News

Ellis' Leo Delaney to retire

Wednesday May 23, 2018

Submitted by Ellis Memorial

One of Boston's foremost nonprofit leaders is stepping down this coming fall after leading the organization for 32 years. Leo J. Delaney, CEO of Ellis Memorial (Ellis), has announced his retirement and plans for his transition are underway. Ellis Board of Directors will begin an executive search in the coming weeks. For over 132 years, Ellis has been an iconic early education leader in Boston's South End and has strengthened Boston's inner city working families with high quality education and care for children, youth and vulnerable adults.

"Leo has been an incredible leader who has accomplished more than we could have imagined," Said Larry Hughes, Ellis Board Chair. "The retirement of such a strong leader is always challenging for a lean organization such as Ellis. Thankfully Leo has built a great team and has an engaged board to help us through the transition. While Leo will never be replaced, we are excited about a new generation of leadership to continue our mission of serving the working families of Boston's South End and Lower Roxbury."

In 1986, Leo Delaney joined Ellis as Chief Executive Officer just one year after Ellis celebrated its 100th anniversary. The organization was enduring financial difficulties and Delaney was given two years to assess the situation and develop a plan for Ellis' future. Delaney quickly turned Ellis into an anchor in the South End with continued services to the community and expanded its reach.

Under his leadership, the most dramatic improvements and expansion began a decade ago when Ellis embarked on a four-part Campaign for the Future. From creating the Ellis Children's Park on Chandler Street, turning a vacant lot into a playground for very young children, to acquiring and renovating 58 Berkeley Streetand renovating 66 Berkeley, ultimately taking two historic buildings and opening a state-of-the-art Early Education Center, expanding its footprint in the South End and increasing programmatic capacity for children aged two months to 5 years and space for its school-age program and community focused events.

Delaney's final phase includes the June 2018 opening of Ellis at Madison Park. Working with longtime partner Madison Park Development Corporation, Ellis has embarked on a project to expand its school-age youth program site as part of Madison Park's construction of a new multi-purpose facility, which will have a significant impact for the families residing in Lower Roxbury. Finally, during Delaney's tenure at Ellis, he has successfully partnered with the Boston Public Schools by adding K-1 slots as part of Mayor Walsh's Universal Pre-K program.

"It has been my great honor to serve an organization that is deeply rooted in this beautiful community. Ellis has a talented and dedicated staff who work to advance its mission each and every day," said Delaney. "I am confident that the Board of Directors will choose a new leader who will maintain Ellis' long-held values while taking the organization to new heights."

"For over 30 years, Leo has done so much more than restore a high quality neighborhood program and historic buildings, he has restored hope to a community that needed the boost.

Through his creation of an Ellis campus in the South End and a satellite in Lower Roxbury, Ellis will continue to serve Boston's working families for generations to come, said Hughes.