Our Team
Philanthropic Professionals
The Catholic Foundation of Greater Philadelphia team is comprised of philanthropic advisors, fundraisers, marketers, writers, and nonprofit operation professionals who share your faith, your values, your community, and your commitment to the future of our faith. Taking a personal approach in all we do, we work directly with our donors and partners to determine how to best achieve their charitable goals.
We’re ready to help with your goals, your challenges and your legacy.
Devon currently serves as the Accountant for The Catholic Foundation of Greater Philadelphia. She joined The Foundation in June 2023. A native of Fishtown in Philadelphia, Devon attended J.W. Hallahan All Girls Catholic High School. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Homeland Security from Monmouth University in West Long Branch, New Jersey. Devon is proud to make a difference in the community where she grew up.
Kurt Gabbard currently serves as Chief Financial Officer for The Catholic Foundation of Greater Philadelphia. In that role, he serves as an integral member of the Senior Executive Management team. He is responsible for financial strategy and oversight of all accounting, finance, human resources, and risk management/legal/compliance activities.
Previously Kurt served as Vice President for Finance, Chief Financial Officer, and Treasurer of Princeton Theological Seminary, a graduate theological school related to the Presbyterian Church (USA) located in Princeton, New Jersey. In that role, he was responsible for the seminary’s financial affairs, human resources, and information technology services. Kurt began his career in church-related higher education in 1993 at Mary Holmes College in West Point, Mississippi. He served as Vice President for Business Affairs and later as Vice President for Advancement. Before coming to Princeton Seminary in 2015, he was Chief Business Officer for Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Austin, Texas. He previously held the same position for McCormick Seminary in Chicago, Illinois.
Kurt is a registered certified public accountant in Illinois, a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy®, and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering and a Master of Business Administration degree, both from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He and his wife, Lisa, have three adult children and live in Buckingham Township in central Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
Emily has been with the Foundation since 2014 and currently oversees all of CFGP’s partnership. A Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy®, Emily’s love of the nonprofit sector dates back to her time in college when she served on the Executive Council of Indiana University Dance Marathon. She quickly changed her major from Biology to Nonprofit Management at Indiana University (Bloomington, IN), and hasn’t looked back since!
Emily loves spending her days helping nonprofits of all sizes overcome their unique challenges and raise the funds they need to fulfill their mission. She is proud to have helped raise over $200 million for clients since joining team.
Garrett serves as Chief Philanthropy Officer at The Catholic Foundation, joining the team in January 2024. With more than 20 years of experience in nonprofit fundraising and gift planning, he has the privilege of partnering with generous individuals and families who seek to invest in the causes and communities they care about most. Garrett is passionate about aligning donor values with thoughtful, strategic giving solutions that maximize impact, unlock tax-efficient opportunities, and sustain mission-driven work for generations.
Previously, Garrett served as Senior Director of Development at Doylestown Health in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, where he played a key role in advancing a Foundation Office that successfully completed a $100 million comprehensive campaign to support the growth and expansion of the health system. Prior to his decade at Doylestown Health, Garrett was the Development Director of Special Events for Samaritans, Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing the incidence of suicide in Greater Boston.
Garrett is a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy® and holds a Bachelor of Arts from Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island. He and his wife, Lisa, have four children and reside in Perkasie, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where they are active members of St. Agnes Parish in Sellersville. Garrett currently serves on the Board of Directors for Pennridge FISH, which provides food, clothing, and emergency financial assistance to economically challenged households in the Pennridge School District, and previously served on the Board of Directors for the Bucks County Children’s Museum in New Hope, Pennsylvania. He is a member of the Bucks County Estate Planning Council.
Ted Qualli serves as the President and CEO of The Catholic Foundation of Greater Philadelphia (CFGP) – the region’s largest independent, nonprofit community foundation committed to growing philanthropy according to the teachings of Jesus Christ.
In this role, Ted is spearheading the implementation of a new five-year strategic plan, bringing his experience and leadership to the organization as it seeks to significantly grow the Foundation’s assets in partnership with donors and Catholic organizations to help secure the future of our faith.
Prior to joining CFGP, Ted led external affairs for the Philadelphia Foundation, where his primary focus was on establishing The Civic Coalition to Save Lives—a broad cross-sector effort that brought together more than 100 business, civic, and philanthropic CEOs and organizations committed to decreasing gun violence in Philadelphia.
From 2013-2021, Ted served as Executive Director of the Police Athletic League of Philadelphia (PAL) - one of Philadelphia’s largest out-of-school-time (OST) program providers. As the first civilian executive director in the organization’s 70+ year history, Ted developed and executed a new strategic direction, operational model, and fiscal strategy, which resulted in transformational philanthropic investments, a metrics and outcomes program that quantified the program’s positive impact on juvenile crime and opened five new PAL Centers.
Prior to joining PAL, Ted spent seven years on the leadership team for Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) Independence Region. During this time, he also served as President of the Big Brothers Big Sisters State Association of Pennsylvania, coordinating public policy and fundraising efforts on behalf of Pennsylvania’s 26 BBBS agencies and launching the Commonwealth’s first-ever statewide Mentoring Children of Prisoners program.
Before joining the non-profit sector, Ted spent five years working in various communications capacities for the City of Philadelphia during the Mayoral Administration of John F. Street.
In addition to his professional accomplishments, Ted has been recognized as one of Philadelphia Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” and was identified by the Philadelphia Daily News as one of 10 “up-and-comers” playing vital roles in shaping the city’s future. He was also a recipient of the Holy Family University Alumni Achievement Award in 2020.
Ted has served on various nonprofit and civic boards of directors, including the Pennsylvania Community Foundation Association, the Council Rock Education Foundation, Holy Family University’s Alumni Association, and the Blue Bell Hill Civic Association.
Ted is a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy® and holds an M.A. in Professional Communications from La Salle University and a B.A. in English from Holy Family University. He and his wife Maria, a Doctor of Nursing Practice, have three children and live in South Jersey, where they are active members of their parish, St. Teresa of Calcutta.