Golisano Foundation’s leader announces retirement date  

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Ann Costello, executive director of the Golisano Foundation, will retire from her position on June 2. Costello has led the foundation for 23 years since 1999. 

The Golisano Foundation is one of the nation’s leading foundations dedicated exclusively to helping individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It was established in 1985 by Paychex Inc. Founder Tom Golisano.

“I want to thank Ann for her outstanding leadership and an unyielding dedication to the foundation’s mission over the past two decades,” Golisano said in a press release. “She has been a relentless advocate for inclusion and dignity for people with intellectual disabilities in all aspects of their lives, working alongside hundreds of organizations to help them realize their vision and goals for innovative programs and services. Her work has made an enormous difference in the lives of people with intellectual disabilities and of their families.” 

A Golisano Foundation Board of Trustees committee will be formed to appoint a successor. 

Costello has worked for more than 40 years in the non-profit sector, primarily in human service administration, philanthropy and organizational policy development. 

Prior to joining the foundation, she worked for 15 years at the United Way of Greater Rochester serving as director of Community Investment. 

During her tenure, Costello has witnessed the Golisano Foundation’s growth. Total foundation assets now exceed $60 million with distribution of funds at $3 million annually.

She also oversaw the foundation’s geographic expansion to support organizations in Southwest Florida, in addition to western and central New York. 

Under her leadership, the foundation has supported and launched numerous partnerships and programs, including the global Healthy Communities initiative with Special Olympics that is now advancing inclusive health for people with intellectual disabilities in more than 100 countries.  

Costello also has brought together key partners to collaborate on and establish innovative programs. She was instrumental and integral in the development and launch of the Golisano Autism Center, the Golisano Pediatric Behavioral Health & Wellness Center, Nazareth University’s Golisano Training Center and transition and employment services at several agencies to enhance quality of life and maximize the abilities of young adults with developmental disabilities. 

Additionally, she worked with St. John Fisher University to launch the first organization of its kind in the country, the Golisano Institute for Developmental Disability Nursing, dedicated to promoting positive change in developmental disability nursing. 

Her vision for leveraging public media’s reach through news and programming to build more inclusive communities led to the launch of Move to Include with WXXI and PBS stations in several states. The initiative is now expanding its partnership to more than 40 additional stations. 

Costello has also managed Tom Golisano’s personal philanthropic endeavors including the three Golisano Children’s Hospitals in Rochester, Syracuse and southwest Florida and numerous healthcare and educational institutions including the Center for Restorative Neurology and Rehabilitation and Golisano Pavilion and Emergency Center at Rochester Regional Health, Golisano Institute for Sustainability and Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences at RIT and the soon to open Golisano Community Engagement Center at Roberts Wesleyan. 

“This has been the most fulfilling career I could have imagined,” Costello said, in a statement, adding that much has been achieved by working collaboratively with Golisano, the foundation board, staff and partner agencies. “We have reached new heights in philanthropy. We have challenged systems of care to see things not just as they are but as they could be.” 

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