M. Lee Pelton
CEO & President, The Boston Foundation
Lee Pelton, who was recognized in 2024 by Non-Profit Times on its list of America’s 50 most powerful and influential non-profit leaders, is the CEO & President of The Boston Foundation, one of the nation’s leading philanthropic organizations with $2.2 billion in assets. He joined the Foundation in June 2021, after serving as President of Emerson College (2011-2021) and Willamette University (1998-2011).
Pelton has positioned The Boston Foundation, one of the nation's first and most influential community foundations, as an agent for social change by centering equity in its programs, grantmaking and civic leadership. Under his leadership, the Foundation’s defining ambition is to achieve equity, which first involves acknowledging and then seeking to eliminate the structural and underlying causes of outcome disparities for historically marginalized communities.
As a college president for 23 years, he led with a core belief that higher education must serve to deepen students’ appreciation of humanities. While a college president, Pelton emerged as a powerful national voice on social issues and the value of liberal arts education.
Pelton began his academic career at Harvard University, where he earned a Ph.D. in English literature with an academic focus on 19th-century British prose and poetry. He taught English and American literature at Harvard University, Colgate University, Dartmouth College and Willamette University. He served on the Harvard Board of Overseers and as vice-chair of its executive committee. After Harvard, Pelton served as dean of the college at Colgate University and Dartmouth College. He graduated from Wichita State University, located in his hometown of Wichita, Kansas.
Following the murder of George Floyd in May 2020, Pelton’s essay America is on Fire, reflected powerfully on the significance of Floyd’s death with a frank and honest reference to his own experiences in America. His essay quickly and widely spread, reaching an audience of more than 6 million people around the globe. Forbes Magazine placed it at the top of its list of the five most noteworthy writings that appeared after the George Floyd incident.
Called by Boston Magazine a “true renaissance man,” he perennially ranks in the top ten on Boston Magazine’s annual list of the most influential people in Boston, most recently at #5 in 2025, #6 in 2024 and #3 in 2023.
He sits on the Boards of The Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Chamber of Commerce (executive committee), WGBH, a preeminent national radio and media outlet, The Green Ribbon Commission, a climate and environment nonprofit, The Barr Foundation with $2.6 billion in assets, and the Urban Institute (Washington, D. C.).
Pelton enjoys a very long list of awards and recognitions for educational excellence and social justice.
HIGHLIGHTS:
He was awarded the Harvard Medal in 2024, the highest honor bestowed on a Harvard Alum.
He is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
He serves as one of five advisors to the Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery Project at Harvard University.
He has been awarded three honorary degrees.