Neil Hawkins to Transition out of Foundation Presidency Role

Neil Hawkins to Transition out of Foundation Presidency Role

Dr. Neil Hawkins has resigned from his role as president of the Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation to spend more time with his family and pursue his passion for teaching and advising.

Over the past four years Neil’s dedication, leadership, and expertise have been evident across more than $50 million in Foundation grants to organizations that steward and improve the health of the Great Lakes, advance the arts and jazz education, conduct Alzheimer’s research, and address the impacts of lead and air quality.

The Foundation has been especially fortunate to have his guidance in building out our focus on sustainable business. As a globally recognized leader in sustainability, Neil wove his expansive understanding of the field into new collaborations that strengthened awareness of these issues in our region. Foundation founders Fred and Barbara would have been pleased to see this progress in areas that meant so much to them during their lifetimes.

In his new role as a research advisor/instructor at Harvard University, Neil will manage the Consulting Capstone for the Master of Sustainability Program (Harvard Extension School; Harvard Division of Continuing Education). This is a unique opportunity for him to share his knowledge with rising professionals and researchers who will create new solutions for some of the world’s most pressing challenges.

During his tenure, Neil guided the Foundation in strengthening its operations, building staff expertise and capacity, and laying groundwork that will be essential as we ramp up grantmaking in our final decade.

On May 19th, John Erb will return as the Foundation’s president, a position he held previously until 2019. The Foundation is very grateful for Neil Hawkins’ leadership, wisdom, experience, and keen intellect—all of which position the organization well as it moves into its spend-down phase beginning in 2024-2025.