Ilene Mack joined the Hearst Foundations in 1974. Working with the new Executive Director, they set up the systems and procedures to professionalize the organization and created a mission statement and guidelines for giving. The Foundations grew from assets of $136 million to $1 billion today and over those 33 years, $740 million was given to nonprofit organizations around the country. Over the years, Ms. Mack was promoted from Program Officer to Senior Program Officer and in 2005 was made the Program Director, Grants. She retired from the Foundation in December 2007.

In addition to providing direction for the grantmaking programs, her responsibilities included: supervising program staff as well as support staff of the Foundations; acting as liaison with the Foundations' San Francisco headquarters. The Foundations provide approximately $40 million annually in grants to some 300 nonprofit organizations across the country concerned with providing access and opportunity to diverse populations within several areas of interest: Education - primarily at the undergraduate level through the establishment of endowed scholarships; Health - working largely through leading regional hospitals and medical centers, the Foundations focus on prevention, wellness, and access to healthcare services for disadvantaged populations in both urban and rural communities; Human Services - focuses on meeting the needs of the poor and underserved populations by assisting well-established larger agencies, providing comprehensive services; and Culture - providing support to major institutions with an emphasis on education and community outreach to increase access and educational opportunities.

She is on the board of three nonprofit organizations concerned with the improvement of education, youth, and the nonprofit sector. They are: Teachers Network, a national organization that encourages and supports teacher leadership in the public schools, where she is actively involved in fundraising and board development; ENACT – Educational Network of Artists in Creative Theatre, an organization using creative drama in public schools to facilitate students' social and emotional learning and behavior change, and to stimulate self-reflection; and Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York, a membership organization that provides information, technical assistance, and professional development to the staff and board members of nonprofit organizations throughout New York City.

Ilene is on the National Advisory Board of the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute, an educational partnership designed to strengthen teaching and learning in schools across the country.

She has served on several committees for Independent Sector, the national membership organization of more than 850 grantmaking and national voluntary organizations, and also participates in the programs and activities of the Council on Foundations, the national and international membership organization of grantmaking institutions.
Mrs. Mack participates as a speaker and panelist for several local and national philanthropic and educational organizations.

Ilene graduated from Brooklyn College in 1959 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Speech Therapy and Theater.

She is looking forward to remaining connected to the philanthropic community.