Stuart Comstock-Gay has spent his career addressing issues of community, civic engagement, democracy and civil rights. Since February 2016, he has served as president and CEO of the Delaware Community Foundation. Both at the DCF, and in his prior position as president & CEO of the Vermont Community Foundation, he has focused on increasing the impact of philanthropic resources by using data and information, convening, and a deep commitment to strengthening civil society.

Prior to joining the VCF, Stuart worked in state legislatures across the country to reduce barriers to voter registration and to encourage broad civic engagement, first as executive director of the National Voting Rights Institute in Boston and then as democracy program director at New York City based Dēmos. Stuart also spent seven years in leadership positions with the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and 14 years with the ACLU, including 10 as executive director of the Maryland affiliate.

He serves as the chair of Mission Investors Exchange—the nation’s leading impact investing organization serving foundations; and on the boards of CFLeads (an organization dedicated to helping community foundations expand their leadership work) and PACE (Philanthropy Active for Civic Engagement). He also serves on the Board and executive committee of the Wilmington Leaders Alliance, and the boards of the Rodel Foundation of Delaware and United Way of Delaware. He served on the adjunct faculty at Marlboro College Graduate School, teaching about nonprofit leadership, has written for numerous national publications, been a regular radio commentator, and spoken before hundreds of audiences on a wide range of foundation, democracy, voting rights and civil liberties issues. Stuart holds a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Bucknell University.