Diane Sierpina joined The Tow Foundation in 1998 and currently serves as a program director. Prior to joining the Foundation, Diane was a journalist covering government, politics and social issues.
Diane is primarily responsible for the Foundation’s justice and community wellness investments. She collaborates with the Foundation’s president and program team to establish and refine the Foundation’s goals of ending mass incarceration and mass criminalization and advancing racial and gender equity. Diane strives to go beyond the traditional relationship between funders and grantees by serving as an advisor, advocate, partner and relationship-builder for grantee partners and other organizations committed to justice work.
In addition to actively participating in local justice coalitions in Connecticut, Diane holds leadership roles in numerous adult and youth justice groups, including the Connecticut Justice Alliance, Supporting Organizing Work in Connecticut funders group, New York Youth Justice Initiative, Justice Reform Working Group of Philanthropy New York, the national Criminal Justice Funders Forum and the Youth Transition Funders Group. Diane also serves as a board member for the Connecticut Council for Philanthropy (CCP) and was a founding chair of CCP’s Program Officers Network. In May 2017, Diane received CCP’s Martha S. Newman Award for exemplary service in the philanthropic sector.
Outside of work, Diane enjoys yoga, historical fiction, 1960’s music and films from the 1930s and ‘40s. She was a longtime Girl Scout leader but is now adapting those skills in her nascent role as grandparent of two rambunctious boys.
Diane earned a B.S. in Journalism summa cum laude from Boston University.