Naropa Board of Trustees Elects New  Chair

BOULDER, Colo. (May 12, 2011) During its spring meeting, the Naropa University Board of Trustees elected Charles G. Lief as the new chair of the board, succeeding Marty Janowitz and his eleven-year tenure, effective immediately. With a career as an attorney, nonprofit CEO, and real estate developer, Lief has much experience in many matters relevant to Naropa. His extensive background in businesses contributing to social and community health and strengthening, make him uniquely qualified to take his seat as Naropa’s chair. He is a principal in the Hartland Group, Community Developers and Consultants of Burlington, Vermont, which creates mixed income housing and economic developments in Vermont and New Hampshire. He is the strategic planning consultant to Amida Care, a nonprofit Special Needs HMO serving low-income persons living with HIV/AIDS in New York City.

“Chuck has a deep and longstanding relationship with Naropa going back to the earliest years of the institution's founding. He has a blend of skills and attributes particularly well matched to Naropa's needs and to shepherding the efforts of the university's board. For more than a decade, he has served as chair or co-chair of the board's finance committee, has advised multiple chairs and presidents of Naropa on some of the most challenging and complex matters that have come before us, and has broad experience on nonprofit boards, in social innovation and entrepreneurship, Buddhist and spiritual leadership, practice and teaching, and business. He understands Naropa from a range of perspectives and has demonstrated a lifelong commitment to Naropa's mission,” says Janowitz.

Lief adds, “I am honored to have been asked by my friends and fellow trustees to serve as board chair, and even more so to succeed my lifelong friend Marty Janowitz whose work greatly served Naropa since his first day on the job as executive director in 1974. I was privileged to be one of Naropa's first lawyers and to be married to Judy Lief who began in Naropa's maintenance department, served as faculty member and as CEO for almost 5 years, culminating in Naropa's acceptance as a candidate for accreditation. I am especially proud to be the parent of two Naropa alumnae who studied with the best and proved that our model of contemplative education serves students and the world they engage when they leave us. I look forward to supporting President Stuart Lord and the staff and faculty of our wonderful university. “

“Chuck Lief is a longtime friend of Naropa and has been instrumental in providing strong and innovative leadership and guidance to the university since the early days of Naropa University. His insight and business acumen have supported the university for many years, and I believe that he will provide strong and innovative leadership to the university as we move forward. I am enthusiastic about working with Chuck and believe he will build upon the legacy left behind by his predecessor, Marty Janowitz,” says President Stuart Lord.

Lief served as a managing partner of a Colorado law firm (1977–83); built, owned and operated an award-winning historic hotel and restaurant in Halifax, Nova Scotia; and wrote two best-selling cookbooks He was the first president of the Yonkers, New York–based Greyston Foundation, one of the earliest and most well-known models of integrated nonprofit social enterprises in the country. Greyston’s mix of services includes permanent housing for formerly homeless families, accredited childcare, HIV/AIDS housing and health care and the well-known Greyston Bakery, which provides employment to low income residents of Yonkers and among many other products, supplies millions of pounds of brownies to Ben and Jerry’s.

Until recently, Lief served as the board chair of the Intervale Center in Burlington, Vermont, which develops farm, and land-based enterprises that generate economic and social opportunity while protecting natural resources. He is vice-chair of the board of the Vermont Community Loan Fund, founding director of the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund Flexible Capital initiative, and is on the board of the award-winning Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, Vermont. He was a board member and past chair of Shambhala International. Chuck received his bachelor’s degree from Brandeis University and his JD degree from the University of Colorado. He and his wife, Judy, have two daughters and two grandchildren.

Accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, Naropa University is a private, nonprofit, nonsectarian liberal arts institution dedicated to advancing contemplative education. This approach to learning integrates the best of Eastern and Western educational traditions, helping students know themselves more deeply and engage constructively with others. The university comprises a four-year undergraduate college and graduate programs in the arts, education, environmental leadership, psychology, and religious studies.

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