{"id":35193,"date":"2024-04-10T09:25:18","date_gmt":"2024-04-10T13:25:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/?p=35193"},"modified":"2024-04-10T09:25:19","modified_gmt":"2024-04-10T13:25:19","slug":"briglia-to-receive-rebecca-lukens-award","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/?p=35193","title":{"rendered":"Briglia to receive Rebecca Lukens Award"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Beth Harper Briglia<\/p><\/div>\n

A longtime philanthropic advisor and community volunteer in Chester County, Beth Harper Briglia, was recently named the 18th<\/sup> recipient of the annual Rebecca Lukens Award presented by the National Iron & Steel Heritage Museum (NISHM) in Coatesville.<\/p>\n

Established by the Graystone Society, the museum\u2019s nonprofit arm, the award is named for the owner of the former Lukens Steel Co. who is also known as the\u00a0nation’s first female industrialist.<\/p>\n

Briglia, the former Executive Vice-President of Philanthropic Services at the Chester County Community Foundation (CCCF) in West Chester, was identified and selected by a community-based awards committee. She will be honored in a special awards ceremony scheduled to be held at Graystone, one of NISHM\u2019s historic mansions in Coatesville, later this month. The awards ceremony is supported by several lead sponsors including the Gunard Berry Carlson Memorial Foundation, PECO and The Stewart Huston Charitable Trust.<\/p>\n

According to Scott G. Huston, a direct descendent of Rebecca Lukens and NISHM\u2019s board president, honorees demonstrate the leadership qualities of the early Quaker ironmaster. \u201cBeth\u2019s list of accomplishments and accolades is impressive,\u201d Huston said, \u201cThere was no such thing as the\u00a0non-profit or philanthropic sector in Rebecca\u2019s time, of course, but the three core values we always mention \u2013 Rebecca as a visionary, a doer, and a strategic leader \u2013 are qualities that Beth Briglia has also brought to her work in guiding others in philanthropy.\u201d<\/p>\n

James Ziegler, NISHM\u2019s Executive Director, concurs with Mr. Huston. \u201cThe museum recognizes Chester County women who have worked in a similar way as Rebecca Lukens. Beth not only inspires but works to make our community a better place.\u201d<\/p>\n

In citing other traits shared with Rebecca, Huston said that many past recipients including last year\u2019s honoree, Mary Holleran of Downingtown, were honored for their work as community-builders. Briglia is no exception, although her work strengthening communities could be described as people-driven.\u00a0 It\u2019s part of her longtime work as a philanthropic advisor, especially at CCCF where she frequently worked with generations of family members who established nonprofit legacy funds there.<\/p>\n

Describing herself as \u201chonored and humbled\u201d to be named this year\u2019s Rebecca Lukens Award recipient, Briglia said that she has personally known several of the previous recipients and has felt a kinship with how they have worked to improve the lives of others. She said she first came to know the story of Rebecca\u2019s life through Gene DiOrio, co-founder of the Graystone Society, who gave her personal tours of the Lukens National Historic District and the surrounding area.<\/p>\n

At the time, Briglia was just beginning her work at CCCF and understanding how one\u2019s values are connected to philanthropy in making life better for others. \u201cI was inspired by her story and what she did,\u201d Briglia said of Rebecca, \u201cI was especially taken with the fact that she wanted to have her father\u2019s legacy as founder of the steel mill to live on and she worked to ensure that the mill workers were well served.\u201d<\/p>\n

Briglia, who grew up in Montgomery County with five siblings, has had a long affinity with the nonprofit sector but she was encouraged by her father to pursue a career in accounting. She earned her undergraduate degree in public administration from La Salle University and later worked for Arthur Andersen & Co. She spent more than a dozen years as an accountant and consultant working in diversified financial service environments including asset management, insurance, and banking.<\/p>\n

Briglia was able to make the transition to nonprofit work when she became a volunteer with Community Accountants (CA) and became intrigued with Arts administration by helping the Philadelphia-based Clay Studio, now the nation\u2019s oldest ceramic studio. Briglia eventually joined the studio\u2019s Board of Directors and served as board president.<\/p>\n

Briglia\u2019s 20-plus years at CCCF has drawn on her many skills including her training as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP). However, she especially enjoys helping individuals, families, and local business owners engage with and improve their own communities by guiding them through what she calls \u201cintentional philanthropy.\u201d The process enables donors to consider their time, talents, and values to determine their charitable objectives and philanthropic strategies.<\/p>\n

Beth, the mother of three adult children who lives with her husband Michael Briglia in the Kimberton area, now works as an independent philanthropic advisor. She frequently drives to Coatesville to advise the Newlin Foundation, a charitable scholarship fund started in 2010 at the Chester County Community Foundation by a Chester County philanthropic couple.<\/p>\n

Briglia works closely with Newlin\u2019s professional staff, the board chair, Regina Horton Lewis (a 2013 RLA recipient) as well as with a community-based board of trustees who carry out Newlin\u2019s mission: to\u00a0 provide guidance and scholarship opportunities for high school students living in the Coatesville Area School District. Each year, a select group of \u201cNewlin scholars\u201d not only receive scholarship help, but according to Beth, are given educational, mentoring, and financial support from the college admission\u2019s process through the final goal of attaining and optimizing their post-secondary degree.<\/p>\n

Briglia is also involved in numerous volunteer activities focused on education, including those promoting the field of philanthropy. She actively works with those seeking nonprofit career and management advice; professional advisors looking to deepen their understanding of the philanthropic sector for themselves and their clients; and individuals and families who are crafting their current and legacy philanthropic strategies.<\/p>\n

Examples of her volunteer work in education include serving as chair of Bishop Shanahan High School\u2019s Board of Directors and as former president of La Salle University\u2019s Alumni Board. She is also a co-facilitator of the Delaware\/Greater Philadelphia CAP Study Group for the American College of Financial Services. She has also served as vice chair of the Board of Catholic Social Services in Philadelphia and as a board member of Junior Achievement in Chicago.<\/p>\n

Briglia currently volunteers her time with the University of Delaware\u2019s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute where she teaches a course called \u201cIntentional Philanthropy: Making Your Gifts of Time, Talent, and Treasure Count.\u201d\u00a0 <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The Graystone Society and NISHM thank the following additional sponsors: Ms. Ruth Nunn, Piasecki Aircraft, The Huston Foundation, Unruh, Turner, Burke & Frees, New Heritage Properties, Mary T. Holleran & David J. Proctor, BELFOR, Mr. & Mrs. Kevin Holleran, Gawthrop Greenwood, Herbert E. MacCombie, Jr., Consulting Engineers, Patterhn Ives, Chester County Hospital Foundation, CTDI, Breuninger Insurance, Ms. Joy Rowland, Chester County Convention & Visitor\u2019s Bureau, Citadel FCU, G.A. Vietri, Inc., Freedom Village, William Dunleavy Inc., Alliance for Health Equity, JGM, The Episcopal Church of the Trinity, TMACC ( Chesco Bus), Presidents Fund at The Foundation for Delaware County, Wegmans, Summers & \u00a0Zim\u2019s, Inc., Edge Wallboard Machinery Co., Jacobs\/Wyper Architects, Presence Bank, Mr. & Mrs. Michael Raysor, and United Way of Chester County.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A longtime philanthropic advisor and community volunteer in Chester County, Beth Harper Briglia, was recently named the 18th recipient of the annual Rebecca Lukens Award presented by the National Iron & Steel Heritage Museum (NISHM) in Coatesville. Established by the Graystone Society, the museum\u2019s nonprofit arm, the award is named for the owner of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":35192,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[12450,6319,6321],"class_list":["post-35193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-beth-harper-briglia","tag-national-iron-steel-heritage-museum","tag-rebecca-lukens-award"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=35193"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35193\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35194,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35193\/revisions\/35194"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/35192"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=35193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=35193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=35193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}