Board Chair
Buzz Schmidt, Chairman of the F.B. Heron Foundation, leads Retreat Farm, Ltd., a nonprofit that is conserving an historic institutional farm in Vermont and repurposing it to support sustainable lands-based enterprise. He founded and led GuideStar USA and subsequently GuideStar International over a twenty-year period. These organizations report the work of the world’s nonprofit organizations at online repositories in several countries. Today he also serves on the boards of the Permanent Fund for Vermont’s Children and the Vermont Council on Rural Development. He was named US Nonprofit Executive of the Year by The Nonprofit Times in 1999; one of six visionary leaders in philanthropy by Time in 2001; and one of the 25 individuals who most shaped the nonprofit sector over the past 25 years by The Nonprofit Times in 2012. He’s a graduate of Princeton (AB-History) and Stanford (MBA and MA Education).
Few others have left as indelible a mark on Heron as Ambassador James “Jim” Joseph, who served on Heron’s board of directors for many years. Our hearts are heavy as we mourn the loss of a dear friend whose legacy continues to be a source of great inspiration within our organization.
In Nonprofit Quarterly, Heron’s board chair Buzz Schmidt challenges conscious investors to alter thinking about enterprises and their effect on society.
Heron’s Buzz Schmidt responds to Stanford’s divestment from fossil fuels and says it offers lessons for reevaluating all investments for social impact.
Heron’s president and board chair turn on its head the question of whether pursuing mission reduces financial return.