Photo courtesy of The Boston Foundation
In his five years at the helm of The Boston Foundation, Lee Pelton played a key role in pushing Massachusetts to tackle housing affordability.
The foundation announced Thursday that he’s stepping down Aug. 31.
“Serving as President and CEO of the Boston Foundation has been one of the great privileges of my life,” Pelton said in a statement. “I came to TBF because I believed this institution could help translate moral urgency into civic action. I continue to believe that deeply. I am proud of what we have built together, proud of the resources we are mobilizing for Greater Boston, and I am committed to supporting a strong transition that allows the Foundation’s work to continue with clarity and confidence.”
Pelton joined the Boston Foundation in May of 2021 after more than 20 years as a college president, including 10 years leading Emerson College before joining TBF. During his tenure, the foundation grew its assets to $2.6 billion, while the annual resources directed into communities increased to over $300 million, TBF said.
In addition to continuing the foundation’s long-running annual Greater Boston Housing Report Card, under Pelton the foundation and its Boston Indicators research arm have expanded its focus on housing policy research, evaluating the performance of reforms like the MBTA Communities Act and promoting new ideas like updating building codes to allow for more single-stair multifamily buildings, opening small infill lots to modest developments.
Pelton also led the foundation to direct dollars directly towards opening paths to affordable home ownership for people around the Greater Boston region.
In 2022, Pelton created the Greater Boston Partnership to Close the Racial Wealth Gap, a coalition focused on addressing racial wealth disparities in the region through homeownership and related strategies. The program is closing in on its initial $25 million fundraising goal, and TBF said it’s estimated that it will create $170 million in home equity for more than 700 first-time homebuyers over the next decade.
The coalition’s initial investment in the Massachusetts Housing Partnership’s ONE+ down payment assistance program in the fall of 2024 has also supported purchases by nearly 400 first-time homebuyers across Massachusetts in the program’s first 18 months, TBF said. The partnership later expanded its support to the Massachusetts Affordable Homeownership Alliance’s STASH Program, which provides first-generation, first-time homebuyers in Massachusetts with down payment assistance and financial literacy and homebuyer education.
“Lee Pelton has been a transformative leader for the Boston Foundation and an extraordinary force for good in Greater Boston – tackling complex issues from expanding housing access to closing wage and wealth gaps,” Gov. Maura Healey said in a statement. “His work has served as a powerful example of what is possible when philanthropy brings people together and leans into tough problems.”
