Sheri Denny has been promoted to the position of Regional Director for the Arizona Community Foundation of Sedona, taking over the role on June 14 in succession to Jennifer Perry, who was named the permanent Vice President of Regional Impact in February and relocated to Phoenix in June.
“I’m very fortunate that I was able to live in Sedona … and raise my family there,” said Perry, who started working with ACF in 2019. “My girls went all through red rock schools … But for my husband’s job, he travels quite a bit, and he flies out of [Phoenix]. So it’s important that we’re both living in a place that works for both of us.”
ACF’s main office is in Phoenix with five regional offices across the state, and in her new role, Perry oversees all ACF operations outside Maricopa County.
“I’m sad to go and I’m so fond of the relationships that I built,” Perry said. “But I’m so happy that if I had to leave Sedona, that I’m leaving it in really great hands with Sheri … Through my position here, I have had the extraordinary experience of meeting incredibly caring and generous people. Sedona and the Verde Valley is an awesome community and I [have] seen and been part of, time and time again, people going above and beyond to help their neighbors, nonprofits, to volunteer, to give up their time, talent and treasure. ”
Denny joined ACF’s Prescott office as a regional philanthropic advisor in May 2021 before transferring to Sedona in September, and also administered ACF Sedona’s 2023 competitive grant cycle. She holds an MBA from San Diego State University and a bachelor’s degree in government from New Mexico State University, and is a certified nonprofit professional.
“I was born in Germany, and they used to talk about ‘die Mauer im Kopf’ — the wall in the mind,” Denny said. “Sometimes I think that’s how people think of Mingus Mountain, that there’s this wall between us, and there really isn’t because it’s such a quick trip, and people are the same on both sides, so I haven’t noticed a huge difference.”
Denny’s father was a U.S. Army judge advocate general who also served at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, and her mother is a former teacher who later went into real estate. The couple currently reside in Las Cruces, N.M.
“That ties into how I lead my life, with integrity, and kind of tell it like it is, but diplomatically,” Denny said. “He discouraged me from going into law, but I have done contracts and grants my entire career. Whether that was for corporate America, doing contracts for space telemetry equipment, and I started my career at the United States Air Force Academy doing their contracts. I’ve done grants for all types of nonprofit, rural, statewide, national, so a lot of business development in the contracting grant world.”
Denny has been married to her husband Mike for 29 years after meeting him as an undergraduate at New Mexico State University. She attributed the longevity of the relationship to “lots of laughter [and] lots of love.” Now self-described empty nesters, the couple has one daughter, Katelyn, who is entering her sophomore year as a chemical engineering student at the University of Washington.
ACF has also released a new three-year strategic plan inspired by Willie Pietersen’s strategic learning process. The plan’s three main focus areas are education, housing and the environment.
“Jennifer has created a tremendous foundation here and I’m looking to continue her legacy of positivity and inclusion and getting everyone involved and feeling part of the philanthropy family,” Denny said. “[I’m] humbled and grateful to be in this position, and for those that came before me for laying the pathway. I’m already inspired by the fraction of the community that I’ve met, their generosity and selflessness.”
