Terry Mazany
About
Terry Mazany is president and chief executive officer of one of the nation’s largest community foundations with assets of more than $1.5 billion and grant making exceeding $100 million that annually benefits more than two thousand not-for-profit organizations in metropolitan Chicago. Mazany was selected as the fifth executive in The Chicago Community Trust’s ninety-six year history in 2004.
In addition, Mazany recently concluded his tenure as the interim chief executive officer of Chicago Public Schools, a district of more than 400,000 students and over 650 schools with a budget of $6 billion. Mazany was appointed to this position in November of 2010 by Chicago’s Mayor Richard M. Daley to provide leadership for the nation’s third largest school district until a new mayor was elected.
In response to the economic recession and an invitation from Mayor Daley of Chicago, Mazany helped organize and lead the Recovery Partnership involving over 50 foundations to support the distribution of over $1 billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds in Chicago.
Mazany is a member of the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and the Council on Foundations. He served as past chair of its community foundation leadership team representing the nation’s 700 community foundations, and a member of the Diversity in Philanthropy Project. He is civically active on the boards of several area not-for-profit organizations.
Mazany joined the trust in 2001 as director and senior program officer for the education initiative of The Chicago Community Trust. In this capacity, he led the design and implementation of the trust’s $50 million, five-year commitment to support literacy, teacher and principal quality, and the creation of new schools in Chicago.
His work in philanthropy is based on fifteen years experience in public education, working in several districts across the country including Detroit, Chicago, Baltimore, Oakland and San Francisco.
Preceding his work in the public sector, Mazany enjoyed his first career as an archaeologist and dendrochronologist – using tree-ring chronologies to date human settlements and develop past climate records.
Mazany earned masters degrees in anthropology and business administration at the University of Arizona. He has also been awarded honorary doctorate degrees from DePaul University and Lewis University.