Syracuse, N.Y. – Melanie Littlejohn, who for years has traveled the state as the human face of utility company National Grid, is leaving that job to take on a new leadership role.

Littlejohn, 59, was confirmed Wednesday as the next president and CEO of the Central New York Community Foundation, the Syracuse area’s biggest charitable foundation.

It seems like a job Littlejohn was destined to end up in.

She has long been one of the most visible community advocates in Syracuse, volunteering as a board member at organizations as diverse as the Boys & Girls Clubs and CenterState CEO.

When Gov. Kathy Hochul named the members of the Micron Community Engagement Committee, Littlejohn was tapped to be co-chair. The group will advise the chip maker on how to invest $500 million in Central New York.

As part of her day job at National Grid, where Littlejohn is vice president for customer and community engagement, she has guided the utility’s philanthropic investments in things like affordable housing, food giveaways and community dialogues on race.

Now Littlejohn will take the helm of a foundation with nearly $400 million in assets and a new mandate to be “more bold” in addressing things like child poverty, racial equity or other critical issues. It’s a good fit for her, she said.

“I feel like this is my coming home moment,’’ she said.

She is the first Black person to hold the job. Littlejohn takes over from Peter Dunn, who left in June after 15 years for a similar position in Worcester, Mass.

After an eight-month nationwide search, the Community Foundation hired Littlejohn. The foundation board confirmed her on Wednesday.

Littlejohn will retire Feb. 1 from National Grid, where she has worked for 29 years. She starts the foundation job March 1.

Out of the comfort zone

Founded in 1927, the Community Foundation receives contributions from donors and invests them, averaging an annual return of about 7%. At last count, the organization held assets of $393 million.

Each year, the foundation provides millions of dollars in grants to a variety of projects, some designated by donors but most selected by the board. All told, the foundation has distributed more than $270 million over its 96-year-life.

Last year alone, the foundation awarded $20.7 million in grants to hundreds of organizations.

As it began the search for a new CEO last spring, the foundation also updated its strategic plan, citing its openness to a more aggressive and engaged style of philanthropy. The word “bold” appeared seven times in the job posting for a new CEO.

The foundation’s new outlook was influenced in part by Micron Technology’s plan to build a $100 billion chip-making complex in Clay over the next 20 years. Syracuse is “at one of the most critical inflection points in its history,’’ the CEO job listing said.

The foundation’s traditional mandate has been extremely broad, to support “arts and culture, community and economic development, education, environment, health and human services.”

But the search committee’s job posting indicated it was looking for a leader willing to consider more focused, impactful initiatives that might take the foundation out of its comfort zone. Maybe it’s time to take “calculated risks in pursuit of bold goals,” the group wrote.

They selected Littlejohn.

“Melanie is a boundary crosser, a collaborator and a strategic thinker who will lead the Community Foundation with heart and passion,’’ said Bethaida “Bea” Gonzalez, search committee co-chair, in a prepared statement. “… She is committed to deploying our growing asset base in new ways.”

Littlejohn is not shy about her abilities in that regard. Her LinkedIn profile describes her first and foremost as a “strategic visionary.” She said she does not yet have specific ideas for future foundation projects, but said she is eager to take on the challenge.

“How are we going to take this moment, with all of our partners and all of us rowing together, to make Central New York that thriving and resilient community?’’ she said. “I think the foundation will be knee deep in that.”

‘Showing up on a regular basis’

Littlejohn grew up in a three-bedroom house in Queens. In addition to their biological children -- Melanie and her younger brother – Littlejohn’s parents raised 24 foster children, all girls.

“They are my heroes,’’ Littlejohn said of her parents. “They taught me what service looks like.”

She arrived in Syracuse in 1991, at age 27, after her husband, David, was transferred here for his job with Chrysler Corp. She went to work for the Urban League of Onondaga County, a civil rights group, and within six months was named deputy director.

Three years later, after Littlejohn had taken over as interim president of the Urban League, Niagara Mohawk Power Corp. – the predecessor to National Grid – recruited her to be its manager of equal employment opportunity compliance and diversity.

At the time, Niagara Mohawk was pushing to increase its hiring of women and minorities in the wake of a years-long federal investigation into allegations of bias.

Littlejohn rose through the ranks at the utility, becoming the regional executive for Central New York and eventually the vice president for customer and community engagement statewide. Her last job has required her to travel, usually three days a week.

Nevertheless, Littlejohn has remained a steady presence on Syracuse-area boards of directors.

She started in 1991 or 1992 on the board of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Syracuse, where she served 17 years and helped develop the Hamilton Street location. She has served on at least 15 boards since then, including the Community Foundation, which she chaired from 2011 to 2013.

In addition to the Micron advisory board, Littlejohn currently serves on the boards of Onondaga Community College, CenterState CEO and Pathfinder Bank.

Through the years, Littlejohn said, she has tried to be a role model and a mentor to girls and young women. She has never participated in a formal mentoring program but has given out her phone number freely.

“Mentoring, for me, means showing up on a regular basis, at the (Boys and Girls) clubs, for example. Spending time talking to kids, showing them love, compassion and respect,’’ she said.

Among those who have cited Littlejohn’s influence is Tamica Barnett, a Syracuse firefighter and president of the city school board. In a 2018 interview with the Central New York Business Journal, Barnett said Littlejohn had mentored her since age 9.

“She taught me to be comfortable in my own skin,’’ Barnett told the publication.

Littlejohn earned an MBA degree from Syracuse University. She has a bachelor’s degree from SUNY Stony Brook.

Littlejohn and her husband live in the Winkworth neighborhood of Syracuse. They raised two sons, who are grown. Jared works at Exelon, a utility company, in Maryland; and Cameron is a second-grade teacher in Syracuse. Littlejohn recently became a grandmother.

Katrina Crocker, a spokesperson for the Community Foundation, declined to say what Littlejohn will be paid. The job advertisement listed a range of base pay from $250,000 to $335,000.

During his final year, Dunn earned a base salary of $284,000 and total compensation of $372,000, according to the foundation’s IRS filings.

Littlejohn said her offer was “not much more than that.”

Littlejohn said she is grateful for her career at National Grid. She takes pride in the company’s response to emergencies, when crews battle harsh weather and exhaustion to restore service and help customers.

Asked about her proudest achievement, she recalled Hurricane Sandy, a devastating storm that ravaged New York City and other areas in 2012. Littlejohn said she spent two months living on a bus on the Rockaway Peninsula, not far from where she grew up, helping customers recover from the storm.

“There is nothing more important than being with people when they’re in crisis and trying to help them live through it,’’ she said.

Littlejohn said she will bring that mindset to her new job -- without the travel. She’s had enough of travel.

“I’m coming home,’’ she said. “Now it’s just time to put my 100% energy back into Central New York.”

Staff writer Tim Knauss can be reached at tknauss@syracuse.com or (315) 470-3023.