Dodge celebrates Elizabeth Duffy as a visionary and pragmatic trustee who stands for good governance

June 25, 2020

Dodge’s board and staff recently celebrated Elizabeth Duffy’s 16 years as a Foundation trustee at its virtual June meeting.

The meeting marked the transition for Liz from trustee to trustee emerita, a four-year term at Dodge in which trustees continue to be engaged in the work of the Foundation.

Liz Duffy is president of International Schools Services.

Liz joined the Board in 2004 and led it in refreshing its governance structures and policies, most notably establishing term limits, and developing a robust board recruitment strategy.

 “I am retiring from the board because I feel strongly that we need to model good governance,” said Liz, president of International Schools Services, an international nonprofit specializing in starting schools, teacher recruitment, leadership searches, and school supply. “I’m sorry that I’ve reached my term limit because Dodge is on an exciting path forward with a real commitment to creating an equitable New Jersey. It has been a privilege to serve on Dodge’s Board over the past 16 years and to see the impact it’s had by supporting nonprofits throughout the state and helping to build coalitions and programs committed to arts education, sustainability, creativity and the arts, local media, and poetry.”

A lifelong learner with deep experience in education, Liz for many years chaired Dodge’s Education Committee, focusing the Foundation’s attention and funding on arts education. She recently served on the Board’s strategic planning and equity committees.

“Throughout her tenure, we have benefited from Liz’s insightful, intuitive questions and her ability to bring a breadth of perspective — both global and local—to the conversation, which helped the team find solutions in a complex and changing environment,” said Preston Pinkett III, board chair. “Liz consistently brought a clear sense of how Dodge could leverage its relationships, networks, and financial assets to make life better for the people of New Jersey, challenging us — respectfully and with good humor — to be better philanthropists.”

Wendy Liscow, education and technical assistance program director, credited Liz with being both a visionary and tactical thinker.

“Liz fulfilled many of the attributes of great board members, such as her commitment to Dodge’s mission and areas of giving, her skill sets including her background in philanthropy, the nonprofit sector, and education; her willingness to allocate her time and talent to the organization, even while running a school or schools across the globe,” Liscow said. “She is a leader and a follower, enjoys learning new things, she is also a great listener and strong mediator of group discussions, which made her a strong consensus builder.”

Tanuja Dehne, Dodge president and CEO, thanked Liz for her sharing her leadership, integrity, humor, and curiosity which helped pave the way for Dodge to continue its equity journey and commitment to becoming actively anti-racist.   

“This is a bittersweet moment for us,” Tanuja said. “We are grateful for Liz’s integrity and leadership that helped pave the way for the next phase of Dodge’s equity journey.”

Tanuja Dehne, Dodge president and CEO, thanked Liz for her friendship, humor and curiosity which allowed us to navigate through challenging and courageous conversations.    

“This is a bittersweet moment for us,” Tanuja said. “We are grateful for Liz’s integrity and leadership that helped pave the way for the next phase of Dodge’s equity journey and becoming actively anti-racist.”