EarthShare Welcomes Brad Leibov as New CEO

BETHESDA, Md., July 8, 2019, /3BL Media/ – EarthShare, a leading  environmental philanthropy supporting America’s largest coalition of environmental and conservation nonprofits and a strategic partner to the private-sector in corporate philanthropy and engagement, announced today that Bradley Leibov will join as its new chief executive officer. With more than 22 years of executive leadership experience, Leibov most recently served as President and CEO of Liberty Prairie Foundation, where he launched pioneering new programs and investments to improve the health of land, water, and communities in the Midwest. Leibov succeeds EarthShare’s interim CEO, Deb Furry, who will resume her position on the EarthShare national board of directors.

"At a time in history when EarthShare’s role in environmental protection and improvement is more critical than ever, our search focused on identifying the ideal leader to guide the organization to new levels of reach and impact," said Hayward Majors, chairman of the EarthShare board of directors and co-founder and CEO of University Bridge. "Brad's experience has firmly established him as a leader in the environmental world. He is well prepared to propel EarthShare into the next phase of its philanthropic life.” During its more than 30-year history, EarthShare has engaged millions of individuals and distributed more than $300 million in support of the nation’s most respected environmental and conservation organizations working to protect the health of people and planet.

At the Liberty Prairie Foundation, Leibov developed new programs and initiatives to advance farmland conservation, sustainable and regenerative agriculture, community food systems, and local, state, and national environmental policy. He concurrently built and supported a diverse network of program partnerships across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to focus investment in solutions to environmental issues. His belief in the power of collaboration and strong partnerships for environmental impact inspired his work to help launch Funders for Regenerative Agriculture, where he serves as a Steering Committee member of the nation’s first funders initiative dedicated to addressing global climate change by accelerating the emergence of regenerative agriculture, soil, and working lands systems that support people and the Earth. In addition to serving as Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of the Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders, Leibov serves on the Boards of the Earth’s Call Fund and The Carbon Underground.

As CEO of EarthShare, Leibov will drive the organization's growth as a leader in environmental philanthropy, strategic partnerships, and corporate and workplace engagement. “EarthShare has already successfully generated hundreds of millions in general operating support as a pioneer in workplace philanthropy and engagement,” said Leibov. "We’re strongly positioned to surpass the $1 billion threshold with a renewed focus on the urgent issues facing our air, land, water, wildlife, and climate, and connecting individuals, workplaces, and corporate and philanthropic partners to the most effective strategies and environmental organizations demonstrating impact. “

A graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago with a Masters in Urban Planning and Policy, with an undergraduate degree in Political Science from DePaul University, Leibov is a strategic and proven leader with expertise in managing and accelerating philanthropic, nonprofit, and collaborative solutions to address our most pressing environmental challenges.

Deb Furry, who exited the interim CEO role on June 30, expressed confidence that Leibov is the ideal person to lead EarthShare into the future. “Brad comes to us with a number of exciting ideas for collaboration and partnership, but he is also proud to be joining an organization with a long, involved history,” said Furry. “It is with his keen eye towards solidifying our future as a world class environmental philanthropy that we entrust Brad to lead EarthShare into its next 30 years.”