Pete McCown is President of the Community Foundation of Elkhart County. Since taking on that role in 2011, more than $350 million in gifts have been given to the foundation. As president, he serves as chief investment officer and helps coordinate the work of both the growing staff and the dozens of volunteers who serve as board and committee members. As it has grown to be one of the top 100 community foundations in the United States, McCown has guided the organization and helped shape its culture, strategies and policies.

In 2014, he was appointed to be one of five members of the board of the South Bend – Elkhart Regional Development Authority. He has been instrumental in determining how to best invest the state’s $42 million in the region, spurring additional quality-of-life projects in the region, as well as overseeing several processes to guide planning for the future of the region.

From 2004 to 2011, McCown served as a professor of business and vice president for advancement at Bethel College in Mishawaka, Indiana. Prior to that he was vice president for advancement at Roberts Wesleyan College and Northeastern Seminary in Rochester, New York.

He has graduate degrees — a master’s degree in education and a doctorate in social science — from the State University of New York. He also has a master’s degree in business administration from Indiana Wesleyan University.

McCown is a consultant for numerous colleges and seminaries on fundraising and leadership development. He is a member of the Spring Arbor University Board of Trustees.

Pete and his wife, Wendy, are the parents of five adult children. Pete and Wendy are active members of South Bend City Church.