Ned Eames

About Ned Eames

As the Founder and CEO, Ned is responsible for the overall management and strategic direction of Tenacity, Inc. He is passionate about social, educational, economic, and environmental justice and it is within this context that he approaches his work in youth, community, and systems development. Ned understands non-profit organizations to be complex systems the success of which depends on the thoughtful balance and integration of many factors including an enterprises culture, people, strategy, processes/systems, external environment, partners, and beliefs/assumptions.Ned was Captain of the San Diego State Men’s Tennis Team, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Finance, and played professionally on the ATP Satellite Tour for three years from 1983 to 1985. Ned’s business experience includes four years in media sales and marketing prior to becoming a management consultant to Fortune companies, focused on organizational development. He earned his MBA, with a concentration in Strategic Organization Change, from Boston University. and amongst a broad range of volunteer governance activities has served as a member of the United States Tennis Association’s (USTA) Strategic & Creative Planning Committee. Ned has served on both the USTA’s Public Affairs & Advocacy Committee and as Chairman of the National Junior Tennis & Learning Committee (NJTL). In March of 2013, the International Tennis Hall of Fame presented Ned with its prestigious Education Merit Award. In June of 2013, Ned was inducted into the USTA New England Hall of Fame.

Experience

1. Founder & CEO

   Tenacity

   May 1999 — Present · Boston, MA, US

   Having developed the concept of Tenacity, Ned is highly committed to Tenacity’s mission to improve the academic, character and physical development of urban youth by combining tennis and literacy instruction, with a focus on life-skills. This vision is achieved through intensive school-year and summer programs which currently serve 6,500 Boston and Worcester youth per year between the ages of 6 and 22. Tenacity has grown to become one of the top non-profit partners to Boston’s Public Schools and Parks and Recreation Departments, and second largest organization of its kind across the nation.Ned believes firmly in the power of providing a truly supportive environment for youth and teaching the value of academic achievement, putting forth one’s full effort on- and off-court, and building resilience. The success of Tenacity’s sustained 3-year Middle School Academy (MSA), the backbone of Tenacity’s Pathway to Post-Secondary Success, is highlighted by the 2012 Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) results of its 8th grade students who by the 3rd year in MSA are scoring 35% higher English Language Arts (ELA) proficiency levels than their Boston Public Schools counterparts, and are also outpacing their peers in terms of year to year ELA MCAS proficiency gain.In Boston, where approximately 40% of public school students drop out, 95% of Tenacity’s school-year students go on to succeed in and graduate from high school. As part of Tenacity’s Next Chapter capacity building service plan, the organization has set a goal of doubling the number of school-year students served to and to ensuring that 75+% of these youth not only obtain a high school diploma, but graduate from a 2- or 4-year college or an approved post-secondary program. Ned sees the value of tennis as a life-long sport and that when combined with intensive academic and life-skills development, it represents a superb vehicle enabling urban youth to ultimately become productive adult citizens.

Education

• Questrom School of Business, Boston University

  Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.), Organizational Leadership

  1989 — 1991

• Harvard Business School Executive Education

  Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management

  2016

• San Diego State University

  Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Finance

  1979 — 1983

Skills

• Program Management
• Family Engagement
• Strategic Planning
• Leadership
• Public Relations
• Youth Development
• Non-Profit Management
• Coaching
• Fundraising
• Marketing Strategy
• Non-Profits
• Public Speaking
• Social Entrepreneurship
• Community Outreach
• Community Development
• Program Development
• Team Building