Mary C. Haddad, M. A., President
Mary Haddad began doing non-profit work in 1985 and continues to this day. In 1999, she co-founded the Louis S. and Mary C. Henninger Haddad Foundation with her husband, Lou Haddad.
In addition to her role as President of the Louis S. and Mary C. Henninger Haddad Foundation, Mary is the first female Chair of the Obici Healthcare Foundation Board in Suffolk, Virginia, which funds programs for regional prevention and access to healthcare. For Chesapeake Bay Academy, a school for smart kids with learning differences, she serves on the Investment Committee. At Oakland Christian United Church of Christ, Mary chairs the Prison Angel Tree program, which provides holiday gifts to children of incarcerated parents, with the gifts ostensibly coming from those parents.
In previous local leadership roles, she was the first female President of the Suffolk Foundation during the 2021-2022 term, after serving as Vice President and Chair of the Distribution Committee. Her involvement includes helping to create chairing the Suffolk Foundation’s Women’s Impact Fund and participating in various committees at Chesapeake Bay Academy and Oakland Christian United Church of Christ. Mary has also contributed time to WHRO Public Broadcasting and ForKids, an organization addressing homelessness and poverty. As General Coordinator, she oversaw the creation of Fun Forest in Chesapeake, VA, which became the East Coast’s largest community-built, ADA-accessible playground at the time. Additionally, she has chaired the American Heart Association in Norfolk/Virginia Beach and co-chaired the Heart Ball and Children’s Hospital Ball with her husband, Lou.
Statewide, Mary was appointed by Governors Kaine and McDonnell to serve on the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), where she held roles such as Secretary of the board, and Chair of Academic Affairs. She was appointed to the Old Dominion University Board of Visitors by Governors Allen and Gilmore, serving as Vice-Rector and Chair of Academic Affairs. Additionally, she was appointed by Governor Wilder to Virginia’s Family & Children’s Trust Fund (FACT), where she served as Secretary and chaired the organization’s first Commonwealth-wide symposium on domestic violence. Mary was also appointed by Governor Warner to the Governor’s Task Force on Cervical Cancer.
Before dedicating herself to philanthropy, Mary was a Senior Marketing Representative at Armada Hoffler and Vice President at the Virginia Design and Art Center. She graduated summa cum laude from Hampton University in 2009 and earned her M.A. in Organizational Leadership with a certification in Servant Leadership from Gonzaga University in 2014.
Mary’s contributions have been recognized with numerous awards, including the Local Hero Award from Bank of America, the Humanitarian Award from the National Committee for Community and Justice, the Safe Harbor Award from Programs and Places for Children, Woman of the Year from Hampton Roads Youth Center, the Volunteer Achievement Honorary from Volunteer Hampton Roads, the Chairman’s Award from the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce, and the Volunteer and Community Service Award from Outstanding Professional Women of Hampton Roads, among others.
Mary and her husband, Lou, cherish raising their four adult children and a variety of dogs in their home, Songwood.
