Goodwill Northern New England selects CEO to succeed Roosevelt

Courtesy / Goodwill Northern New England Goodwill Northern New England has named Richard J. Cantz, right, president and CEO, effective July 1. He succeeded Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, left, who continues to serve as a special advisor to the organization.

Write a Comment

By Staff

Richard J. Cantz has been named president and CEO of Goodwill Northern New England, succeeding Anna Eleanor Roosevelt as head of the nonprofit social enterprise that serves Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.

“This is exciting news to share,” Mary Baumgartner, chairwoman of the Goodwill Northern New England board, said in Tuesday’s news release announcing the leadership change, which took effect on July 1.

Baumgartner added that Cantz is uniquely qualified for the position, and that “his deep understanding of Goodwill’s mission and business model will serve the organization well in the years ahead.”

Cantz joined Goodwill Northern New England in 2003 as director of The Goodwill Fund. In 2010, the organization enlisted his help to develop its first formal public policy and advocacy program.

Since 2012, Cantz has led Goodwill’s workforce, cleaning and healthcare segments — managing strategic growth, with the goal of increasing stability for program participants, employees and their families. He has also participated in Mainebiz On the Road business roundtables in Portland.

Cantz has served on several organizational boards. including Guitar Doors, Mission Possible Teen Center and the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center.

He completed the senior leadership program with Goodwill Industries International and is a member of the Epsilon Class of Leadership Maine.

Before joining Goodwill, Cantz served as vice president of resource development at United Way of Greater Portland. He worked at Youth Alternatives, now known as Opportunity Alliance, early in his career as a youth worker and later as a case manager.

Roosevelt, the granddaughter of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, joined Goodwill in 2011 from The Boeing Co. in Chicago, where she served as vice president for global corporate citizenship.

Roosevelt said she “couldn’t be more pleased” with the news of Cantz’s appointment.

“It has been an enormous privilege to work with Rich,” she said. “He is a visionary and collaborative leader — the board rightly has full confidence in him to lead Goodwill Northern New England in a sustainable way.”

Roosevelt will continue to serve the organization as a special advisor in the coming year.