Barancik Foundation announces CEO Teri Hansen's retirement plans, begins successor search

Teri A Hansen announced her retirement from her role as CEO of the Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation, capping off decades of service in the Sarasota community.

Hansen will continue as CEO while the foundation’s board seeks her successor, and will assist in the transition, a news release of her plans Thursday stated. She estimated the process could take six months to a year.

“The work is a way of life, so the foundation has been my life,” Hansen told the Herald-Tribune. “It’s like leaving the family, but I won’t be far and happy to help any way I can. It’s been a privilege to get to do the work I do and in a community that I’ve been so lucky to live in and be able to be a part of.

“The best thing I’ve done at the foundation is bringing my team together,” she said. “I requested that I not be part of the search committee; I’ll answer any questions they may have, but when they name my successor I’ll be here to help.”

Hansen joined the Barancik Foundation in 2015, following 13 years as CEO of the Gulf Coast Community Foundation. She is past chair and current board member of the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce board, secretary of the Ringling College of Art and Design board, and vice chair of the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens board. She is also a member of the Asolo Repertory Theatre, YMCA of Southwest Florida, and Gulfside Bank boards.

Before arriving in Florida, Hansen was vice president for gift planning and donor relations at The Cleveland Foundation, the oldest and one of the largest community foundations in the country. She also worked as vice president of external relations for Central Indiana Community Foundation and was the founding president of Legacy Fund of Hamilton County, Indiana.

The Barancik Foundation’s work impacts education, humanitarian causes, environment, and arts and culture.

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Also: Barancik Foundation invests $8 million to support education, health care, environment

Barancik Foundation looks ahead upon announcement of Hansen’s retirement

Hansen oversaw leadership at the Barancik Foundation during one one of the most difficult transitions for the organization, the loss of Chuck and Margie Barancik in an auto accident in late 2019. She said they enjoyed seeing firsthand the difference the impact they could make in the community.

Known to be the Barancik Foundation’s first employee, Hansen has helped the foundation has grow to over $700 million in assets and award over $30 million in annual philanthropic grants.

“One of the best things Chuck ever said to me was that their foundation’s impact had already exceeded his wildest dreams,” she said in prepared statement.

The leadership transition, a decade into Hansen’s tenure, will position the foundation to continue its trajectory and empower the next CEO to thrive, Board Chair Rebecca Harris Barancik said in the release.

Did you know? Barancik Foundation awards 25 Sarasota County educators with TIME Fellowships

More: Barancik Foundation awards $5.2 million to support families, education, arts, environment

“We are at a pivotal point in Barancik Foundation’s growth,” Harris Barancik said. “The groundwork that Teri has established and relationships she has built will be like a springboard for a new phase of impact.

“Simply put, no one else could have led our Foundation through that tragedy like Teri did,” she said. “The regional impact we have been able to make, hand-in-hand with our trusted nonprofit partners, is testament to Chuck and Margie’s wisdom in selecting Teri as their CEO and to her singular commitment to honor their legacy.”

Barancik Foundation’s accomplishments during Hansen’s tenure as CEO

• Major regional initiatives like the First 1,000 Days Suncoast, the Barancik Early Learning Initiative, and a partnership with Sarasota County Schools aimed at teacher recruitment, retention, and recognition.

• Funding the technological transformation of middle-school classrooms in collaboration with the Gulf Coast Community Foundation and others.

• Rapid grant relief in response to COVID-19 and hurricane impacts in Sarasota, Manatee, and DeSoto counties.

• Expansion of the annual and international Barancik Prize for Innovation in MS Research to accelerate pathways to new treatments, and ultimately a cure, for multiple sclerosis.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Barancik Foundation announces retirement of CEO Teri Hansen