Meet Cheryl Cummings, Director of Strategic Partnerships

Staff Spotlight · March 2026

Cheryl Cummings has spent more than two decades helping mission-driven organizations grow — building strategies, strengthening teams, and connecting people to causes worth believing in. For the past six years, she has brought that experience to bear at Blue Hill Observatory & Science Center, where she serves as Director of Strategic Partnerships.

Her path to the Observatory wound through some of Greater Boston’s most impactful nonprofits — from organizations fighting family homelessness and poverty to STEM education initiatives placing young adults in high-demand careers. Across all of them, the common thread was the same: a belief that well-run, well-funded organizations can change lives.

“Abbott Lawrence Rotch was fascinated by weather at a young age — and his determination to study the atmosphere placed him atop Great Blue Hill at just 24 years old. The students the Observatory serves today are kindred spirits. That connection across 141 years is what drew me here, and it’s what keeps me motivated every day.”
— Cheryl Cummings, Director of Strategic Partnerships

Building Organizations That Last

Cheryl’s work has always centered on helping leaders see further. Over a twenty-year career she has collaborated with CEOs and boards on strategic planning, fundraising, communications, and governance — the behind-the-scenes infrastructure that allows a great mission to actually take root and grow.

At the Observatory, that work has included developing multi-year investment strategies, strengthening donor relationships, and helping to build the organizational practices that support the Observatory’s growing educational and scientific programs. It’s the kind of work that doesn’t always make headlines — but without it, the institution can’t do what it’s here to do.

She has a particular passion for legacy and planned giving — the practice of connecting donors to the long arc of an institution’s work, and giving them a meaningful way to be part of it. It’s a natural fit for an organization whose climate record stretches back 141 years and whose most important work, in many ways, is still ahead.

“Fundraising is deeply rewarding work because, at its best, it brings together socially minded individuals across corporate, government, foundation, and nonprofit sectors to work toward a common purpose. Building those partnerships — and watching them strengthen an institution like the Observatory — is both meaningful and inspiring.”
— Cheryl Cummings, Director of Strategic Partnerships

Connecting People to What Matters

Beyond the Observatory, Cheryl is a long-time mentor with MentorNet and a committed advocate for climate action, economic empowerment, and education. She is a proud UMass Amherst graduate and an active voice in Greater Boston’s nonprofit and environmental community.

Those who work alongside her at Blue Hill Observatory will tell you she brings that same energy to every conversation — whether she’s talking with a first-time donor, a prospective corporate partner, or a longtime member who has been climbing this hill for decades.