The Trustees of the Yawkey Foundation are delighted to announce the appointment of Alicia Verity as Chief Executive Officer.
This appointment represents a key milestone in the Trustees’ succession plan aligned with the retirement of Maureen H. Bleday, who stepped down from the CEO role on December 31, 2024, after 19 years of dedicated service. Mrs. Bleday will continue to serve as a Trustee of the Yawkey Foundation.
“On behalf of the Trustees, I would like to extend my deep appreciation for Maureen’s leadership and passionate commitment to perpetuating Jean and Tom Yawkey’s legacy over the past two decades,” said John L. Harrington, Chairman of the Yawkey Foundation Board of Trustees. “And the Trustees are simultaneously enthused about all that Alicia will bring to the CEO role, given her track record and accomplishments thus far at the Foundation.”
Mrs. Verity joined the Yawkey Foundation as Chief Program Officer in 2019 from her prior role as the Massachusetts Market Executive at Bank of America, for which she managed the company’s philanthropic, sponsorship, and community engagement initiatives in the Commonwealth. Prior to her 16-year career at Bank of America, she managed investor relations efforts at NYSE-listed companies and, earlier in her career, spent several years furthering U.S. foreign commercial interests in Europe, based out of London and Paris.
“It is truly an honor to follow in the footsteps of the tremendous leaders who have made such a meaningful impact perpetuating the philanthropic legacy of Jean and Tom Yawkey,” said Mrs. Verity. “I am deeply appreciative to our Chairman, John Harrington, to my predecessors, Maureen Bleday and Jim Healey, and to our dedicated Trustees for their wisdom, support, and confidence. In partnership with the Foundation’s talented staff members, we look forward to continuing to provide access to resources for people in the communities that the Yawkeys called home – Greater Boston and Georgetown County, SC.”
Having awarded more than $600 million to date in charitable grants, the Yawkey Foundation is committed to preserving and sustaining the charitable values of Jean and Tom Yawkey by investing in impactful nonprofits providing resources, opportunity, and dignity to vulnerable individuals and communities subject to underinvestment. For more information, please visit www.yawkeyfoundation.org.