New Jersey native appointed to Mensa Foundation board

ARLINGTON, TEXAS, November 11th, 2011 — The Mensa Education and Research Foundation has appointed Don Pendley, APR, CAE, of Bloomfield. N.J.,  as its newest trustee.

Pendley has been a member of American Mensa for 30 years.  He has served in many different national board functions including finance, development, and internet services.  After a hiatus from leadership, Pendley returns to an active role with a sense of excitement. “I enjoy the camaraderie the organization provides, and I look at this appointment as an opportunity to explore new ways to participate in the growth potential of the foundation.”

Pendley has worked for associations for 38 years and rose through the ranks in the marketing and public relations arena to become a CEO.  He has been the President of the New Jersey Hospice and Palliative Care Organization for 19 years and through his work, serves more than 35,000 dying patients and their families in New Jersey.

When asked what he hoped to accomplish as a new trustee, Pendley said, “I would like to see us improve our messaging, develop the administration of our donation solicitation process, including our methods of thanking and recognizing donors, and grow our brand in order to increase our visibility in the public’s eye.”   He goes on to say, “I think it is important that more people know what American Mensa and the Mensa Foundation do because we provide enormous value to society.  There is a need, now more than ever, to nurture and recognize intelligence.”

Pendley also serves on the board of Community Health Charities of New Jersey and the Mid Atlantic Society of Association Executives.

The property and business of the Mensa Foundation is managed by the Board of Trustees, which includes eight Trustees, two ex-officio members who are representatives of the American and International Mensa Board of Directors, and a representative named by the American Mensa Committee chairman. Trustees also supervise the distribution of donations to the Foundation.

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The Mensa Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization focused on intelligence and giftedness in the community at large. It's mission supports two of the three stated purposes shared by all Mensa organizations, to identify and foster intelligence for the benefit of humanity and to encourage research into the nature, characteristics, and uses of intelligence. The Mensa Foundation pursues these goals, in partnership with American Mensa and/or Mensa International where appropriate, with resources donated by Mensans and non-Mensans alike and aspire to use the intelligence of Mensans and non-Mensans to make the world a better place. For more information about the Mensa Foundation, visit mensafoundation.org or call (817) 607-5577.