Foundation welcomes Swearer as COO

Hutchinson Community Foundation announces the hire of Dell Marie Shanahan Swearer as chief operating officer.

She will join a seven-person staff led by President and CEO Aubrey Abbott Patterson on April 15. Among her duties as COO, Swearer will oversee regulatory compliance, fund administration, gift stewardship, contracts and operations staff.

“As an attorney, trust administrator and long-time community foundation board member, Dell is uniquely qualified for this new role that will move Hutchinson Community Foundation to the next level of organizational effectiveness and impact for our community. I am thrilled to have her join our team,” Patterson said.

Swearer brings 25 years of trust administration to her new position, serving for nearly 13 years as vice president and private client advisor at Commerce Bank and for 13 years as vice president and trust officer at First National Bank of Hutchinson. Before her career in banking, she was an associate attorney at Dennis O. Smith, Chtd. and a partner at Branine, Chalfant & Hill, both of Hutchinson.

Swearer has served on various Reno County boards, most recently for six years as a member of the community foundation’s board of directors, where she chaired the Audit and Donor Focus committees and served on the Governance Committee.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration management from Southwestern College, a law degree from the University of Kansas School of Law and attended the National Graduate Trust School, where she achieved the status of certified trust and financial advisor.

Swearer lives in Hutchinson and has two children: Jackson of Hutchinson and Sarah of St. Louis.