LEAP Executive Director Linda Saris will retire from her role in June.
“It’s like having your baby grow up and leave the house,” Saris told the Swampscott Tides. “Running a nonprofit over the past years has been 10 times more intense than anything I experienced in the private sector, between the recession…and then COVID and now Trump, it’s just been one whammy after another. I don’t know if people realize how hard executive directors of nonprofits have to work for half the wages that they would get in the private sector, but it’s a work of passion. You have to be really passionate about what you do.”
Saris will be honored at LEAP’s Great Expectations annual fundraising dinner on April 15 at Danversport in Danvers. Her successor will also be announced at the event. To register, visit leap4ed.org/great-expectations.
A longtime Swampscott resident, Saris earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the University of Chicago. In 2015, she received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Salem State University.
Saris founded LEAP in 2002 as a small summer program that served just seven students at the time. Over the next two decades, LEAP expanded into a regional nonprofit that supports young people through academic, career and postsecondary success programs. The organization has had a more recent focus on youth workforce development as well.
“I was always interested in nonprofits that help young people, particularly young people from underserved communities, find their way in the world and build the agency to reach their goals,” Saris said. “I felt like there were gaps in older youth. There was a lot of really good programming for kindergarten through give, maybe even some K through eight, but there really wasn’t a lot going on for teens.”
Today, LEAP serves more than 500 students each year in Salem and Lynn.
LEAP provides afterschool, summer and workforce development programs for youth. The organization supports youth in their personal, education and career growth by partnering with community resources to increase opportunities and advance equity.
“I was really interested in working with teenagers because I felt that was a group that was often overlooked,” Saris said. “I think a lot of people feel that once the kids are in high school, they’re lost causes. They’ve decided where they’re heading. A lot of people rather invest in K through three because you can really make an impact on the kids young. I totally get that but I feel like there were just so many kids, particularly immigrant kids, who didn’t have the benefit of a K through eight education here.’
State Rep. Manny Cruz (D-7th Essex), a LEAP alumnus, said LEAP and Saris changed his life.
“LEAP changed the trajectory of my life and set me on a path toward service to my
community. Linda served as my mentor, believing in my potential, supporting my
academic growth, and pushing me to pursue my dreams,” Cruz said. “The experiences I had at LEAP — as a student, alumnus, and the first alumni board member — played an instrumental role in shaping my desire to be a servant leader. Linda’s positive influence continues to be felt by every student who walks through LEAP’s doors.”
Now looking toward retirement, Saris said that’s “the exciting part of it but also the terrifying part.”
“I’ve worked 50 to 60 hours a week my whole life and always had a purpose when I woke up in the morning, whether it’s just a checklist or mundane things I got to get done or something incredibly important and strategic that I have to think about,” Saris said. “I can’t even imagine a world waking up where I have nothing to do.”
Saris does plan to stay connected to LEAP and the Salem and Lynn communities. She also threw out the ideas of potentially teaching, joining a board to consult, or assisting in a midterm election campaign.
“I’m excited,” Saris said. “Everyone’s telling me not to overthink it.”
