The Council on Foundations, an association of more than 2,000 grantmaking foundations and corporations worldwide, named former Wisconsin Congressman Steve Gunderson as its new President and CEO.

Gunderson served eight terms in the House of Representatives before choosing not to seek re-election in 1996. He is currently Managing Director of the Washington office of the Greystone Group, a Michigan-based management and communications consulting firm.

Gunderson, 54, will succeed Dorothy S. Ridings, who has served as head of the Council since 1996.

“The Council and its member organizations are working every day to lift the lives of people across America and around the world,” Gunderson said. “I am honored by this opportunity to join them in reinforcing that remarkable contribution.

“At a time when nonprofits are under scrutiny, it is essential to engage policymakers and the public in a productive discussion of the roles and responsibilities of foundations. And we must deal with the challenge of dramatic growth in both the size of the sector and its increasingly important role in serving the common good.”

First elected to the House in 1980, Gunderson established an expertise in agriculture, education, employment policy, health care, and human rights issues, and served as Co-chair of the bipartisan Rural Health Care Coalition. Before coming to Congress, he served three terms in the Wisconsin State Legislature.

“In the government and in the private sector, Steve Gunderson has built a reputation as a forward-looking, fair-minded, and effective agent of progress and new ideas,” said Dr. Emmett Carson, president and CEO of the Minneapolis Foundation and chair of the Council on Foundations’ Board of Directors. “We sought an individual with the vision, the intellectual energy, and the commitment to diversity that must be distinguishing features of twenty-first century philanthropy. In Steve Gunderson, we found him, and a worthy successor to Dot Ridings.”

In 1997, Gunderson joined the Greystone Group. His clients range from the Republican Main Street Partnership to the Mary Fisher AIDS Fund, which focuses on clinical AIDS research for women with HIV. A frequent speaker on workforce issues, Gunderson is the lead author of the book, “The Jobs Revolution: Changing How America Works.”

Maxwell King, Vice Chair of the Council on Foundations’ Board, Chair of the Search Committee, and President of the Heinz Endowments, said Gunderson “is someone who looks at all sides of a question, works with people from both sides of the aisle, and advances creative solutions to some very tough problems. He is particularly well-suited for the farsighted thinking and flexible approaches philanthropy needs to function most effectively in the global economy.”

Gunderson, who lives in Arlington, Virginia with his partner, Jonathan Stevens, will assume his new position on October 1.

The Council on Foundations provides the opportunity, leadership and tools needed by philanthropic organizations to expand, enhance and sustain their ability to advance the common good. For more information on the Council, visit their Web site.

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