POTOMAC -- Former state delegate Cheryl Kagan left public office with the idea there was a better way for her to make a difference in Montgomery County.
Although seen as a rising political star with more than two decades of experience, Ms. Kagan had had enough. She soon found herself spearheading the transformation of a $10 million foundation as the first executive director of the Potomac-based Carl M. Freeman Foundation.

"It's a different way of being out in the county and making a difference," Ms. Kagan, 41, said of her new position, which she started in February. It marked a change both for a legislator known for her independent streak and a more than 40-year-old, somewhat haphazard, family foundation.

After her departure from the District 17 seat, Josh Freeman, chairman of the foundation, began to court her to join the charitable organization. Mr. Freeman was looking to strengthen and focus the foundation.

Carl M. Freeman, Mr. Freeman's father, started the foundation's parent development company, Carl M. Freeman Associates, in 1947. The foundation was born in 1960, and for many years Carl Freeman relied on his vision to shape the grant process, awarding grants to organizations that interested him rather than through an organized administration, Josh Freeman said.

While maintaining his father's vision, Mr. Freeman wanted to build partnerships with the grantees. For example, rather than simply awarding the Olney theater $20,000, the foundation made an agreement that requires the theater put on a few free shows a week for a beach community without a theater.

"Now we're measuring things a little differently," Josh Freeman said.

The foundation awarded a little more than $1 million last year, a feat Ms. Kagan credits to good investments and the Freeman family's generosity to the endowment. The foundation gives grants in four major areas: Religion, social services, education and arts. Among the beneficiaries are Jerusalem-based Aish International, the National Gallery of Art, the Olney Boys and Girls Club and the Montgomery College Foundation.

Ms. Kagan's first major contribution to the job was forming the Freeman Foundation Assisting Communities with Extra Support, or FACES. The program, which just finished its first grant cycle, supports smaller organizations often overlooked by large foundations.

Robert Newsome, a FACES board member and long-time Montgomery County activist and sports coach, said Ms. Kagan "sees the big picture and then can pull the right people together to meet those goals."

Despite her success at the foundation, Ms. Kagan hasn't ruled out politics and may consider a run for the Maryland Senate in 2006. And while she is not voting on legislation, she's found some of the skills and the issues overlap.

"In my mind, she has not left politics or public service. She will still be in the trenches on a lot of issues," said Delegate Bill Bronrott, D-Montgomery, a former colleague in Annapolis.

"She's got a very bright future ahead of her," Mr. Bronrott said. "We would be very lucky to have her back in the political circle."