The Community Foundation of Delaware has appointed Robbie Tarpley Ruffish as vice president of communications and marketing.
As a member of the management team, Mr. Ruffish will work directly with Stuart Comstock-Gay, president and CEO of DCF. She will oversee the organization's external and internal communications, including brand strategy, marketing plan development and implementation, public relations, crisis communications, advertising and design.
Mr. Lafisch, a veteran of the general marketing industry, joins the Foundation from Asapar Inc., a Salisbury, Maryland-based company he founded in 1996. Her experience includes project and consulting work with the Eastern Shore Community Foundation, and philanthropy. She is a member of the communications launch team for the National Museum of Jewish American History and has expertise in commercial real estate, healthcare, education, food and beverage, automotive, and consumer products.
“Ms. Raffish's career path makes her uniquely suited to work at DCF,” Comstock-Gay said. “Her ability to build and manage teams and integrate them with external resources to make programs successful was exactly what we were looking for. It’s about having love, and that’s seen through the journey.”
“I am excited to join DCF and be part of an organization that is clearly focused on improving and improving the people of Delaware.” “I learned how to take what I have learned in my various careers and deploy it in new and impactful ways: collaborating with smart, creative and interesting people who share the same desire to make a difference. I was looking for a role that I could do. I already feel very at home at DCF.”
Ruffish earned degrees in communications and political science from the University of Delaware and has served on numerous nonprofit boards. She has published nearly 200 of her articles and is currently working on writing historical fiction. With her two adult children, she lives in Georgetown with her husband, Clay Tarpley.
The mission of the Delaware Community Foundation is to improve the First State through community-based philanthropy. For more information, visit delcf.org or call 302-571-8004.
