When Stephanie Haddad arrived at CEE, she not only brought nearly 20 years of public sector leadership — she also brought a lived experience guided at every turn by a deep commitment to equity and justice.
Originally from Edina, Minnesota, Haddad graduated from Dartmouth College with a bachelor’s degree in history. Her focus area: South African history.
“I was in college when apartheid ended,” Haddad said. “Having been interested in the Civil Rights movement in the U.S., and passionate about social justice broadly, I wanted to be there in the fight for democracy.”
Shortly after graduating, Haddad got a call from a friend working in South Africa, who let her know about an internship opportunity with an Outward Bound program in the Western Cape province. She packed her bags.
“Our program’s focus was to work with folks with lower income in the community,” Haddad explained. “So, we combined outdoor education with other career development skills to empowered them to enter the workforce.”
To work for Outward Bound, Haddad had to obtain a South African truck and bus driver’s license. That came in handy when Election Day 1994 rolled around, the first democratic election ever held in the country.
"One of my most memorable experiences was driving people to the polls in this huge old Mercedes bus,” Haddad said. “It was really moving, because around 80% of the population hadn't been able to vote in a prior election. From young adults to 80-year-olds, they all shared the experience of going to the polls for the first time.”
“It was a long time ago,” Haddad added. “It feels like a different lifetime, but it’s very much a part of who I am.”
Those two years in South Africa fed Haddad’s passion for equity in public service. They also sparked her curiosity in nonprofit leadership. Several years after her return to the United States, Haddad enrolled in the master of public affairs program at the University of Minnesota, obtaining a master of public policy with a focus on race and discrimination policy.
Following graduation, Haddad tried on various hats within the nonprofit industry. After working as assistant director of Southeast Asian Community Council and executive director of the Longfellow Community Council, Haddad landed at the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits as program director, where she remained for eight years before taking the position of assistant dean at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs.
While Haddad loved the assistant dean role, after about six years, she felt the itch to return to the nonprofit space. That’s when she came upon the job posting for chief operating officer at CEE.
“I had worked with CEE years before, when I worked at Longfellow Community Council,” Haddad explained. “Our neighborhood lending program partnered with CEE, so I was familiar with the organization and knew it had a really great reputation. Environmental stewardship has been a thread throughout a lot of the work I’ve done, so decarbonization was a mission I could get behind.”
Haddad joined CEE as chief operating officer in 2018, when the organization had a staff of 142. In her eight-year tenure, that number has nearly doubled.
“I love organizations,” Haddad said. “What really energizes me is the complex, sticky situations that make us work together and translate our values and mission into action.”
As chief operating officer, Haddad helps set strategic direction for the organization, no small feat through nearly a decade of significant growth. She is charged with leading CEE’s corporate services team, composed of finance, legal, HR, IT, corporate communications, and operations/administration. By focusing on everything from contract management and budget compliance to data security and talent recruitment, and much more, this cross-departmental team lays the groundwork for CEE to deliver successful programs and projects.
Haddad also established and serves as co-facilitator for CEE’s companywide Staff Council. She co-developed the original charter for CEE’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Council, and continues to serve as a DEI Council member.
“I'm really proud of our values — of how we've communicated them and not wavered, particularly as there’s been some societal pressure to backpedal,” Haddad said. “We’ve continued to develop this amazing group of employees that brings so much expertise not just in terms of their roles, but also this wide tapestry of experience and viewpoints. That is what makes us a strong and competent organization, and a place where I want to work.”