Donald W. Mathis is President/CEO of the Community Action Partnership, a Washington, DC-based national organization representing the interests of 1,000 Community Action Agencies across America that fight poverty on the local level. Mathis joined the Partnership in July 2007.
Mathis provides leadership and guidance to CAAs and oversees the development and implementation of several anti-poverty initiatives, including Rooting Out Poverty: A Campaign by America’s Community Action Network. He is also responsible for raising the visibility of Community Action through strategic branding, marketing, and public relations approaches; establishing new collaborations, and advocating for the 38 million Americans living in poverty.
Mathis came to the organization following ten years as Executive Director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Harford County, Maryland. While at the Boys & Girls Clubs, he served as board chairman of the Maryland Rural Development Corporation, a Partnership member agency. Mathis has also held senior positions at the federal Corporation for National and Community Service, the National Association of Service and Conservation Corps, the National Network for Youth, the National Youth Employment Coalition, and the Pennsylvania Conservation Corps. He began his career as a Head Start volunteer at the Community Action of Greater Wilmington in Delaware, and subsequently became a Head Start teacher and director.
Mathis serves on the boards of the Coalition on Human Needs and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, both national advocacy groups in Washington, DC. He also serves on the executive Committee of the Emerald Cities Collaboration, a nationwide retrofitting initiative. He served two terms as chair of the Maryland Governor's Commission on Service and Volunteerism and serves on the Susquehanna Workforce Investment Board in Maryland. He received a bachelor’s degree from East Stroudsburg State College (PA) and did graduate work at the University of Delaware.