The George Gund Foundation, President

The George Gund Foundation selected Anthony “Tony” Richardson as its next President. Founded in 1952, the Gund Foundation is a vital civic leader in Cleveland, focusing much of its work in the region, with more than $45 million in grants in 2021. It is guided by its What We Believe statement which commits to addressing climate change and environmental degradation; entrenched and accelerating inequity, particularly racial inequity; and weakened democracy.

Tony comes to Gund from The Nord Family Foundation, where he has served since 2019 as Executive Director and was previously Associate Director and Program Officer. Tony has been a dynamic leader for Nord, helping ground the Foundation more deeply within the communities it supports across Northeast Ohio and other key sites across the country. Prior to joining Nord in 2014, Tony served as a Councilman At-Large in the City of Lorain, where he was one of the youngest people elected to an At-Large seat in the city’s history. He has also served as the civic and political chair for the Lorain City Schools Levy Committee and in 2017 was appointed by Ohio’s Superintendent of Public Instruction to serve as chairman of the Lorain Academic Distress Commission, a joint local and state committee established to turn around Lorain City School District.

Tony is an active thought leader across Ohio and on the national level. He serves as a board member for Funders Together to End Homelessness, The Center for Effective Philanthropy, the Corella and Bertram F. Bonner Foundation, and Philanthropy Ohio. In 2017, Tony received Philanthropy Ohio’s Emerging Philanthropist Award and has been featured in The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s “The Influencers: People Quietly Changing the Nonprofit World” and in this recent podcast.

Tony holds a bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College and a JD from The Ohio State University’s Michael E. Moritz College of Law.

Tony’s professional and personal experiences, his values, and his commitment to Northeast Ohio uniquely prepare him to lead The Gund Foundation as it seeks to strengthen the base of equitable community power in Cleveland and address society’s most profound and urgent challenges.

IM Partners Karen Avery and Karen Wilcox led this search with Tatiana Oberkoetter, supported by Monica Ochoa.