Chuck is the recently retired executive director of the Judd Leighton Foundation in South Bend, Indiana. In this position he inaugurated and held for 13 years, he assisted the board of director’s in carrying out the goals of the foundation in the areas of health, education, and economic development. These grants range from several thousand dollars to multi-million-dollar awards and include several recent grants to Indiana University South Bend for the Judd Leighton School of Business and Economics, the new innovation and entrepreneurship center, as well as grants to the Indiana University School of Medicine, to expand their programs to benefit the local community.
Prior to this, Chuck worked as a senior trust officer and vice president of Wells Fargo Bank. In this capacity he administered personal trust accounts, including large family relationships involving multi-generational trusts and estates. He specialized in trust and charitable foundation administration, which benefited many of the not-for-profit organizations in our community, and allowed them to carry out programs benefiting all members of the community.
Prior to joining Wells Fargo, Chuck graduated from law school, clerked for a federal bankruptcy judge, and practiced law in Chicago, Ill.
Chuck is primarily a teacher at heart and upon graduation from the University of Notre Dame, he delayed enrollment in law school to begin a teaching career in the public schools in Bremen, Ind. Having taken several basic education classes at Saint Mary’s College, he continued his education and completed his Master of Science in Education in special education at IU South Bend. It was here he was taught the skills and given the confidence to start the middle school and high school programs in Bremen. During this time, collective bargaining for teachers was legislated in Indiana and he became president of the Bremen Education Association and negotiated for the teachers. This rekindled his interest in law school and ended his 10-year teaching career.
Through the years, Chuck has served on many boards and civic associations including: the Indiana and St. Joseph County Bar Associations, the Potawatomi Zoological Society, the Northeast Neighborhood Revitalization Organization, Goodwill Industries of Michiana, the Northeast Neighborhood Council, and the Junior League Community Advisory Board.
In retirement, Chuck hopes to travel, enjoy grandchildren, and continue to use his skills to benefit organizations helping to make this community, that he calls home, an even better place.
