Wishing Anna Schmid Well on Her Next Chapter - Gates Family Foundation
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Anna SchmidAfter nearly eight years of dedicated service, the Gates Family Foundation is saying goodbye to Anna Schmid, our Controller and a deeply valued member of our team. While Anna’s title may suggest a focus on numbers, spreadsheets, and financial systems—and she certainly excelled in all of those—her true legacy is the care, responsiveness, and humanity she brought to every aspect of her work.

Since joining the Foundation in 2017, Anna has been the steady hand behind our operations. She moved the Foundation to a cloud-based, modern financial system, ensured our employees were well taken care of, oversaw all aspects of accounting and payments, and prepared financial reports that helped guide our decision-making. But beyond her technical expertise, Anna brought something even more valuable: a deep commitment to people.

“Anna is the kind of colleague who will drop everything to make sure you have what you need,” shared Leslie Sabin, Vice President for Finance, Impact Investing, and Operations. “She’s incredibly responsive, organized, and thoughtful—always thinking ahead about who needs to know what. Anna is a go-to person for many of us—she’s dedicated to listening and getting answers, and her organizational talent and deep knowledge have been the engine behind so much of the Foundation running smoothly.”

Anna’s empathy and conscientiousness have left a lasting mark on our team. She worked hard to make people feel welcome and supported, often going above and beyond to ensure others felt seen and cared for. Her quiet, warm demeanor and infectious laugh made our office a more comfortable and joyful place to be.

While we are sad to see her go, we are thrilled that Anna will be joining one of our valued partner organizations—Denver Public Schools. We know she will bring the same dedication, warmth, and excellence to her new role, and we are excited for the impact she will have on the DPS team and the broader community.

Anna, thank you for your years of service, your heart, and your unwavering commitment to our mission. You’ve made a lasting impact, and we are so grateful. We wish you all the success in this next chapter!