Our Team

Richard D. Sanford, Founder & CEO

Dick is a lifelong entrepreneur and philanthropist. He began his career at Arthur Anderson and was VP of Finance and Executive Vice President of Commodore International. He went on to found Intelligent Electronics, which grew to a $3.7 billion dollar wholesale distributor of micro-products and services. In 1998 Dick started The Sanford Foundation to support disadvantaged children. The first charter school in Pennsylvania was an early product and today that school, known as The Chester County Family Academy, operates in West Chester, PA. He has served on the Board of the Brandywine Museum and Conservancy. In 1998 Dick founded Operation Warm.

Stephanie Cohen, Vice President & CFO

Stephanie Cohen currently serves as Chief Financial Officer. She brings more than 20 years of finance, operations, and consulting experience with a focus on business development (mergers & acquisitions, public offerings), process improvement, and financial control in both public and private companies. She served as SVP and CFO of Alliance Consulting (acquired by Safeguard Scientifics); EVP and CFO of XLConnect Solutions (acquired by Xerox, formerly owned by Intelligent Electronics); and in various executive capacities at Intelligent Electronics. Ms. Cohen has a BS Accountancy from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and is a CPA, having started her career with KPMG Peat Marwick.

Grace Sica, Executive Director

Grace is the Executive Director of Operation Warm. She is responsible for the overall strategic and operational management of Operation Warm’s staff, programs, expansion, and execution of its mission. She joined the organization in 2016 as a member of the development team, where she was integral in the creation of successful core programs, operations, and business plans. Grace has ten years of experience in social enterprise, helping to maximize the impact of non-profit and for profit organizations that improve social wellbeing. She previously held strategic roles at TerraCycle and the Sierra Club. Grace has a BS Journalism and Environmental Policy from Rutgers, and is pursuing an M.B.A. from Villanova University

Heather Connolly, Development & PARTNERSHIPS VICE PRESIDENT

Heather leads our Development and our Community Partnerships teams. Her experience includes 10 years working in various leadership roles with non-profit programs including the YMCA of Greater Brandywine and Girls on the Run. She has significant experience organizing and executing large scale fundraising events. Prior to entering the non-profit world, Heather spent eight years in management roles working with Wachovia Bank. Heather holds a BA in Economics and Politics from Wake Forest University and over her career has served on a number of non profit boards.