The Taproot Foundation Board of Directors announced today the appointment of Lindsay Firestone Gruber as the organization’s new President and CEO. Gruber has been on staff with Taproot for 14 years and has served as the organization’s Chief Program Officer since 2016.
“Lindsay is one of the top experts and champions of pro bono service in the world,” says Taproot founder Aaron Hurst. “She’s spent her entire career focused on building this movement. I know that under her leadership, Taproot will grow in new and progressive ways, ensuring that nonprofits and social change organizations around the globe have access to pro bono.”
“Lindsay rose to the top of a highly competitive candidate pool of over 200 applicants,” shared Taproot’s Board Co-Chair and interim CEO Sarah Mankowski. “Several traits distinguished Lindsay from her fellow applicants, most decisively the thoughtfulness of her vision, deep commitment to the mission, and her ability to strengthen our leadership position in the pro bono movement.”
Gruber began her tenure at the Taproot Foundation in 2004. In 2008, she founded Taproot’s Advisory Services department—the organization’s corporate consulting team—quickly growing the practice to become the global leader in corporate pro bono program design. Under her leadership as Chief Program Officer, Gruber has shepherded the development of innovative programs, including the new team projects which replaced the Service Grant program, and supported the expansion of the organization’s online platform Taproot+ worldwide.
“Now, more than ever, the nonprofit and social change organizations serving our communities need our help,” says Gruber. “I’m so proud of the work Taproot does each and every day to ensure that these organizations receive the meaningful pro bono support they need to thrive. And I’m so inspired by the incredible potential ahead of us as we push the field forward in expanding the accessibility of high-impact pro bono service.”
Gruber is a widely recognized authority on nonprofit capacity-building, Corporate Social Responsibility, and cross-sector collaboration. A frequent public speaker in the field, she has been cited in The New York Times and The Washington Post, among others, and has authored and contributed to numerous thought leadership pieces, including “Key Trends to Watch: The Next Wave of Growth in Corporate Pro Bono Service,” “Pro Bono: Beyond Professional Service Firms” (in How to Give Half of Your Work Away for Free), and more.
Gruber holds a B.A. from Yale University and is an American Express Leadership Academy alumna.
