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October 30, 2025

Ms. Foundation President and CEO Teresa C. Younger Announces Departure in 2026

Younger’s departure will mark the end of her impactful, 12-year tenure as the leader of the nation’s oldest public women’s foundation.

New York, NY – After 12 years of transformational leadership, Teresa C. Younger has announced her plans to step down from her role as president and CEO of Ms. Foundation for Women at the end of the fiscal year in June 2026. As the second-longest serving CEO in Ms. Foundation history, Younger will leave the Foundation as strong as it has ever been and her departure marks an effort to make space for the next leader.

“Teresa has been an indomitable force at the helm of the Ms. Foundation for Women,” said Ms. Foundation board chair Charline Gipson. “She leaves behind an impressive legacy and her work with the Foundation will be forever heralded as foundationally transformative and stabilizing. Teresa has been a steady and unapologetic standard bearer, who’s led with her heart and has championed the work of the Ms. Foundation with poise, grace, and the vision to make the world a better place for all. We can’t thank her enough for her service and leadership.”

“My decision to leave Ms. Foundation at this time reflects my deep commitment to an intentional and joyful leadership transition that creates space for others,” said Teresa C. Younger. “When I first joined the Foundation, I aimed to make the tent of feminism more inclusive and expand Ms. Foundation’s role in philanthropy and we’ve achieved that and more. I reflect on my time at the Ms. Foundation with true gratitude and appreciation that I had the opportunity to amplify voices of those not often heard, partner with movement leaders, and build community and support for the movements that affect the lives of women and their communities. Moving forward, I am confident that this herstoric institution will continue to be a significant contributor and philanthropic leader in the movements for gender and racial equity, and I’m excited for all that the future holds.”

Even in this tumultuous time for the philanthropic sector, Ms. Foundation is stronger than it ever has been. The organization remains unwavering in its commitment to doing the work we’ve always done: moving money and resources to the field, following the leadership of grassroots activists, advancing feminism in philanthropy, and fighting tirelessly for a democracy that works for all people. 

Teresa’s strategic vision, thought leadership, and work resulted in accomplishments such as:

  • Deepening and building on trust-based relationships with partners and movement leaders throughout the country by conducting a national listening tour during her first year at the Foundation; 
  • Developing and implementing a strategic framework that focused work on the intersection of race and gender – intentionally and inclusively centering women, girls, and gender-expansive leaders of color;
  • Overseeing the groundbreaking Pocket Change research series, which created a benchmark for philanthropic giving to women and girls of color and provided accessible, actionable guidance to the philanthropic field; 
  • Affecting narrative change through campaigns such as #MyFeminismIs, which painted a broad, inclusive, and intersectional picture of feminism;
  • Growing the Foundation’s annual budget and expanding its portfolio of grantee partners to more than 200 across the United States through development of new strategic initiatives including Ms. South, Ms. Midwest, and Building Connections; and
  • Launching the Foundation’s capital campaign in 2023, Creating the Future We Deserve, which raised over $100 million in honor of the Foundation’s 50th anniversary.

Additionally, Younger’s philanthropic achievements and impacts include initiatives to shape and change the narrative of women and girls, including serving on the boards of the Women’s Funding Network, Philanthropy New York, and Funders for Reproductive Equity. Younger co-founded both Grantmakers for Girls of Color and Black Girl Freedom Fund. She was named one of the “50 Most Powerful Women in Philanthropy” and to the “Top 100 Leaders in Philanthropy” by Inside Philanthropy.

Among Younger’s many accomplishments was her effort to partner with women’s funds and the Obama Administration’s White House Council for Women and Girls to co-host the Advancing Equity for Women and Girls of Color Summit, bringing together a range of stakeholders from the academic, private, government and philanthropic sectors to discuss ways to break down barriers to success and create more ladders of opportunity for all Americans, including women and girls of color.  

Ms. Foundation celebrates Younger’s legacy while continuing the urgent work ahead. The Foundation is well-positioned and prepared for what this moment requires, with a strong leadership team, deep partnerships across movements, and a firm commitment to their mission to build women’s collective power in the U.S. to advance equity and justice for all.

The Ms. Foundation for Women Board of Directors will oversee a nationwide search for the organization’s next president and CEO conducted by the search firm Do Good Connections. The job listing will be posted soon.

Here is Teresa C. Younger’s bio, and for more information regarding Ms. Foundation, please visit https://forwomen.org/. 

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For more than 50 years, Ms. Foundation for Women has shaped feminist philanthropy in the United States, providing a blueprint for the establishment of hundreds of local and regional women’s funds, influencing mainstream culture through nationwide projects and campaigns, and making grants totaling over $100 million to more than 1,600 grassroots organizations across the country. Through grantmaking and capacity building, philanthropic advocacy, and thought leadership, Ms. Foundation is the national model for sustainable, trust-based philanthropic support of women-led movements. With equity and inclusion as the cornerstones of true democracy, Ms. Foundation works to create a world in which the worth and dignity of every person are valued, and power and possibility are not limited by gender, race, class, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or age.

Press Contact:
Sunshine Sachs Morgan & Lylis 
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