Carrie Roche

Carrie brings extensive experience in grants management and nonprofit operations to her role as Grants and Operations Manager at the Lloyd A. Fry Foundation. She serves as a first point of contact for grantees and external stakeholders, ensuring seamless communication and support throughout the grant lifecycle. Carrie oversees the Foundation’s grants management system, maintaining data integrity and streamlining processes to enhance functionality and efficiency. She also leads the office’s operational efforts, including IT and vendor management, board meeting preparation, website content updates, communications efforts, and more.

Before joining the Fry Foundation, Carrie honed her skills at Rush University Medical Center’s Office of Philanthropy, where she served in various roles during her tenure, most recently as the Development Associate for the Corporate and Foundation Relations team. In this role, she managed pre- and post-grant submission processes, led prospect research initiatives, and developed procedures to improve grant-related workflows.

Carrie holds a master’s degree in school counseling from Roosevelt University and a bachelor’s degree in international studies with minors in Spanish and nonprofit management from Indiana University.

Outside of work, you can find Carrie playing board and card games, cooking, singing in a rock band, and enjoying the vibrant Chicago music scene. She also loves spending quality time with her friends, family, and husband—and is a proud cat mom to Penny, her toothless exotic shorthair.