Steven A. Brown on Tuesday stepped down as president and CEO of Greyston Foundation Inc., the 32-year-old social enterprise organization that he led for 10 years in Yonkers.
Greyston officials in a press release said Brown is leaving to pursue other opportunities. He will serve as special adviser to the Greyston board of directors through the end of this year and will actively assist with the transition.
“With the end of the current strategic plan in December, this is an opportune time for me to move on to new endeavors,” Brown said in the announcement. “I would like to thank the incredibly dedicated staff for making my time at Greyston a rewarding and inspirational experience and recognize their tireless work along with our partners in Yonkers and throughout Westchester for their work. I leave knowing that Greyston will continue to open new pathways and generate hope for the people of Yonkers in need of such opportunities and support in the years to come.”
Deborah Stewart, chairwoman of the Greyston board, called Brown “an inspirational leader who has contributed to the well-being of people in southwest Yonkers ”“ be they tenants, parents, children, Greyston bakers, the unemployed or the homeless.”
Greyston during the transition will be led by Mike Brady, president and CEO of Greyston Bakery, the foundation”™s for-profit business in Yonkers; Jonathan Greengrass, Greyston vice president of marketing and development; and Jennifer Solomon, its chief financial officer. The transition team also will include two members of the Greyston board of directors.
Greyston officials credited Brown”™s leadership for the growth of the organization into “a $17 million force for social transformation in Yonkers.” The foundation in its 2014 annual report reported total revenues of about $17.4 million in 2013 and ended the year with about $9.6 in net assets.
Among Brown”™s achievements, Greyston officials cited the construction of the 22,000-square-foot, Maya Lin-designed bakery on Alexander Street on the Yonkers waterfront and the significant growth of the bakery”™s sales and recognition as a model of social enterprise with its open hiring and job advancement policies; completion of a financial restructuring of Greyston and the Greyston Bakery; opening an affordable housing building for 100 families in downtown Yonkers; creating a workforce development program; expanding Greyston’s community gardens program; supporting an after-school and environmental education program for children; and implementing a means for Greyston to quantify the impact of its programs to support underserved residents of southwest Yonkers.
A search for Brown”™s successor will begin in the first quarter of 2015, Greyston officials said.
