Meet Jeanine

Here’s some background on Jeanine’s experience and what she’s up to…

Throughout her nearly 30 year career in the fields of development, fundraising, and leadership, Jeanine has served in nearly all aspects of the spectrum from Database Manager to Director of Development to CEO. She has worked for the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, New Britain Symphony, and the Buffalo Museum of Science. As she continued to grow in the field of Development, Jeanine became the Assistant Director of Development at Nardin Academy (Buffalo, NY) and returned to New Hampshire as the Assistant Director of Development at the Concord Community Music School. In 2002, Jeanine joined the Women’s Fund of New Hampshire as their first Director of Development, where she led all fundraising efforts. At the time of her departure, the development program had grown dramatically with a strong system and structure for growth in place.

Returning to her love of the arts, Jeanine Tousignant joined the Manchester Community Music School as the school’s first Director of Development in June 2004. Since that time, she was first promoted Vice President for Advancement, and became CEO in 2009. Under her leadership, the Manchester Community Music School was named the Champion in Action for Arts & Culture for the state of NH by Citizens Bank and WMUR-TV, and was voted “Best Music Education in NH” in the readers’ choice contest of Parenting NH Magazine. After 10 years of leading the Music School in becoming a sophisticated organization, with financial stability while maintaining a wonderful community feel, Jeanine stepped down to found Jeanine & Company in 2014.

Jeanine serves on the board of Amoskeag Industries, on the governance committee of NH Center for Nonprofits, and volunteers as peer to peer facilitator with Friends of Aine Center for Grieving Children and Families. Jeanine served on the board of directors of NH Center for Nonprofits for seven years, including three years as President. She also served on the Advisory Board of Leadership Manchester, and coordinated the annual Arts & Culture Day. Jeanine is past President of the Board of Directors of CONFR (Continuing Education in Fundraising). In addition, she has been an active volunteer with the Greater Manchester YMCA, past president of Manchester Rotary Club, and is a former Manchester Arts Commissioner. A graduate from the HARTT School of Music with a degree in music management, Jeanine pursues her love of playing the clarinet with her chamber music group – Tuneful – through the Manchester Community Music School, and enjoys traveling to play in music festivals here and abroad.

In 2010, Jeanine received The Award for Excellence in Development from CONFR (Council on Fundraising), and is also a member of the 2009 of the Union Leader’s 40 Under 40 Class. She is a 2007 graduate of Leadership Manchester and a graduate of Leadership New Hampshire, class of 2012. In 2014, Jeanine received the Good Samaritan Award for Excellence in Education from Pastoral Counseling Services. A cherished honor, in 2019 Jeanine received the Thomas Lewry Leadership Award from the Manchester Community Music School for outstanding vision, dedication, and commitment to the music school.

When Jeanine is not working with amazing clients, you can usually find her doing one of the following: making music, doing yoga, cooking, reading, and spending time with her family – especially treasured moments with her nieces and nephews.