Center for the Future of Arizona names Francis as board chair
Sybil Francis, a founding member and the president and CEO of the Center for the Future of Arizona, is now the chair of the nonprofit’s board of directors.
The announcement comes after a unanimous decision by the board in May to appoint Francis. She has been acting chair of the board since July 2022, assuming the role from retired CFA co-founder and former president of Arizona State University, Lattie Coor.
“I am grateful for the confidence and partnership of CFA’s remarkable Board of Directors, for the opportunity to work towards a mission I deeply believe in alongside extraordinary colleagues, and to serve the people of a state that has my heart,” Francis said in a statement. “While I am very proud of the progress made over the last 20 years, our work is far from finished – centering the voices of Arizonans in decision-making and realizing the Arizona we want requires a concerted and unified effort and long-term ongoing work to which CFA is profoundly committed.”
Founded in 2002 by Francis and Coor, CFA was originally an educational organization. Today, the nonprofit still works in education, but it also places a strong emphasis on civic involvement and the workforce through initiatives meant to alter Arizona’s course for the betterment of all Arizonans.
“Dr. Francis has consistently guided effective decisions and strategies in lockstep with CFA’s nonpartisan mission – and with the best interests of all Arizonans and the greater good at the forefront. Now as chair, president and CEO, the impact she is already making will only be amplified,” said Bill Post, CFA founding board member and Finance Committee chair, in a statement.
Francis is the wife of ASU President Michael Crow.
Before becoming president and CEO of CFA, Francis served as a senior policy director in the U.S. House of Representatives and later in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Francis was recognized as a Lifetime Achievement honoree as part of the Phoenix Business Journal’s 2023 Most Admired Leaders. Read more on her Most Admired Leaders’ recognition here.