July 28, 2009 – San Francisco, Calif. – Tides today announced that Gary D. Schwartz, 10-year Tides veteran and long-time head of Tides’ New York Office, has accepted the role of Managing Director of Tides Foundation. In this role, Schwartz will be responsible for strategic direction and client services for the foundation. He is also a Senior Vice-President of Tides and works closely with other members of the Tides Senior Leadership Team.

Schwartz joined Tides in 1999 after serving as the Executive Director of the Fund of the Four Directions in New York, which funded the areas of indigenous peoples’ organizing, women’s empowerment, and environmental sustainability. Schwartz has spent his entire career working in the nonprofit arena, including tenure at the Houston Area Women’s Rape Crisis Center and Gay Men’s Health Crisis in New York City. He currently serves on the National Advisory Board of the National Domestic Violence Hotline and is a trustee with two private family foundations as well as with Artists for a New South Africa.

Ellen Friedman, who was previously serving as Tides Foundation’s Managing Director, will continue her work as the Executive Vice President of Tides, ensuring that all programs and services across the Tides enterprise are delivered with excellence. The Tides organizations operate in a collaborative manner, integrating core capacities in donor advised philanthropy, philanthropic consulting, fiscal sponsorship, and nonprofit real estate services in order to better serve clients and strengthen the nonprofit community.

"All of us at Tides are thrilled Gary has accepted the promotion to Tides Foundation’s Managing Director," said Friedman. "Gary’s exceptional leadership talents, track record of innovation, and great service to our donors will be instrumental in charting the course to our vision of a healthy and just society."

"I'm honored to lead Tides Foundation, with its 33-year history and impeccable track record of working with individual and institutional donors," said Gary Schwartz. "Tides is well positioned to provide the framework for inspired and committed activists and philanthropists, with a breadth of experience in the social justice arena and an impressive platform of services under one umbrella."

About Tides
Tides actively promotes change toward broadly shared economic opportunity, robust democratic processes and the opportunity to live in a healthy and sustainable environment where human rights are preserved and protected. Tides is a nonprofit organization founded in 1976 and provides an array of services that amplifies the efforts of forward-thinking philanthropists, foundations, activists and organizations to make the world a better place. Tides Foundation, Tides Center and Tides Shared Spaces have collaborated with over 15,000 individuals and organizations that have touched millions of lives across the country and around the globe. With offices in San Francisco and New York City, Tides provides fiscal sponsorship for over 200 groups across the country, operates and supports green nonprofit centers, and has granted more than $108 million in 2008 alone. www.tides.org