NAACP President and CEO Bruce S. Gordon
Bruce Gordon (b. 1946), the son of teachers, grew up in Camden, New Jersey. After graduating from Gettysburg College in 1968, he forged a successful career in the telecommunications industry. He excelled at Bell of Pennsylvania, becoming vice president for marketing in 1988. In 1993 he was named group president for retail markets at Bell Atlantic. He retired in 2003 as retail markets group president for Verizon Communications. He was elected NAACP President and CEO in 2005. Gordon proposed retooling the NAACP to focus more on social services versus social justice advocacy. His accomplishments include the Hurricane Katrina Disaster Relief Campaign and the extension of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. He resigned in 2007 because of irreconcilable differences with the NAACP Board.
Bruce Gordon (b. 1946), the son of teachers, grew up in Camden, New Jersey. After graduating from Gettysburg College in 1968, he forged a successful career in the telecommunications industry. He excelled at Bell of Pennsylvania, becoming vice president for marketing in 1988. In 1993 he was named group president for retail markets at Bell Atlantic. He retired in 2003 as retail markets group president for Verizon Communications. He was elected NAACP President and CEO in 2005. Gordon proposed retooling the NAACP to focus more on social services versus social justice advocacy. His accomplishments include the Hurricane Katrina Disaster Relief Campaign and the extension of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. He resigned in 2007 because of irreconcilable differences with the NAACP Board.