Pittsburgh Foundation President & CEO Lisa Schroeder to Retire in 2026
PITTSBURGH, PA, Oct. 3, 2025 -- After six years of distinguished leadership, Lisa Schroeder, president and chief executive officer of The Pittsburgh Foundation, today announced her intention to retire by March 2026. The Foundation’s board of directors will initiate a national search for her successor and intend this leadership transition to uphold the organization’s commitment to the community, its mission and its values.
Schroeder was named president and CEO in February 2019 and took the helm in June that year, becoming the organization’s sixth president and the first woman appointed to the position.
During Schroeder’s tenure, the Foundation’s assets increased from approximately $1.01 billion to $1.5 billion. Last year, the Foundation received $87 million in donor contributions and awarded nearly $67 million in grants—both record highs. In total, the Foundation distributed $351 million in grants during her leadership to organizations and individuals who help build a thriving Pittsburgh region.
“Lisa’s legacy is both powerful and enduring,” said Jack McGinley, chair of the board of The Pittsburgh Foundation. “She has advanced the Foundation’s mission with unshakeable integrity, bold vision and a deep sense of responsibility to all communities in the Pittsburgh region. We celebrate her contributions along the continuum of the Foundation’s 80-year history, and we enter this transition with full confidence in the institutional strength, commitment to equity and path for the future Lisa has helped forge.”
Throughout Schroeder’s tenure, the Foundation has navigated and responded to community and national needs. She led the creation of the Emergency Action Fund in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The public campaign raised $9.38 million for immediate community relief from foundations, corporations and individuals.
She forged, with feedback from the Pittsburgh community, an equity-centered strategic plan that directed the Foundation and its networks to pursue a vision of creating a region where all residents thrive. Backed by a dynamic and forward-thinking team, Schroeder strengthened the organization’s vital role in the community—empowering everyday citizens to achieve their philanthropic goals and directing grants to nonprofits that make meaningful impact in our neighborhoods. Her alignment and collaboration with leaders in the regional and national foundation communities benefited Pittsburgh and other metros across the country.
One of Schroeder’s latest accomplishments includes moving The Pittsburgh Foundation to new offices at 912 Fort Duquesne Blvd., recommitting its presence to the Downtown neighborhood after nearly 30 years in PPG Plaza and evolving its operations to focus on catalyzing partnerships and welcoming new audiences. Since March, the Foundation has welcomed over 1,000 community members in a space where constituents can come together to tackle challenges.
“We begin this successor search from a position of stability, clarity and purpose,” William Generett, vice chair of the board, added. “Lisa transformed the Foundation and established a strategic direction that firmly sets our donors, grantees, grantmaking, investments and partnerships as the focal points of how community philanthropy can impact our region. Our priority is to find a leader whose values and vision align with our mission and values, and who can guide the Foundation into its next chapter with confidence.”
The board will form a search committee in the coming weeks and engage a recruiting firm to assist in a national candidate search.
“Transitions are a natural and healthy part of any institution’s life cycle,” McGinley said. “The Pittsburgh Foundation’s strong governance, committed staff and robust donor and community relationships ensure that our work will continue uninterrupted. The next leader will inherit an organization ready to build on the legacy Lisa established and meet the challenges ahead.”
Schroeder will continue in her role through March 2026, working in close partnership with the board and successor to ensure continuity and alignment in strategy and operations.
“Leading The Pittsburgh Foundation has been the greatest honor of my professional life,” said Schroeder. “Together with our board, staff, donors and community partners, we have advanced equity, invested in innovation and worked to strengthen the region’s nonprofits. I am deeply proud of what we’ve accomplished, and I will leave confident that the Foundation is well positioned for the future. Our mission endures, and while I won’t be on board to see the fruition of the many plans we have set in motion, I know in my heart—after months of reflection and with solid board and staff leadership in place—this is the time to pass the baton.”
Prior to joining The Pittsburgh Foundation, Schroeder served as president and CEO of Baltimore’s Parks & People Foundation. Her "Every Kid Deserves a Park" program led to construction of family-friendly parks serving more than 60,000 people in city neighborhoods struggling from decades of disinvestment. She previously led Pittsburgh’s Riverlife from 2002 until 2015 and focused on redeveloping through public-private partnership Pittsburgh’s three rivers. Riverlife under Schroeder’s tenure directly facilitated about $128 million in riverfront infrastructure investments, which in turn spurred an estimated $4.1 billion in private development adjacent to the waterfronts.
Lisa serves on numerous nonprofit boards, including the Pittsburgh Promise, the Forbes Funds, the August Wilson Center for African American Culture, the University of Pittsburgh’s Institute of Politics Board of Fellows and the National Center for the Humanities. Her awards for leadership include the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal, the Pittsburgh Business Times’ Outstanding Women in Business Award and Baltimore’s 2016 Community Service Award. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of William Smith College, she received a Master of Science degree from Columbia University.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Matt Minczeski
Director, Communications and Marketing
The Pittsburgh Foundation
minczeskim@pghfdn.org
724-554-7993