Catherine Carr, who has served on the Board of Directors of the Independence Foundation since 2015 and was elected its Chair effective January 1, 2025, added, “The Independence Foundation has become a trusted and valued member of Philadelphia’s philanthropic community over the past 30 years, achieving an impact far beyond its modest size thanks in no small part to the leadership of outgoing CEO Susan Sherman and longtime Board Chair Judge Phyllis Beck. As we are entering the Foundation’s next chapter, I am absolutely thrilled Reggie Shuford has agreed to be our new leader and confident he will move the Foundation forward with vision, compassion and understanding, working to find the most effective way to use the Foundation’s resources to improve the quality of life for all Philadelphians.”
Reggie comes to the Independence Foundation with a wealth of experience as a leader of nonprofit social justice organizations and as a civil rights attorney. He has a deep knowledge of Philadelphia in particular, including its most vulnerable communities, and a lifelong commitment to the pursuit of equality and justice.
Reggie served as the Executive Director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania for over 11 years, and was a widely admired member of Philadelphia’s public interest legal community. Under his leadership, the ACLU of Pennsylvania doubled its membership and staff; litigated critical issues such as racial justice, voting rights, criminal justice, and marriage equality; and increased its annual budget from under $2 million to $6.6 million.
For the past two years, Reggie has served as the Executive Director of the North Carolina Justice Center, bringing his leadership skills back to the state where he grew up and attended college and law school. The Justice Center provides legal assistance to low-income persons and strategic advocacy to eliminate poverty and promote economic security. He initiated and has been leading the Center through a strategic planning and visioning process and has shored up its financial position by securing its first-ever endowment and breaking annual fundraising records.
Reggie has served on the Board of the Claneil Foundation and is a founding board member of New Hanover Scholars, an organization based in Wilmington, N.C., that gives grants to marginalized high school students on their way to college.
Reggie previously served as the Director of Law and Policy of the Equal Justice Society in San Francisco and as a Senior Staff Attorney at the National ACLU. He holds a B.A and J.D from the University of North Carolina and is the recipient of numerous awards for his work, including the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Justice Sonia Sotomayor Diversity Award and multiple Philadelphia Tribune designations as a “Most Influential African American.”
The Board of Directors is excited to welcome Reggie as the new President and CEO of the Independence Foundation. The Foundation is also committed to maintaining the strong relationships it has cultivated with grantees and other stakeholders in the Foundation’s work and does not expect to make any changes in the areas of philanthropic investment in the coming year. The Foundation also expects to make additional announcements this spring regarding opportunities for community partners to meet and speak with Reggie Shuford as he embarks on a year-long listening tour of the region.
About the Independence Foundation
The Independence Foundation is a private, not-for-profit philanthropic organization serving Philadelphia and its surrounding Pennsylvania counties. The mission of Independence Foundation is to build leadership, provide services, and encourage systems and cultural change through the support of organizations in the fields of healthcare, human services, legal aid, and the arts. The Foundation invests in people and programs that protect, improve and enrich the life experiences of residents of Philadelphia and its surrounding Pennsylvania counties, with a focus on the vulnerable and excluded. Its work is based on the belief that a region that promotes physical well-being, provides equal access to justice and services, and appreciates the value of the arts will thrive for generations to come. More information about Independence Foundation can be found at www.independencefoundation.org.
For additional information, contact Kate Tejada at ktejada@independencefoundation.org.