David Jordan to retire as president of Seven Hills

Photo | Courtesy of Seven Hills Foundation David Jordan, president of Seven Hills Foundation

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David Jordan will step down as president of Seven Hills Foundation of Worcester on June 30 after 28 years leading the organization, leaving an indelible legacy where he grew a small nonprofit to the largest charitable organization in Central Massachusetts serving more than 60,000 annually.

After leaving his role as president, Jordan will oversee the Crotched Mountain School in Greenfield, New Hampshire, which Seven Hills acquired in November. He will continue to direct Seven Hills Global Outreach, which extends the work of Seven Hills Foundation internationally, according to a Monday press release from the organization.

“Making a difference in the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, those dealing with a mental health condition or substance use disorder, or suffering from the effects of trauma has not only been my life’s work – it is my passion,” said Jordan in the press release. “Seven Hills Foundation is about much more than providing services. It is about creating social justice for people who for generations knew only injustice.”

Jordan was president and CEO of Crotched Mountain Foundation for 10 years before he took over what was then the Worcester Area ARC, and he promptly re-branded it as the Seven Hills Foundation.

Under Jordan’s leadership the organization grew from a $7-million operating budget in 1995 to a $400-million organization with 15 affiliates and 4,700 employees in 235 locations in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and eight developing countries.

Tracing its roots back to 1953, Seven Hills Foundation and Affiliates is the largest human services nonprofit in Central Massachusetts with $263 million in assets and $303 million in revenue as of June 30, 2021, according to data provided to the WBJ Research Department by the organization.

In September 2021, Seven Hills opened a 25,000-square-foot behavioral health facility in Worcester to streamline patient access, the result of its three acquisitions of YOU, Inc, Children’s Friend, and Family Services of Central Massachusetts. This comes on top of new offices opened in Greenfield, Pittsfield, and West Springfield.

Since 2005, Jordan has taught undergraduate and graduate classes on social entrepreneurship and nonprofit leadership at Clark University in Worcester.