Photo courtesy of Damian Veazey
Jeff Underwood, president and CEO of Lakeshore Foundation, announced he is retiring after leading the Birmingham nonprofit organization for 30 years.
Underwood joined Lakeshore in 1991 serving as its first and only president for the last three decades. Lakeshore is recognized as a leader in fitness, recreation, sport, research and advocacy for people with physical disabilities and chronic health conditions.
“Jeff Underwood has led Lakeshore Foundation from its humble beginnings to the nationally and internationally acclaimed position it now holds in disability fitness, sport, research and advocacy,” said Mark McColl, board chairman of Lakeshore Foundation. "The board, staff and the Lakeshore Foundation community will be forever grateful for Jeff Underwood’s devotion and leadership over the last 30 years."
Underwood’s visionary leadership led the organization to 30 years of steady growth, including the expansion and construction of the Homewood, Alabama fitness, aquatics, and sports center to include dedicated research facilities and other programs. More than bricks and mortar, his leadership took Lakeshore to the national and international stage including being designated as an official U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Site in 2003, which resulted in Lakeshore Foundation’s long history of advancing adaptive sports. As a U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Site, Lakeshore hosts national team training camps and international competitions. Since the training site designation, Lakeshore has produced 52 Paralympic athletes, coaches and staff, and those athletes have captured 30 Paralympic medals. In addition, Lakeshore is also the High Performance Management Organization of USA Wheelchair Rugby.
Additionally, the Lima Foxtrot program for injured military members and the formation of the University of Alabama at Birmingham – Lakeshore Research Collaborative are among the milestone events of his tenure. Underwood also led the development of new facilities, an advocacy department, and many sports and recreation programs for youth and adults.
While the past 30 years have been a period of expansion, Underwood continued to prioritize the Lakeshore members and the work to make an impact on the community.
“I am very proud of the fact that, in the midst of all the national attention, our extraordinary staff and board have kept our members, local athletes and community at the very center of all we do. They are truly the heart and soul of Lakeshore,” Underwood said.
Lakeshore’s mission is to encourage and provide opportunities for people with disability to live a healthy lifestyle through activity, research, advocacy and health promotion. Supporting this mission included partnerships with many other organizations, such as the collaboration with Apple to develop the activity tracker for wheelchair users and the construction of dormitories and cottages for visiting Lima Foxtrot participants and athletes.
“When I decided to accept the position at Lakeshore, I saw it as an opportunity and a challenge,” Underwood said. “It was opportunity to come into an organization where there was a strong commitment by the board to build a successful program, and a challenge to test myself to see as the first full-time employee, if I could be successful in that situation.”
Underwood is a member of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee Paralympic Advisory Council. In 2008, Underwood was named by the United States Olympic Committee as the Chef de Mission for the U.S. Paralympic Team for the Beijing Paralympic Games.
Prior to Lakeshore, Underwood worked at the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center and served as a legislative assistant to former U.S. Congressman Ben Erdreich. He also served as president of the Homewood, Alabama City Council and as a state senator. He has served on the boards of several community and civic organizations including the Homewood City Schools school board, the Bryant-Jordan Scholarship Program, and the national Board of Disabled Sports USA. He was a member of the Leadership Birmingham Class of 1998 and the Leadership Alabama Class of 2011.
— Submitted by Damian Veazy
