Press release
[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, July 2024] It is with mixed emotions that the Independence Foundation Board of Directors announces the upcoming retirement of Susan Sherman, who will leave her role as President & CEO after a dynamic and highly successful tenure, and more than three decades of distinguished service to the Foundation. The Independence Foundation’s Board has initiated a comprehensive process to select a new CEO and will consider both internal and external candidates.
Ms. Sherman will be with the Foundation through January 1, 2025. On her decision to retire as CEO, Susan said “After thirty-one years as a board member and twenty-eight years as CEO, I feel lucky to have joined a foundation that believed in giving to non-profits that serve people in Philadelphia and its surrounding Pennsylvania counties; non-profits that help people who needed support but did not ordinarily have access to it. It has been my privilege to help develop the strategy that has been the core of our grantmaking—general operating, multi-year support.”
“Susan is an extraordinary leader whose wisdom, insight and unwavering dedication have significantly impacted Philadelphia. Under her bold and strategic guidance, the Foundation tackled difficult issues and provided consistent, long-term support to grantees, fostering substantive growth. Susan is a multitasker who, while addressing issues related to the health of our city, never lost sight of the arts’ important role in enriching it. Her inspirational leadership has profoundly touched many lives, including mine, making Philadelphia a more humane & beautiful place.” said Jane Golden, Executive Director & Founder of Mural Arts Philadelphia.
Sister Mary Scullion, founder of Project HOME and longtime grantee said, “Susan is a strategic and impactful leader in philanthropy. Her commitment to the Philadelphia region is especially noteworthy in health care, the arts and in the legal community promoting justice and equality. Under her leadership, the Independence Foundation created national initiatives such as the nursing managed health centers, medical legal partnerships as well as providing multi- year operating grants for organizations serving vulnerable populations.”
Prior to joining the Independence Foundation, Susan worked for 15 years as Department Head of Nursing at Community College of Philadelphia. In this role she led the college in raising the State Board of Nursing Licensing exam passage rate from 60% to the 90% by the time she departed, helped secure over $5 million in grant money from the Kellogg Foundation to integrate gerontology into Associate Degree Nursing curriculums nationally, and secured close to half a million dollars in scholarship & fellowship monies for nursing students. During her tenure at Community College, the department was recognized nationally as a center for nursing education excellence by the National League of Nursing.
Dr. Antonia Villarruel, Dean of Nursing at Penn Nursing, University of Pennsylvania, stated “Susan has been an impactful nurse, and is a wonderful educator, advocate, and humanist. We are all fortunate she was able to bring her skills and passion to us all as CEO of the Independence Foundation. Susan challenged, supported, and uplifted her grantees. She believed that if we did better, so too would our communities. I am proud and grateful for her friendship and leadership.”
Later in the year, the Foundation will be celebrating Susan’s career & leadership.