The Essex County Community Foundation (ECCF) has just named a new President & CEO. A letter from ECCF Board Chair Dick Sumberg is below.

It is with great excitement that I am able to share publicly that ECCF has found its next leader. 

We looked far and wide and found our new president and CEO right here at home in Essex County. After a thorough national search that began last fall and included community input and expert guidance, we are thrilled to welcome incoming President and CEO Stratton Lloyd, who has been an integral part of the ECCF team now for six years.

As we celebrate the foundation’s landmark 25^th anniversary and continue our work toward building a stronger and more resilient Essex County, we are excited about the experience, leadership skills and institutional knowledge that Stratton brings to the role to help steer ECCF into the future. He will officially assume his new role as president and CEO on July 1. 

“I am humbled and honored to have been selected as ECCF’s next leader,” said Lloyd. “What happens in Essex County matters to me, and I am thrilled for this opportunity to build on the foundation’s 25-year history of collaborative work to create a vibrant and thriving region. The ECCF team comes to work every day ready to roll up their sleeves for our communities. It’s an incredible privilege to work alongside them and ECCF’s family of passionate fund advisors and donors, our many diverse partners and the larger community so together we can continue to build a sense of belonging and opportunity for every person who calls Essex County home.” 

Relationship building has been a critical part of our collaborative success over the course of ECCF’s 25-year history – from working with donors as they seek to elevate their philanthropy to building new systems of support as we rise to meet our most pressing challenges. Stratton has played a significant role in leveraging relationships to build a shared commitment to a sustainable and resilient region. 

“It is clear that the role of our community foundation is to act as an anchor organization in the community, a place where we can come together across difference and create change together. I look forward to strengthening the partnerships we’ve built and creating new relationships that can expand our collective work and impact. That’s how we’ll continue to move forward as a region.”

ECCF President and CEO Stratton Lloyd

Since joining ECCF, Stratton has played a key role in ECCF’s growth and success. His work and accomplishments over the last six years with the foundation include: 

• Acting as chief architect of ECCF’s ‘Systems Philanthropy’ approach, which is data-driven, community-focused and establishes the foundation as an engaged and strategic community partner. 
• Leading ECCF’s community leadership efforts, which include the foundation’s Advancing Digital Equity and Creative County initiatives, among many others. 
• Collaboratively deploying $49 million to ECCF’s innovative systems approach, positively impacting thousands of nonprofits and more than 200,000 residents over the last six years. 
• Leading the foundation’s activities related to budgeting, investment oversight and financial and general operations. 
• Guiding two strategic plans with deep community engagement from more than 1,000 residents. 

Prior to joining ECCF, Stratton served as executive vice president of product management, business development and customer operations at EBSCO Information Services in Ipswich (2004-2018) and as senior product line manager at Siebel Systems Inc., in Seattle, WA (2000-2004). He is also the founder of First Look Inc. (today, known as Youthserve), a global youth service-education company. Stratton graduated from Yale University and from the Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration. 

Today, Essex County Community Foundation is home to 330 charitable funds and is a place for donors to explore their philanthropic interests and potential for community impact. It is a thriving hub of collaboration, systems change and innovation. We are confident that under Stratton’s guidance, ECCF will continue to be the leader Essex County looks to when facing our region’s greatest social challenges. We are hopeful and optimistic about ECCF’s future – and the unlimited potential of Essex County – as we enter into this new era of leadership. 

The entire ECCF family, board and staff are very grateful for the leadership and partnership of outgoing President and CEO Beth Francis. We thank her for her dedication to this work and her commitment to making Essex County a better place for us all. We also want to extend thanks to the ECCF search committee for their expertise and professionalism in steering this process and ensuring a smooth transition at the foundation. 

In the coming weeks and months, there will be many opportunities to welcome Stratton as the new president and CEO of ECCF. We hope you’ll be able to join us. 

Thank you for your continued support. 

Sincerely,

Dick Sumberg
Chair, ECCF Board of Trustees

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The above press release is courtesy of the Essex County Community Foundation.