July 27, 2022
Tiffany Grunert a 1997 Northwest alumna, is president and chief executive officer of Denver-based Morris Animal Foundation and has been recognized as one of Colorado’s Top 100 CEOs. (Submitted photo)
Fulfilling a lifelong passion for animals, Tiffany Grunert ’97 is spearheading one of the world’s largest nonprofit animal health research organizations and has been recognized as one of Colorado’s Top 100 CEOs.
Grunert was named the president and chief executive officer of Denver-based Morris Animal Foundation in 2018 after stints as its vice president of brand strategy and interim CEO. She is responsible for the overall strategic direction of the organization, which operates with a $90 million endowment and $18 million annual budget, while managing more than 50 employees and ensuring the majority of funds raised by the Foundation are directed to support animal health.
“Everything I’ve done has been more of a servant leader role and making sure that my team has what they need to succeed, and we’ve really been able to push a lot of initiatives forward,” she said.
The Titan 100 title recognizing Colorado’s Top 100 CEOs and C-level executives in private and public sectors for exceptional leadership, vision and passion, has enabled Grunert to learn from other leaders and grow her knowledge.
“It’s really created a network of people who have differing expertise and are looking out for each other,” Grunert said. “I also feel like the core tenant of being a Titan is that everyone has a relentless pursuit of achieving their goals.”
Grunert has maintained a firm belief in continued education since graduating from Northwest with her bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism. A transfer student, she played with the Bearcat volleyball team and gained profession-based experiences as a member of Bearcat Productions and the Student Broadcast Association.
“Fred (Lamer, an assistant professor of mass media) was amazing,” Grunert said. “He taught a lot of different courses but also really gave us the hands-on experience that we needed in terms of having a production company. Those were experiences that you just can’t get anywhere else.”
Grunert began her career as a broadcast journalist with stints in St. Joseph, Missouri, and Casper and Cheyenne, Wyoming, before transitioning to advertising and public relations with the Wyoming Division of Tourism.
She then secured a position in the Westminster, Colorado, city manager’s office, where she handled communication for four years and earned a master’s degree in political science from the University of Colorado Denver as well as certifications in business, economics and governance. Eventually, Grunert found her in niche at the Denver Zoo, where she led marketing and communication from 2004 through 2017.
Her desire to lead an animal-focused non-profit organization landed her with Morris Animal Foundation. Founded in 1948, it works to bridge science and resources to advance the health of animals.
“I championed the development of core values for Morris Animal Foundation, and those are very important to me in terms of ensuring that everyone is on the same page for expectations of how we do our work and how we treat each other, and that has made a big difference at Morris Animal Foundation in terms of improving morale,” Grunert said.
Grunert credits her successes, in part, to the problem-solving skills she developed at Northwest.
“At Northwest, there was a lot of considering all the things that go in to making decisions as a journalist and doing quality work,” Grunert said. “I think Northwest Missouri State University really laid the groundwork for that growth mindset.”
