Gulf Coast Community Foundation names new CEO

Gulf Coast Community Foundation announced that it would promote from within naming Mark Pritchett as the new president and CEO. 

The announcement came Monday that Pritchett, former senior vice president for community investment, would step into the role.  

The position became available in March when former President and CEO Teri A Hansen announced that she would resigned after 13 years. After finishing the fiscal year with Gulf Coast Community Foundation, Hansen stepped down from the position on June 30 has since taken the role of CEO for the Charles and Margery Barancik Foundation, a private family foundation.

Following Hansen’s departure, a management team that included Pritchett helped maintain Gulf Coast Community Foundation until the position could be filled. The Gulf Coast Community Foundation Board of Directors conducted a nationwide search for five months with a committee headed by Vice Chair Phil Humann. 

"We had a responsibility to our community and to those whose philanthropic resources we steward to look nationwide for Gulf Coast’s next leader," Humann said in a press release. "After a thorough search, Mark proved to be that leader. He knows this region well, and he is already leading the way in redefining the role philanthropy can play in transforming it."

Pritchett joined the Gulf Coast Community Foundation in 2008 and was responsible for creating a strategy for grantmaking programs, nonprofit partnerships, and community leadership efforts. The position allowed him to use his background in public policy research and consulting non-profit organizations. 

In his time with Gulf Coast Community Foundation Pritchett was instrumental in helping create and funded initiatives such as STEMsmart, a program directed at science and math in Sarasota and Charlotte counties, and CareerEdge, a funding collaboration for workforce development in Sarasota and Manatee counties.

"At the time Mark joined our staff, Gulf Coast had invested just over $75 million in grants and community initiatives since our inception," said Benjamin Hanan, Gulf Coast Community Foundation Board Chair in a press release. "This year, we surpassed $200 million in cumulative funding. Clearly, Mark has played a vital role in guiding how Gulf Coast employs the resources entrusted to us to improve lives in our region."

Pritchett received his bachelor and master’s degrees from University of Kentucky, and his PhD in higher education from Florida State University. His resume also includes serving as vice president at Enterprise Florida and as vice president for the Florida Chamber of Commerce.