of Reaching Higher NH and advocacy director for a statewide health care policy coalition. She has 20 years of experience in the intersecting fields of education, development and health policy research and strategy. A New Hampshire native, Evelyn resides in Concord with her husband and their daughter.

Sarah Mattson Dustin is the executive director of New Hampshire Legal Assistance (NHLA), a statewide nonprofit law firm providing civil legal aid to people with low income and older adults. Sarah also serves on the Board of Directors for Merrimack County Savings Bank and chairs the Board of Trustees for the Hopkinton Public Schools Foundation. She earned her undergraduate and law degrees at Harvard. Sarah is a lifelong Granite Stater hailing from the Lakes Region and now lives with her husband and two children in Contoocook.

Kristin Girald is an experienced institutional investor and corporate leader, working closely with endowments, foundations and families on advising investment portfolios and leading teams of senior research professionals. Most recently, Kristin worked with Prime Buchholz LLC, an investment consulting firm, where she was an active member of the Board, Executive Committee, Investment and Mission-Aligned Committees, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council, and investment research team. Kristin is president of the Rye Education Foundation. She lives in Rye with her husband and her three children.

Ritu Ullal is a family physician who has been providing care in the greater Nashua region since 2011. She grew up in Merrimack and went to college in Cambridge, MA. After completing her medical education and training in California, Ritu returned to New Hampshire with her husband and young children. Ritu has provided care as a family physician and in the field of substance use disorder. She is now the physician for the Child Advocacy and Protection Program in Nashua, providing trauma and maltreatment evaluations for children and adolescents. Ritu and her husband have two boys and live in Hollis.

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. We are the place where generosity meets the dedication and ingenuity of nonprofits and the potential of New Hampshire students. For six decades, thousands of people have entrusted their charitable resources to the Foundation, creating a perpetual source of philanthropic capital and making it possible for the Foundation to award more than $60 million in grants and scholarships every year. For more information, please visit www.nhcf.org or call 603-225-6641.


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