Community West Foundation announces new president and CEO

Community West Foundation President & CEO, Martin J. Uhle

Martin J. Uhle is no stranger to the Community West Foundation or to the west side of Cleveland. Marty, as everyone knows him, has been on the Foundation’s board of directors since 2009 serving in many capacities. It has been through his service that he was identified as the optimal candidate to assume the position as the next president & CEO of the Foundation.

“The last several years that I have dedicated to non-profit work have inspired me,” says Marty. “I left the for-profit world in 2011, immersed myself in service to the community, and consider this an amazing opportunity to lead such a well-respected and successful organization.”

Most recently Marty served as the superintendent and CEO of the Cleveland Lutheran High School Association from 2016-2019. Under his guidance, both Lutheran East and Lutheran West high schools reached record enrollment in their 70+ year history and installed the next generation of leaders for the schools. In addition, he was Messiah Lutheran’s Pierstorf Memorial Fund Executive Director since 2012 which entailed granting interest-free loans to Lutheran students to help them go to college. The number of student loans granted has tripled under Marty’s leadership.

Marty holds a Master of Business Administration from Baldwin Wallace University and a Bachelor of Arts in business from Wittenberg University. He continues to be an active servant of his undergraduate alma mater where his dad, brother and sons also graduated. As a member of their board since 2009, he has been involved in many major university milestones including hiring a new president in 2017 and a $52 million-dollar capital campaign to build an indoor health, wellness, and athletic complex that opened this past fall. 

In addition to his board involvement at Community West Foundation and Wittenberg University, Marty also served seven years on the board for the Urban Community School located on the near west side of Cleveland.

Prior to his non-profit work, Marty had a successful career in the for-profit business world. He’s held senior leadership positions for the majority of his career including president and CEO of Vantage Financial Group from 2005-2010; president and COO of Heartland Payment Systems from 1997-2004; and senior vice president of payment services with KeyBank from 1985-1997.

Marty grew up in West Park and then later in Fairview Park. His father, Reverend John F. Uhle, served as a Lutheran minister for 56 years on the west side before passing in late 2015. Marty’s mother, Jean, continues to live in Rocky River.

Marty has been married to his high school sweetheart, Laura, for 34 years. They are members of Messiah Lutheran Church located in Fairview Park and reside in Rocky River. The couple have two adult sons: Ryan and Steven.

Marty’s business acumen coupled with his passion for philanthropic engagement make him an ideal leader to carry out the mission of Community West Foundation which is to advance the health and well being of our community. In 2019 alone $4,143,842 in grants were awarded to 56 community agencies that serve the poor by providing food, shelter or other basic necessities; and supported fundraising efforts at Fairview and Lutheran hospitals. An additional $2,101,531 was given to other non-profits through Donor Advised and Agency Funds.

Learn more at communitywestfoundation.org.

Maria Estes

Community West Foundation, Marketing & Communications Director

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Volume 12, Issue 2, Posted 9:53 AM, 01.21.2020