b'23SUMMER 2019STAFF PROFILEDIGGING DEEP An eye for detail helps Brianna Ziemak spot any potential problems with funds.Brianna Ziemak joined The Pittsburgh Foundations staff inJanuary. B RIANNA ZIEMAKS ROLE AT THE PITTSBURGH FOUNDATION She began developing that broad skill set early on.involves administering the ever-growing number ofOut of college in June 2013, she became a paralegal at Berger funds, which currently totals about 2,300. But whileand Green, a law firm specializing in Social Security and her official position is funds manager, she is known to staffdisability claims. Her main responsibility was to prepare as fortune teller for her work predicting the future andcases for Social Security hearings. In March of 2015, she detective for investigating past actions. joined the staff at BNY Mellon, where she reviewed trust The Development and Finance departments rely ondocuments for content and accuracy. She quickly became Ziemak to consider whether fund agreements, as written,an expert on trust language, especially in determining how ensure that donors wishes will be upheld in perpetuity. Thisit would affect named beneficiaries and managers. requires a high level of diligence in determining charitableEvery trust is unique, and I enjoy getting a glimpse into beneficiaries to a fund if the organization originally designatedwhat the grantor intends to do with their trust and how they is no longer in operation. Ziemak also has the responsibility ofwant it to be distributed and to whom, she says. Each one determining a granting process if advisors on a fund no longerpresents itself as a new challenge to better understand who want to, or are not able to, recommend grants.a client is and whats important to that individual or family. Often, this requires Ziemak to dig into the historicalThese people trust us to carry out their plans for how they want record. With funds created decades ago, she says, we maytheir funds distributed, even after they have long passed. be confronted with language that doesnt actually makeHer experiences with BNY Mellon prepared her for clear the donors intent.the high diligence expectations in the field as she ensures In these cases, she examines the language in thethat fund documents are solid and will continue to serve fund agreement against such questions as how to modifycommunity causes for decades. She also creates resources the fund if its original purpose becomes obsoleteforto help Foundation colleagues determine how best to serve example, dedicating funds to research diseases that havedonors. A project early in her tenure involved creating a since been cured. The revised language is then presented todocument that would enable staff to help prospective donors the Foundations Trust Administrative Committee, whichdetermine the fund type that best helps them achieve their The Pittsburgh Foundations Board has designated as thecharitable goals. reviewing authority. Any significant changes are presentedIve always wanted to help people, she says. The to the Board for approval.Pittsburgh Foundation is an excellent resource for connecting Ziemaks day-to-day work runs the gamutfromthe people who have the ability to give with the communities attending to the details of a funds structure to attend- and to neighbors who would benefit most. ing to the high aspirations of fund holders for their personal philanthropy. byMary Shelly | communications intern'