Staff
Milenko Matanovic, Executive Director
Milenko is a community builder and a visual artist with a professional career and international reputation spanning 40 years. As founding director of Pomegranate Center, he has created an arena in which art, public participation and community betterment converge. Facilitating the conception and construction of open-air gathering places, he involves community members in all phases of these projects, from generation of initial concept, through construction and stewardship. His work at Pomegranate Center has brought people and communities together to create and identify cultural, environmental and social priorities in community development.
Milenko is an honorary professor of the Vladivostok Polytechnic University. In 2009 he was honored with the Bill Grace Leadership Legacy Award from the Center for Ethical Leadership. He is an author of three books. The most recent, Multiple Victories: Pomegranate Center’s Art of Creating Community-Built Gathering Places, describes his philosophy and working methods. read more…
Katya Matanovic, Managing Director
Katya joined the Pomegranate Center team in early 2007. As Managing Director, she helps tell the Pomegranate Center story, connecting people to our mission and work, and helps secure the resources needed to fulfill the mission and transform communities. She works closely with volunteers, interns and supports the work of the fabulous Board of Directors and Advisory Council. And she gets to leave the computer and conference room to help on projects every now and again too! Katya brings over a decade of nonprofit experience to the team, most recently with the Washington Women’s Foundation and the Gottman Institute. She is the co-founder and board co-chair of One By One, a nonprofit organization working to treat and prevent obstetric fistula in the developing world. And, of course, Katya grew up with community development and nonprofit philosophy – Milenko is her father. She is thrilled to be working with her dad and enjoys the chance to see him every day.
Bree Delgadillo, Project Coordinator
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Bree Delgadillo works at Pomegranate Centers as the project coordinator and community liaison. Over the last ten years her work, academics and volunteer experience promoted a deep curiosity about community development on both a local and international level. As an avid traveler she took advantage of opportunities to explore the inner-workings of communities world-wide: volunteering for humanitarian non-profits in Central and South America, working in the education system in Europe and exploring cultural traditions of Southeast Asia. These experiences all contributed to her ability to manage both community-based planning and project implementation in her role at Pomegranate Center. She gets great enjoyment from the variety her role offers her: interacting with community members daily and being able to do the really nitty-gritty work of digging holes and sanding logs.