the FOUNDATION

The Onion Foundation is a private charitable foundation established in 2014 by Fritz and Susan Onion. It was created with the mission of encouraging conservation and stewardship of the natural environment and promoting music and the arts in the state of Maine. Having grown up in Farmington, a small town in the western foothills of Maine, Fritz and Susan both value living in a rural community with access to the outdoors.

In 2004 Fritz co-founded the technology training company Pluralsight with three other colleagues. By 2013 the company had established itself as a high-growth, online subscription-based company training software developers and IT professionals world-wide. In 2014 Fritz and Susan created and endowed the foundation to support Maine nonprofits.

Both Fritz and Susan also serve on the advisory board of Pluralsight One, the philanthropic branch of Pluralsight, whose mission is to unlock opportunity for the underrepresented by increasing access to technology skill development and promoting diversity in the technology workforce.

Our Team

Susan onion

Susan is a longtime educator with 20+ years of experience as a k-5 teacher, school, and public librarian and adult literacy tutor. In the summer you can find her paddle boarding on Maine lakes with her dog, Mia, and cross-country skiing on those same lakes in the winter.

fritz onion

Fritz is a co-founder of Pluralsight, a fast-growing enterprise technology skills platform, where he served as chief content officer from 2008 to 2014. Fritz received his B.A. from Harvard University and his M.S. in computer science from the University of California, Irvine. In his spare time he enjoys playing his octave mandolin, and cycling on the back roads of Maine.

Diana Morris

Executive Director

Diana is the inaugural Executive Director of the Onion Foundation. Previously she founded and directed the Baltimore/Maryland office of the Open Society Foundations, served as the first Executive Director of the Blaustein Philanthropic Group, and was a program officer at the Ford Foundation, working nationally and internationally. Diana also has assisted philanthropies and nonprofit organizations in strategic planning and executive searches. She has an A.B. from Smith College and a J.D. from Boston University and undertook graduate studies in cultural anthropology at Princeton. Diana serves on the boards of Salt Bay Chamberfest and Healthcare for the Homeless and provides pro bono legal counseling to immigrants. Diana and her husband have two grown girls, and all love to rendezvous on Orr’s Island for kayaking, hiking, and ambitious cooking.

Nat may

Program Officer, Arts

Nat is the Arts Program Officer at the Onion Foundation and a founding Board member of Common Field and the Hewnoaks Artist Colony. He previously served as the first Executive Director of SPACE in Portland, Maine, where he established The Kindling Fund, supporting individual artist grantees. Nat has worked with or advised numerous local and national arts organizations such as National Endowment for the Arts, Creative Capital, Americans for the Arts, The Alliance of Artist Communities, The Portland Museum of Art, Maine College of Art and Indigo Arts Alliance. In addition to his interest in the arts, Nat worked with Portland Food Co-op to plan and open its retail location, volunteers with the Maine Tool Library, and has trained as a Master Gardener Volunteer.

Rosalind ERWIN

Program Officer, Environment

Roz (she/her) is the Environment Program Officer at the Onion Foundation. She previously served as Senior Program Officer at the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation where she oversaw community grantmaking in the Piscataqua Region and environmental grantmaking statewide. Roz has also worked as Senior Program Manager at Cities of Service, a nonprofit that supported municipal governments in their citizen engagement programs, and Program Officer at the Helmsley Charitable Trust where she oversaw place-based grantmaking for environmental conservation. Roz lives in Kennebunk where she enjoys winter beach walks and kayaking with the tide on the Kennebunk River.

HOLLY TAYLOR

Program Associate

Holly Taylor (she/they) is the Program Associate at the Onion Foundation. An arts administrator, movement artist, and educator, Holly has held positions at Creative Portland (ME), FirstWorks (RI), and collaborated with performance, dance education, and public art groups throughout New England. Holly received a B.A. in American Studies from Yale University and an M.A. in Performance Studies from NYU Tisch. She teaches youth dance classes at Casco Bay Movers Dance Studio in Portland.

Image credit: Claire Houston

Sally Struever

Grants and Office Administrator

Sally (she/her) is the Grants and Office Administrator at the Onion Foundation. She previously held positions at 317 Main Community Music Center, Portland Museum of Art, and Port City Studios. She has volunteered extensively, including at Portland Buy Local (as a founding board member), Maine Craft Association, Portland Public Art Committee, and Treehouse Institute. She currently serves on the board of the Maine Women's Lobby Education Fund. Sally lived in the Portland area for 18 years before moving to Carrabassett Valley with her partner, child, and rescue pup. Sally has no shortage of hobbies and especially loves to swim and skate on Maine’s lakes and hike in its mountains.

Our Impact

The Onion Foundation is honored to support the vibrant non-profit community in Maine. Non-profits employ 1 in 6 Maine workers and mobilize over 420,000 volunteers in the state each year, strengthening the social fabric and building community.

16

COUNTIES IN MAINE

Grants made to organizations in all 16 counties of Maine.

460+

NONPROFITS SUPPORTED

The Onion Foundation has awarded grants to over 460 unique Maine nonprofits over the eight years it has been in operation.

Funding throughout maine