Remembering Anne Sterchi

The Skyland Trail community mourns the loss of Anne Sterchi, executive director of the J.B. Fuqua Foundation and long-time friend of Skyland Trail. Anne passed away August 17, 2024, at the age of 69.

“Anne was just a phenomenal person,” says Skyland Trail president & CEO Beth Finnerty. “She made a huge impact on so many parts of our city, especially the arts and health care communities.”

Sterchi began working for the J.B. Fuqua Foundation in 2004, helping to implement the vision of the private family foundation under the leadership of first J.B. and Dorothy C. Fuqua and then their son, J. Rex Fuqua.

The J.B. Fuqua Foundation has been a key supporter of Skyland Trail in the last 35 years, supporting all five capital campaigns. Our adolescent campus was dedicated as the J. Rex Fuqua Campus in 2019 in recognition of the Fuqua family’s support and J. Rex Fuqua’s leadership. Previously, Skyland Trail’s administrative headquarters was dedicated as the Dorothy C. Fuqua Center in 2010. And the Dorothy C. Fuqua Lecture Series has offered free community mental health education lectures annually since 2011.

Working closely with the Fuqua family, Anne Sterchi was an integral part of all of these partnerships, as she was with many nonprofit partnerships across the city. Finnerty recalls that Sterchi took time to learn about populations in need of services as well as the nonprofits working to meet those needs. “She was very thoughtful in advising the Fuquas on their giving and made an impact as a philanthropist herself.”

Finnerty also considered Sterchi a close personal friend. Says Finnerty, “She was loved by many, and she embraced life to its fullest. She was really a force of nature. She will be missed.”

Skyland Trail expresses our condolences to the Sterchi family and all who are mourning her loss.