Mary C. Haddad, M. A., President
Mary C. Haddad is President and Co-founder of the Louis S. and Mary C. Henninger Haddad Foundation, founded in 1999. She is a member of the Suffolk Foundation and is currently Past-President of this community foundation. She is on the Chesapeake Bay Academy Board (Investment Committee) and the Obici Healthcare Foundation Board (Distribution Committee, Governance Committee, Finance and Investment Committee and serves in the office of Secretary). Previously, Mrs. Haddad was 2021-2022 (first woman) President, 2019-2020 Vice President, and Chair of the Distribution Committee for the Suffolk Foundation. She was Chair of the Suffolk Foundation’s Women’s Impact Fund, on the Chesapeake Bay Academy Governance and Nominating Committee, Chair of the Oakland Christian United Church of Christ’s Strategic Planning Committee, and of Oakland’s Community Life Center Development. Mary has also held the offices of Secretary, Chair of Academic Affairs and Chair of Outstanding Faculty Awards, for the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV). Mrs. Haddad has served as Vice-rector and Chair of Academic Affairs with Old Dominion University’s Board of Visitors, Secretary of Virginia’s Family & Children’s Trust Fund, Chair of Academic Affairs at Virginia Wesleyan University, and on the Virginia Governor’s Task Force on Cervical Cancer. She worked for years on the boards of WHRO Public Broadcasting Stations, ForKids, and ODU’s Women’s Initiative Network (mentoring program). Mary was the General Coordinator of Fun Forest in Chesapeake, VA, which became the largest community-built, ADA-accessible playground on the East Coast at that time. She chaired the Norfolk/Virginia Beach American Heart Association, and co-chaired both the Heart Ball (twice) and the Children’s Hospital Ball with her husband Lou Haddad. Prior to dedicating her career strictly to volunteer and philanthropic work, Mary had been a Senior Marketing Representative at Armada Hoffler and Vice-president of the Armada Hoffler affiliated Virginia Design and Art Center. Mrs. Haddad graduated from Hampton University, summa cum laude, in 2009. She graduated from Gonzaga University earning a master’s degree (M.A.) in Organizational Leadership with a certification in Servant Leadership, in 2014.
Awards include Local Hero from Bank of America, Humanitarian Award from the National Committee for Community and Justice, Safe Harbor Award from Programs and Places for Children, Woman of the Year from Hampton Roads Youth Center, Volunteer Achievement Honorary from Volunteer Hampton Roads, Chairman’s Award from Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce, Volunteer and Community Service Award from Outstanding Professional Women of Hampton Roads, and others.
Lou and Mary agree that their most important accomplishment is as parents of four adult children, who they happily reared (with a large assortment of dogs) in their lovely home, Songwood.
