Dedecker named 2018 Buffalo Niagara Executive of the Year

By Matthew Biddle

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Clotilde Perez-Bode Dedecker, president and CEO of the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, will be honored as the 2018 Buffalo Niagara Executive of the Year by the University at Buffalo School of Management.

The award will be presented at the 69th Annual UB School of Management Alumni Association Awards Banquet beginning at 5 p.m. on Oct. 17 at the Statler, 107 Delaware Ave., Buffalo.

Dedecker was selected by a vote of past honorees and the alumni association’s board of directors, who lauded her as a strong, inclusive leader and force for positive change in the community.

A Buffalo resident and native of Cuba, Dedecker has dedicated her career to improving the lives of others in Western New York. A catalyst and advocate for Buffalo’s resurgence, Dedecker leads the region’s largest philanthropic organization as it stewards more than $485 million in charitable assets from individuals, families, foundations and organizations.

Since 2005, Dedecker has directed the Community Foundation’s strategy to create meaningful community change and bring together public, private, nonprofit and government partners to tackle systemic issues facing the community. These unprecedented partnerships include Say Yes Buffalo, Greater Buffalo Racial Equity Roundtable and the Western New York Impact Investment Fund. A change-maker, Dedecker’s work has attracted more than $93 million to Western New York to support these collective efforts.

In recognition of her civic sector expertise, Dedecker was appointed to the White House Council on Service and Civic Participation and named co-chair of the U.S. Committee of the United Nations International Year of the Volunteer. She frequently speaks about the role of philanthropy, community impact and nonprofit governance around the world. Most recently, she spoke at the U.S. Partnership on Mobility from Poverty supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in Washington, D.C., and has been invited to present at the Philanthropy for Better Cities Forum in Hong Kong.

Dedecker serves on several national and international boards, including as chair of the Foundation Center, widely considered the premier source for global philanthropic information. She also is a board member for FSG, Executives’ Alliance to Expand Opportunities for Boys and Men of Color, Global Fund for Community Foundations, Green and Healthy Homes Initiative, and Say Yes to Education.

A proud University at Buffalo alumna, Dedecker earned her Master of Education at UB and holds a bachelor’s degree from Canisius College.

Established in 1949, the Buffalo Niagara Executive of the Year award is presented annually to an individual who resides in or has a major impact on the region, and whose career has been distinguished by executive success and civic leadership. Recent honorees include the late Mark J. Czarnecki, former president and chief operating officer of M&T Bank; Candace S. Johnson, president and CEO of Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center; and Jody Lomeo, BS ’91, CEO of both Kaleida Health and the Great Lakes Health System of Western New York.

The awards banquet will also honor exceptional UB School of Management alumni for entrepreneurship, industry leadership, early career achievement, service to the school and service to the Western New York community.

For more information, contact the School of Management’s Office of Alumni Engagement and External Relations at mgt-alumni@buffalo.edu or 716-645-3224.