(Syracuse, NY – July 23, 2024) Following a national search, the William G. Pomeroy Foundation Board of Trustees announced today that they have appointed Bill Brower as the organization’s next executive director, effective August 12, 2024. Brower has worked most of his career in educational advancement, the last decade at Le Moyne College as vice president of advancement and special assistant to the president for strategic partnerships and workforce innovation.
As the longest-serving advancement VP in Le Moyne’s history, Brower completed a $100 million comprehensive campaign. Under his leadership, the number of volunteers actively engaged with the college increased ten-fold, he led the effort to diversify Le Moyne’s Board of Trustees and other volunteer bodies, and he managed Marketing and Communications and Career Advising and Development. His work with foundations, corporations, and public funders since 2021 has resulted in over $45 million in commitments.
Brower created and implemented Le Moyne’s ERIE21 (Educating for our Rising Innovation Economy) program, which has served over 2,500 individuals who are underrepresented in technology careers and attracted over $10 million in support. As special assistant to the president, he was the lead on developing Le Moyne’s relationship with Micron, representing the college on Micron’s Future Ready Workforce Innovation Consortium and its Northeast University Semiconductor Network which includes Princeton, Harvard, MIT, and many other internationally known institutions.
Before joining Le Moyne, Brower was VP of Advancement and President of the Foundation Board at SUNY Geneseo. Prior to that, he served for over 16 years in various fundraising and alumni engagement leadership roles at his alma mater, Hamilton College in Clinton, NY. At Hamilton he held leadership roles during three comprehensive capital campaigns that brought over $500 million to the college.
He has served on Boards of Trustees at the Montessori School of Syracuse, Christian Brothers Academy, and Catholic Charities of Onondaga County, and currently serves on the Board of the Central New York Community Foundation.
Known as a genuine, authentic relationship builder, colleagues, donors, and volunteers consistently comment on his listening skills, his ability to lead with empathy, his kindness, and his drive to achieve success. He is known for his focus on helping donors achieve their personal, philanthropic priorities while also supporting the priorities of the institutions he has represented.
“The opportunity to work with and grow with Bill Pomeroy and his team of high-achieving professionals is exciting,” said Brower. “Bill Pomeroy and I developed a quick rapport. As the brother and the son of a sister and father who fought cancer with courage, his personal story of courage and his generosity to help as many people as possible beat cancer resonates deeply. As a history major and lifelong learner, Bill Pomeroy’s focus on educating and celebrating history via the Foundation’s historic marker program is exciting. I’m looking forward to helping Bill achieve his growth vision and propel the mission of the Pomeroy Foundation for years to come.”
Bill Pomeroy said of his new executive director, “The Board and I are attracted to Bill Brower’s commitment to service and the consistent success he achieves in everything he does. He is a leader, a genuine relationship builder, and a creative thinker. His personal story and his interest in American history make him an exceptionally strong fit. I have no doubt he is the best person to lead the Foundation to ever greater successes in the coming years.”
About the William G. Pomeroy Foundation
The William G. Pomeroy Foundation, one of the largest foundations in Central New York, is committed to supporting the celebration and preservation of community history and working to improve the probability of finding appropriate donor matches or other life-saving treatments for blood cancer patients.
The Foundation began in 2005 when Founder, Trustee, and President Bill Pomeroy was fighting Acute Myeloid Leukemia, and his survival was in doubt. Fortunately, he was matched with a donor and received a lifesaving stem cell transplant. Bill felt that, should he survive, he would help others in a similar situation. The idea became the genesis for the Foundation’s first initiative: to diversify the bone marrow donor registry so that anyone, from any ethnic background, can find a matched donor. The Foundation has many incredible partners who are involved in advancing its lifesaving work.
The Foundation’s other focus is helping people to celebrate their community’s history. It provides grants to obtain signage in the form of roadside markers and plaques. Since 2005, it has funded more than 2,400 signs across the United States, from Central New York to Alaska. The Foundation offers six signature marker grant programs in addition to marker programs funded through partnerships with non-profit, municipal, and academic organizations.
With his late wife, Sandra, Bill Pomeroy has also been exceptionally generous to Crouse Health, where the Bill and Sandra Pomeroy College of Nursing, the Pomeroy Emergency Services at Crouse Hospital, the Bill and Sandra Pomeroy Treatment Center, and the new Sandra and Bill Pomeroy Center for Community and Wellness at Crouse Health are named in their honor.
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Media Inquires
Steve BodnarCommunications Consultant
William G. Pomeroy Foundation
315-913-4060 | steve@wgpfoundation.org