DePriest Waddy and Randy Redner
DULUTH, Ga. | DePriest Waddy is the new president and chief executive officer of the Community Foundation for Northeast Georgia (CFNEGa). He is currently chief executive officer of the Atlanta nonprofit Families First. Waddy will assume his new role on June 1.
Waddy has a long history of leadership in the nonprofit sector. He has served almost 30 years in leadership roles at various nonprofits and Fortune 500 companies, including the American Hospital Association, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta, United Way of Greater Atlanta, Jefferson County Committee for Economic Opportunity, and, most recently, Families First.
Dick LoPresti, CFNEGa board chair, says: “He is well connected in Gwinnett and the region and has a passion for addressing the critical needs in our community. Our nationwide search resulted in many strong candidates and our 10-member CEO transition team made the unanimous choice to have DePriest lead the Community Foundation forward.”
As CEO of Families First, a 131 year-old nonprofit serving at-risk children and families throughout Georgia, he managed over $30 million in assets and also raised significant funding, $2 million of which will directly impact Gwinnett families. He also led the organization through a new five-year strategic planning process within his first three months as CEO.
When COVID-19 struck, Waddy saw an opportunity to do even more for the approximately 16,000 families the nonprofit services. Under his leadership, Families First designed a new model for “resilient families”, which included a new “Navigator” care model. This prevention-based strategy is designed to accelerate families toward a permanent path of stability and success, providing them with a Navigator who engages, listens and connects the family to resources, as well as tracks progress and provides care after program completion.
Also under Waddy’s leadership, he led a team with a social neuroscientist utilizing data science technology to develop a resiliency assessment tool to determine a family’s ability to improve scores in social connectedness, access to basic needs, and optimism, thus moving them from surviving to thriving.
Waddy received his bachelor’s degree in marketing from The University of Alabama and his MBA from Kennesaw State University. He is a Leadership Gwinnett Class of 2015 alumnus, as well as a Leadership Birmingham Class of 2019 alumnus and Leadership Atlanta Class of 2022. He has been named to the Atlanta 500 in 2021 and 2022, Atlanta Magazine’s annual list of the area’s most powerful leaders. He was also awarded the Georgia Titan 100 in 2022. He and his wife, Carol, have one married daughter and two granddaughters.
“I am thrilled to have DePriest as the Community Foundation’s new CEO,” said
Current CFNEGa CEO Randy Redner, who led the Foundation for several years, says: “Over the years we have developed a great professional partnership, but, more importantly, we have grown a wonderful personal friendship. I have had the privilege of watching his leadership at work for many years and know his heart for the community and those he serves. He is a talented, visionary leader who brings a wealth of nonprofit and corporate experience to this role. All of this makes me very excited for the future of the Community Foundation!”
Waddy says: “I am thrilled that God has blessed me to lead this phenomenal organization. Randy Redner has done a masterful job as CEO, and I applaud him and the Community Foundation board for setting the stage to achieve continued growth and help meet the increasing needs.”
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