Stuart Comstock-Gay - President & CEO - Biography

Stuart Comstock-Gay was named President & CEO of the Vermont Community Foundation beginning in January of 2009. Prior to joining the VCF, he served as director of the Democracy Program at Dēmos, a New York-based “think and action tank” devoted to making democracy work for all Americans. During that time he worked in states across the country to reduce barriers to voter registration, and to link deliberative democracy with traditional voting rights work. Comstock-Gay came to Dēmos through its affiliation with the National Voting Rights Institute in Boston, where he was Executive Director.

From 1997 to 2004, Stuart worked for the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, as vice president for Programs, and later as chief operating officer. At NHCF, among other work, he oversaw the Foundation’s social capital projects; designed a high-engagement grantmaking program for rapidly growing statewide nonprofits; and helped develop a statewide advocacy and leadership organization addressing issues of substance abuse.

Stuart also spent 14 years with the ACLU, the last ten as executive director of the Maryland affiliate. He has written for numerous national publications, has been a regular radio commentator, and has spoken before hundreds of audiences on a wide range of voting rights, civil liberties, democracy, and foundation issues. Stuart holds a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and a B.A. in Political Science from Bucknell University. He and his wife have three daughters.