Elizabeth P. Maiden

Elizabeth Pongracz Maiden, Executive Director, Erie County Community Foundation

Elizabeth Maiden came to Sandusky, Ohio to serve as the Executive Director of the Erie County Community Foundation (ECCF) in 2016. During her tenure, she has doubled the Foundation’s assets to over $40 million, worked with donors to create over 50 new Funds, and led a $900,000 transformation of ECCF’s permanent home in a downtown nonprofit center. Maiden is most proud of ECCF’s work during COVID supporting other nonprofits who ramped up their work to feed and care for our most vulnerable neighbors. In recognition of her efforts, she was awarded the 2021 Visionary Leadership Award from the Erie County Economic Development Corporation. Additionally, she was proud to represent Erie County as a Fellow in the 2023 Class of Leadership Ohio.

Maiden, a graduate of Heidelberg and Case Western Reserve Universities, has devoted her career to the nonprofit and philanthropic sector. After stints at the American Red Cross and Girl Scouts of Northeast Ohio, she worked for Nordson Corporation in their Foundation and the Community Foundation of Lorain County. Her role as President/CEO of Leadership Lorain County tapped into her desire to help nurture future leaders and encourage all to serve through community volunteerism, nonprofit board appointments, or elected office.

Maiden brings elements of her leadership development interest to her work at ECCF by serving as convener, advocate, and advisor to Erie County nonprofit directors.  She currently serves as Governance Chair and Rebuilding Committee member for the Sandusky State Theatre, a landmark that was destroyed by a storm in 2020 and is in the midst of a $30 million rebuilding campaign. Her past board service includes Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio and the Oberlin Center for the Arts. A classically trained singer, Maiden attempts to find time in her life for music. She and her husband, Warren, reside in Amherst.