O’Connell to retire as director of the Allyn Family Foundation; successor named

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Meg O’Connell, executive director of the Allyn Family Foundation, says she will retire at the end of 2025. O’Connell announced her intention to retire in an email message on Thursday. She forwarded the communication to CNYBJ. “Rarely does a person wake up every day and love their job as much as I have. It has been a privilege to work alongside a deeply committed Board of Directors and an extraordinary team that brings heart and integrity to every decision we make. Together, we’ve learned that real impact happens when we come together as a community to challenge inequities and create opportunities,” O’Connell wrote. She has served as executive director from 1994-1998, 2001-2012, and from 2013 until now. From 2012-2013, O’Connell served as interim president of Onondaga Community College and from 1998-2000, O’Connell and her family lived in London, England, per her biography on the website of the Allyn Family Foundation. O’Connell’s efforts have included spearheading the founding of a new nonprofit entity, the Syracuse Urban Partnership, that constructed the Salt City Market in downtown Syracuse, per her biography on the website of the Allyn Family Foundation.  New leader The Allyn Family Foundation’s board of directors has selected Maarten Jacobs as the next executive director, effective Jan. 1, 2026. Since 2019, Jacobs has served as director of community prosperity at the Allyn Family Foundation. In that role, he oversaw the design, construction, and management of the Salt City Market, as well as the renovation of the Chimes building in downtown Syracuse, O’Connell wrote in the email. “As I step aside, I do so with immense gratitude and full confidence in the Foundation’s future,” she noted in the message.