Mary Elizabeth Lasher Barnette Women’s Leadership Scholarship Fund

Shayne Lopez • January 11, 2019
An elderly woman with gray hair is smiling for the camera.

 

The Mary Elizabeth Lasher Barnette Women’s Leadership Scholarship Fund was established by the daughters of Mary Elizabeth Lasher Barnette to honor their mother’s leadership and devotion to the journalism profession and to Ohio University.

 

The daughter of Elizabeth Siddons and George Starr Lasher, Mrs. Barnette grew up in Athens. She became the first woman editor of the O.U. Post student newspaper in 1941 before graduating with a journalism degree in 1942. She broke professional barriers in New York City, becoming the first female reporter and columnist to work for Editor and Publisher, a trade journal for the newspaper industry. Later in her career, she worked as a reporter, weekly newspaper editor, and public relations executive in the Buffalo, New York area. Mrs. Barnette devoted her retirement years between 1989 and 2007 in Athens, Ohio to building scholarship opportunities for students at both the collegiate and high school levels.

This fund will support the education of women leaders in the field of journalism who will make lasting contributions to their profession and deliver quality journalism to the public.

 

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Stacy Strauss is ACF's new Director of Finance and Administration

By Emily Prince • September 1, 2026
Please join us in welcoming our new Director of Finance and Administration, Stacy Strauss. Stacy looks forward to using her skills to strengthen our community! She brings energy, creativity, and a thoughtful approach to her work, along with a genuine ability to bring people together around shared goals. Her experience spans financial management, fundraising and grant writing, program development, business strategy, and developing materials that tell a clear, compelling story.  Just as importantly, she enjoys helping others grow. She has experience leading and training teams, building collaborative cultures, developing recruitment strategies, and finding practical, creative solutions to complicated challenges. Whether working with colleagues, community partners, or other stakeholders, she builds relationships rooted in trust, communication, and a shared commitment to advancing good ideas.

Fall Grant Applications Open

By Shayne Lopez • August 28, 2026
Athens County's greatest asset is its people. Every day, neighbors, organizations, and local leaders bring skill, creativity, and deep knowledge of this place to the work of building a stronger community. Our grantmaking invests in those strengths, because the best solutions are already growing here, led by the people who call Athens County home. Our grantmaking builds on the strengths already here by investing in the initiatives, people and organizations, relationships, skills, and ideas working to address longstanding challenges and pursue extraordinary opportunities. 

Pull up a Chair: August Newsletter

By Emily Prince • August 12, 2026
Collaboration and Partnership