Through decades of compassion, generosity, and strategic partnerships, the Volgenau Family has aspired to protect our planet and create opportunities for current and future generations.
Our Founder
From an early age, Ernst Volgenau learned the value of hard work and service. He grew up on a small farm in Western New York, devoting much of his time to tending animals and harvesting vegetables. The responsibilities of running the family farm fell to Ernst at the age of 12 after both his father and brother had left to serve in World War II. The family’s commitment to service influenced Ernst to enroll in the US Naval Academy following high school. After graduating in 1955, he received a commission in the Air Force and pursued a master’s degree in electric engineering at the Air Force Institute of Technology in Ohio. It was there that he met his future wife, Sara Lane, on a blind date.
Sara grew up in Kentucky in a loving family and studied elementary education at Morehead State University. She was a second grade teacher when she met Ernst. They married four months later and left the next day for Los Angeles where Ernst was assigned to the Air Force Space Systems Division. By the mid-1960s, Ernst had earned a PhD in electrical engineering from UCLA and the couple had three daughters.
Success Leads to Opportunity
Ernst worked in high level systems analysis at the Pentagon, and served as Director of the Inspection and Enforcement Office at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, before launching Systems Research and Applications Corporation (SRA) from his basement in 1978. He set out from the start to create a company rooted in noble values. Ernst credits the culture of SRA as key to the company’s tremendous success. “The basic ethic was ‘Honesty and Service’, which implies high integrity in business, caring about customers and employees, and giving to society,” he states proudly. SRA grew into a multi-billion dollar, publicly traded company (NYSE) and was named to Fortune magazine’s list of “100 Best Companies to Work for in America” for ten consecutive years. SRA offered IT solutions for large government and business organizations, addressing some of the biggest tech issues of the time.
In the early days of SRA, Sara shared accounting and administrative duties of the business with Ernst. “Despite managing a household, raising three teenage girls, and caring for her ailing mother, Sara somehow found time to help. She kept the books and prepared the checks for employees, suppliers, and tax authorities. Most importantly, she provided moral support,” recalls Ernst. Sara later became a founding board member of SRA.
Ernst and Sara used their success to ensure opportunities for others and to support specific causes. The Volgenau School of Engineering at George Mason University and the Ernst and Sara Lane Volgenau College of Education at Morehead State University are just two examples of their generosity and passionate belief in giving back.
Front: Ernst and Sara Volgenau Rear: Chris DeCardy, Jennifer Volgenau Wiley, Lisa Volgenau, Lauren Volgenau-Knapp, Jonathan Kaledin
The Foundation
Ernst and Sara, along with daughters Lisa, Lauren, and Jennifer, formalized their commitment to service and established The Volgenau Foundation (TVF) in 1994. The family’s collective interests in conservation, wildlife, education, and classical music were a natural choice for the mission, and the foundation’s values of honesty and service were modeled after those of SRA.
In the early years of the foundation, Lisa, as its first Executive Director, led TVF’s partnership efforts with The Nature Conservancy on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, focusing on educational projects, shorebird protection, interpretive trails, eelgrass research, and oyster bed restoration.
TVF was reorganized in 2010. Lauren, with a background in wildlife biology, and Jennifer, with expertise in business, joined Lisa, a conservation biologist, to become vice presidents of the board. The foundation hired its first non-family executive director, and the family began increasing the number and scope of grants to include organizations throughout the U.S. Today, as Founding Family Directors, the Volgenau sisters use their expertise in collaboration and relationship-building to dismantle barriers and maximize resources for more than 50 conservation, education, and music organizations each year. They are intimately involved in the day-to-day operations of the foundation and serve as primary points-of-contact for a portfolio of grantees. The sisters also provide sector leadership and represent TVF at convenings and coalitions across the U.S.
In 2021, the foundation invited independent board directors, Chris DeCardy, President of The Heinz Endowments, and Jonathan Kaledin, President of 11th Avenue Solutions and a conservation and classical music expert, to the foundation board, bringing additional expertise in strategic direction and leadership. The Volgenau Foundation is honored to provide more than $14 million in support each year in the areas of land and water conservation, wildlife protection and connectivity, conservation and STEM education for under-resourced communities, and youth engagement in classical music.
Board Directors and Officers
Ernst Volgenau, President
Lisa Volgenau, Vice President, Secretary
Lauren Volgenau-Knapp, Vice President
Jennifer Volgenau Wiley, Vice President, Treasurer
Chris DeCardy
Jonathan Kaledin, Executive Vice President
Our Staff
Andi Pearl
Andi has served as the Executive Director of The Volgenau Foundation since 2019. With broad environmental and philanthropic experience, Andi has worked as a strategic advisor, policy maker, and campaigner.
Prior to joining The Volgenau Foundation, Andi worked as a philanthropic consultant with Breakthrough Strategies and Solutions, and before that, she spent over a decade at the Pew Charitable Trusts. At Pew, Andi served as a director for the Global Ocean Legacy project where she worked with local communities, scientists, and governments to create the world’s first generation of fully protected marine reserves, including in France, Bermuda, French Polynesia, New Caledonia, and the U.S.
Earlier in her career, Andi worked as program officer and acting executive director at the Merck Family Fund, and provided strategic guidance to the Town Creek Foundation, the National Environmental Trust, and the Antarctica Project. Andi’s legal experience focused on environmental and public health issues, including maternal health and pediatric AIDS, as well as Superfund.
Andi currently serves on the board of the Biodiversity Funders Group. She holds a BA in political science and environmental studies from the University of Vermont and a JD from American University’s Washington College of Law.
Julie Kennedy
Julie has served as the Foundation & Grants Administrator since 2022. Julie has 17 years of nonprofit experience including grants administration, database management, communications, and operations. She is passionate about protecting the environment and creating opportunities for young people. Prior to joining the foundation, Julie worked as a grant writer, operations manager, and family engagement manager at human service and Head Start programs in Pennsylvania and Washington DC. She holds a BA in political science from the University of Pennsylvania and a Master of Social Administration from Temple University.