Teresa Heinz, a force for good
Focused and tough-minded, she’s been a transformative leader in Pittsburgh and the nation, writes Pittsburgh Foundation president
Back in 2004, when John Kerry was the Democratic Party nominee for president, his wife, Teresa Heinz, faced some difficult criticism. As chair of the board of The Heinz Endowments, she also got a lot of favorable press, of course, but a few in the mainstream media and virtually all of the right-wing bloggers went after her.
She was accused of tilting her philanthropy to the left, but that charge was easy to rebut with accounts of the endowments’ broad, balanced grant-making. That didn’t stop the harshest critics, though, who went after her character, portraying her as inconsistent, flighty and aloof.
I worked closely with Teresa at that time — in my fifth year as the endowments president — and I was stunned at how far off the mark her critics were. I had spent more than 30 years in journalism and was disappointed at this extremely simplistic and dishonest narrative adopted by those who sought to knock her reputation.
My experience with Teresa was the exact opposite of their storyline: She was unwavering in her values, relentlessly tough and tightly focused as a leader.
Yes, she was often late for meetings and she could change her plans with little notice. But we knew she was busy working all over the country, especially in Washington, D.C., and Massachusetts, as well as Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania. She was all about delivering life-improving social change on a large scale.
But inconsistent? Never. Teresa has the strongest set of clearly articulated progressive values I have encountered, and she never went wobbly on them. I never once came away from a meeting or a phone call wondering where her ideas or perspectives came from. We all knew exactly where she stood.
Heaven knows, Teresa isn’t perfect. She and I had differences on some issues; and she could be brilliantly stubborn. But her values were deeply held, and she was unfailingly tough-minded when it came to getting the work done.
As Teresa prepares to step down in late October from the endowments’ chairmanship after nearly a quarter-century of service, she can take great pride in having made an exceptional difference to this community — guiding projects, programs and approaches that have transformed Pittsburgh.
Because the work of the endowments — one of the largest foundations in the country — proceeds from a large staff and a large board, the citizens of Western Pennsylvania might think of its benefits as being institutionally driven. But Teresa’s hand has been firmly on the tiller since 1991, when she took over after her first husband, Sen. H. John Heinz III, was killed in a plane crash in Philadelphia.
The foundation and the region will continue to benefit from her judgment and savvy as she remains on the board. We will continue to benefit from her
exceptional connections and her astuteness in identifying and taking advantage of opportunities.
Teresa has brought a transformative array of people and programs to bear on our region, including the strong group of leaders she has recruited to the Endowments’ board: Jim Rohr, retired CEO of PNC Bank; Jerry Cohon, retired president of Carnegie Mellon University; Franco Harris, CEO of Super Bakery and Hall of Fame running back with the Pittsburgh Steelers; Shirley Malcolm of the American Association for the Advancement of Science; and the late Carter Brown, a director of the National Gallery of Art and a leading thinker in American society — just to name a few.
It was Carter Brown, along with Teresa and her son, Andre (who will succeed her as chair of the endowments), who focused on the need to creatively redevelop Pittsburgh’s waterfront back in 1999 and provided $1 million to get the Riverlife Task Force started. And, when the endowments staff asked Mr. Brown for advice on urban design, he came back to Pittsburgh between board meetings, walked the riverfronts and elevated our thinking.
Repeatedly through her tenure as chair, Teresa has helped propel Pittsburgh forward at key moments.
Before Riverlife, it was green building. She was the force behind the formation of the Green Building Alliance of Pittsburgh. This region now is a national leader in green building.
And it was Teresa, working with Janet Sarbaugh, an endowments vice president, who saw the potential of a high-end design for one of the region’s signature buildings. That is why the endowments funded an international competition that brought world-renowned architect Rafael Vinoly here to design the spectacular new David L. Lawrence Convention Center.
Teresa worked for decades with senior program director Marge Petruska to advance early-childhood education in Pennsylvania and the nation. Their work helped Pennsylvania progress from one of the worst states in the country in early-childhood education to one of the best.
Time and again, as a progressive philanthropic leader, Teresa’s sharp, innovative thinking has been crucial in bringing the new Pittsburgh to fruition. Her leadership has been demanding and on-point, but she has never micro-managed. She gives clear insights and feedback, and then lets her colleagues run with new ideas.
I hope Pittsburgh will take a moment in October to recognize Teresa’s service and to celebrate her exceptional career. She is one of the great leaders in American philanthropy.