Red Sox Foundation adds New Board Members

The Red Sox Foundation today announced that three new members were added to its board, and that Interim Executive Director Gena Borson will continue on as Executive Director. The foundation board added Boston philanthropist Charlotte Wagner, Boston civic leader Linda Whitlock, and Red Sox senior vice president David Friedman.

Wagner is the co-founder and CEO of the Wagner Family Foundation, together with her husband Herbert, a member of the Red Sox ownership group. Their foundation is active in Massachusetts focusing on youth development, hospitals, human services, and arts education and access.

Whitlock, the immediate past Nicholas President and CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston, is a Director of Cambridge Trust Company, a Trustee of Brigham and Women's Hospital, and the Principal of The Whitlock Group, which provides management and governance consulting.

Friedman, the Red Sox' Senior Vice President/Special Counsel, is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School who also serves as legal counsel for the Red Sox Foundation. He handles a range of legal and business matters. He also served as First Assistant General for Massachusetts, where he advised Attorney General Martha Coakley. 

Borson, who served previously as Interim Executive Director since January, 2013, joined the foundation in 2005, first as a volunteer and consultant, and later as Director of Special Events and Fundraising. Before joining the foundation, she worked at Wills and Associates based in Chicago, a company specializing in special events, and as Executive Director of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Chicago Chapter.

"We are pleased to add board members who have such accomplished track records and who bring diverse perspectives regarding our region," said Red Sox Foundation Chairman Tom Werner. "And we were equally pleased to make Gena Borson's role official at our summer board meeting."

The addition of Wagner, Whitlock, and Friedman brings the total number of Red Sox Foundation board members to 11. They join Chairman Tom Werner, Larry Lucchino, Linda Pizzuti Henry, Joan Alfond, Michael Egan, Chad Gifford, Michael Gordon, and Sean McGrail.

The Red Sox Foundation focuses its efforts in New England and at the club's Spring Training home, Lee County, Florida. The foundation primarily emphasizes five areas: education, health, recreation, our veterans, and social services. Each of these areas features a Foundation Cornerstone Program, as follows: 

Education

• The Red Sox Scholars Program, presented by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, provides college scholarships, mentoring, and tutoring to academically-talented, financially-challenged middle school students from the Boston Public Schools. It received Major League Baseball's first-ever "Commissioner's Award for Philanthropic Excellence."

• Red Sox Service Scholarships award students from public high schools in all six New England states with $1,000 scholarships towards their college education for their community service.

Health

• The Jimmy Fund, supporting the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, provides treatment to children and adults with cancer while developing cures through cutting-edge research.

Recreation

• The RBI youth baseball and softball leagues introduce baseball to urban youth in Massachusetts and use the sport to promote healthy choices and valuable life skills.

Veterans

• The Home Base Program, created by the Red Sox Foundation and Mass General Hospital, treats veterans - and their families - returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress. "the invisible wounds of war."

Social Services

• The Dimock Center, a comprehensive health and social services agency in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, is a prominent beneficiary of the Red Sox Foundation.

More information about the Red Sox Foundation and its cornerstone programs can be found in the 2013 Community Report by clicking here.