Mary Joy Stead has led a life of leadership and courage, co-founding the Stead Foundation, tirelessly volunteering, and fulfilling her dream of becoming a licensed pilot.
Mary Joy has always held a deep commitment to giving, even when her resources were scarce. As her family’s ability to give grew, she committed to “giving back more than we make.” She and her husband Jerre established their family foundation to support healthcare, education, and faith-based nonprofits making measurable, lasting change. Its giving focuses on specific areas to help address some of the most critical issues facing our world, and in addition to making grants, the Stead Foundation provides multiple levels of support to its grantees and seeks to inspire the next generation of philanthropists. In 2024, Mary Joy was the recipient, with Jerre, of the Arthur Miller Foundation Humanitarian Award.
In the area of healthcare, the Stead Foundation established two Arizona-based organizations: Banner Alzheimer’s Institute, which has revolutionized the standard of care for Alzheimer’s and memory-related disorders, and Community 43, a community hub for individuals with serious mental illness. The Stead Foundation also supports the Stead Family Children’s Hospital at the University of Iowa, home of “the wave.”
In education, the Stead Foundation is supporting the next generation of leaders through the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University and the Tippie College of Business at the University of Iowa. The Foundation also supports religious organizations around the world, including Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary, which forms courageous leaders to cultivate communities of justice, compassion, and hope.
Mary Joy has served in multiple leadership positions, including as the first female board member of the Lambda Chi Alpha Educational Foundation and as co-chair of its Men with Purpose Campaign. She is a director of the University of Iowa Center for Advancement, served as vice chair of the national steering committee for University of Iowa’s $1 billion fundraising campaign that ended in 2005, and currently serves as an honorary co-chair of the university’s $3 billion fundraising campaign. She was a recipient of the University of Iowa’s Distinguished Alumni Award.
She served as co-chair of the Banner Health $250 million “Be at the Heart of Health” campaign and on the Honor Health Foundation board of directors. Mary Joy served as a director on the Salvation Army Territorial Advisory Board and as an officer of Operation QT (Quality Time), which funds educational programming for middle and high school students in economically disadvantaged areas.
In 1996, Mary Joy fulfilled her goal of becoming a licensed pilot.