The Greater Worcester Community Foundation has named nonprofit consultant and executive Jim Ayres as its new president and CEO, the organization announced on Monday.
Ayres replaces Barbara Fields, who resigned as CEO of GWCF in March after a 19-month tenure. Ayres will officially step into his new position on Jan. 3, per Monday’s announcement. Carolyn Stempler, who was serving as the GWCF board chair at the time, has been serving as interim president & CEO since Fields left.
He joins GWCF most recently serving as the founder and principal of the organizational development consulting practice Strategies for Collaborative Impact and Justice in Easthampton. Before that, he served as vice president for programs and strategy at Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts, and interim president and CEO of United Way of Pioneer Valley.
“After a thorough search with the foundation’s priorities in mind, Jim emerged as the unanimous choice to lead as the new CEO,” said Christopher Collins, chair of the GWCF board, in a statement.
Ayres holds a master’s degree in international affairs with a specialization in on-governmental organizations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy from Tufts University in Medford, an MBA from the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts, and a bachelor’s degree from Hampshire College in Amherst.
