You can’t help but be amazed when you read Greg Stevens’ biography. He has had a career spanning chemical, environmental, energy, specialty materials and other technology driven businesses, both in very large corporate and small entrepreneurial settings. Greg has a well proven core competency in organizational leadership, growing businesses and taking new technologies to market. His career has taken him from St. Louis to Atlanta, from Taiwan to Toronto and back to his hometown of Buffalo where he developed a series of business and not for profit ventures all dedicated to green energy and economic development. Greg has been Chairman of the Board of Buffalo Niagara Riverkeepers, an organization dedicated to protecting Western New York waterways, and currently serves on the board of Rigidized Metals Corporation.
We are so fortunate to have Greg share his knowledge and experience with our Goodwill.
You could say that Greg was born into the Goodwill family. Stevens’ family members have been on Goodwill of Western New York’s board of directors for over 80 years. Greg’s grandfather Frederick Stevens was Goodwill’s second board chair, serving from 1944-1947. His father, E. Dann Stevens, served on Goodwill’s board for 53 years and was chairman of the board from 1978-1981. Greg himself joined Goodwill’s board in 2005. He served on a variety of committees and then served as treasurer, vice chair and then chair of the board from 2015-2016.
Across Greg's 13 years of board service at our Goodwill, he always pushed the organization to look forward, and more boldly commit to our mission. His drive for strategic focus led the board to a new strategic plan in which we are stepping forward as a strong community leader in workforce development. His accomplishments are numerous. Greg spearheaded the drive to serve the employment needs of veterans at Goodwill and was instrumental in Goodwill’s involvement in the founding of the Veterans One-stop Center of Western New York. Goodwill’s retail presence doubled in size during Greg’s tenure. His most recent accomplishment has been his efforts on behalf of Goodwill with the Workforce Training Center at Northland. The Workforce Training Center is a collaborative initiative led by The Economic Development Group – a nonprofit that includes the Buffalo Niagara Manufacturing Alliance, Catholic Charities of Buffalo, Inc., Goodwill of Western New York, and the Buffalo Urban League with support from Alfred State College and Erie Community College. The Workforce Training Center’s mission is to develop and facilitate community partnerships to help create a dynamic and successful workforce training career network needed to prepare workers for the in demand industry specific jobs.
Greg is a staunch advocate for Goodwill and a strong voice in the foundation community. He created a partnership with Nichols School to educate middle school and high school students about Goodwill’s mission along with a donation drive that involves the entire Nichols community and surrounding neighborhood.
Although he is no longer on our board, Greg remains a true friend of Goodwill, always advocating and doing all he can to support our mission. It’s not unusual for Greg to just “stop in” on days when he is out for a bike ride. You will still find him mingling with employees and clients at Goodwill events.
We are especially proud to recognize Greg Stevens for continuing his family legacy of service at our Goodwill.