Leadership transition is underway at influential Woodruff Foundation

Russ Hardin, president of the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation since 2006, announced plans to retire on Jan. 31. At that time, he will become a trustee of the prestigious foundation.

Hardin, 67, will be succeeded by Erik Johnson, 48, who currently serves as vice president and secretary of the foundation. 

Beth Blalock, an attorney who joined the Woodruff Foundation as a program officer earlier this year, will succeed Johnson as the secretary of the foundation. 

That wasn’t the only major news that emerged after the foundation’s Nov. 5 board meeting.

Lizanne Thomas, a retired partner of the Jones Day law firm, was elected as a trustee of the Lettie Pate Evans Foundation, which is one of the Woodruff family of foundations.

Thomas is the first woman to be named as a trustee of any of the foundations, with the exception of Lettie Pate Evans, who founded the Lettie Pate Evans Foundation in 1945 and served on its board until she died in 1953. Since then, only men have served as trustees of the four related foundations. Until now. 

In addition to the Woodruff and Evans foundations, there are the Joseph B. Whitehead Foundation and the Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation. They share the same office space and staff, and all four foundations were created from Coca-Cola fortunes.

It is hard to overstate the significance of the Woodruff Foundation and its family of foundations has had and continues to have in Atlanta and Georgia. The foundations’ fingerprints and financial support can be found in virtually every major philanthropic initiative undertaken in Atlanta. Their portfolios are extensive and far-reaching — education, healthcare, parks, conservation, arts and culture, affordable housing, basic human services, child well-being and numerous academic institutions.

So, the person who becomes president of the foundation holds one of the most powerful positions in Georgia.

Under Hardin’s leadership, the Woodruff Foundation also named its first and only Black trustee — Joe Arnold, a retired Truist executive. It was announced after the Nov. 5 board meeting that Arnold also would become a trustee of the Joseph B. Whitehead Foundation.

In an exclusive telephone interview on Wednesday, Hardin described his tenure at the Woodruff Foundation as “the privilege of a lifetime.” 

Hardin first joined the Woodruff Foundation as secretary in 1988. He became treasurer in 1989 and vice president in 1994. Upon the retirement of Charles “Pete” McTier in 2006, Hardin became president of the family of foundations. McTier also was 67 when he retired.

“I really feel blessed that I had a chance to do work that was so meaningful and important,” Hardin said. “It’s a privilege and responsibility. The responsibility is enormous — to try to make the most of the assets of the foundations — to get it right.”

When asked what traits led to Johnson being picked for the top job, Hardin quickly answered, “character.”

Johnson earned his B.A. degree from Emory University in 1998 and his J.D. degree with high honors from the University of Georgia’s School of Law in 2005. He previously served as a law clerk to Chief Judge J.L. Edmondson on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

Johnson joined the Woodruff Foundation in 2006, shortly after Hardin became president. Johnson already was quite familiar with the Woodruff Foundation. After he had graduated from Emory, Johnson participated in a nine-month fellowship program that the Woodruff Foundation offers to college grads.

“As I was taking this job, I called Erik up and talked him out of joining a law firm and into coming work with us,” Hardin said. “Erik is really smart. He’s a clear thinker. And he fits our profile well.”