Ken Gladish is President and CEO of Seton Foundations and Senior Philanthropic Advisor at the Seton Family of Hospitals. He is a Senior Teaching Fellow and has served as Director of The Grantmaking School at the Johnson Center for Philanthropy. In addition, Ken maintains an appointment as Visiting Scholar at the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy. Prior to acting as president and CEO of the Seton Foundations, Ken was president of the Austin Community Foundation. With all these roles Ken has been a leader in philanthropic and charitable organizations for more than a quarter century.
Ken holds a bachelor’s degree from Hanover College (Ind.) and master's and Ph.D. degrees in foreign affairs from the University of Virginia. In addition, he has been awarded three honorary degrees. He has taught at the undergraduate and graduate levels and in professional education courses at the University of Virginia, Butler University, Indiana University, and Springfield College. His primary fields of teaching have been politics, leadership, philanthropic and nonprofit studies, and organizational management.
In prior executive roles, Ken served as president and chief executive officer of three organizations spanning service at the local, state, and national levels. From 1983 through 2006, Ken has worked progressively as president for the Indiana Humanities Council, the Indianapolis/Central Indiana Community Foundation and the YMCA of the USA. In addition, he served as founding staff director for the Indiana Grantmakers Alliance the regional association serving the Hoosier state’s foundations.
As a volunteer, Ken has served as trustee, director and officer of a wide range of charitable and philanthropic organizations encompassing the cultural, educational, social service, foundation, and religious worlds. As a professional and volunteer he has led development efforts that have raised in excess of $500 million dollars.
Ken is especially interested in the themes of democracy and philanthropy, philanthropy and faith, leadership development, and the culture of diversity.
