Richard Stearns (World Vision)

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Richard Stearns is an American nonprofit leader and author who led World Vision U.S. from 1998 to 2018. He was born in Syracuse, New York, and is married to Renee Stearns; they have five children.

Education and early career
Stearns earned a bachelor’s degree in neurobiology from Cornell University, where he was a member of Phi Kappa Psi. He also holds an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He began his career in marketing at Gillette in Boston, then held a series of leadership roles at Parker Brothers, eventually becoming president in 1984. He later served as a vice president at The Franklin Mint and then became president of Lenox Collections in 1987. In 1995, he was named president and CEO of Lenox, Inc., overseeing multiple divisions, plants, and about 4,000 employees with around $500 million in annual sales.

World Vision U.S.
In June 1998, Stearns left Lenox to become president of World Vision U.S., the humanitarian charity based in Federal Way, Washington. In this role, he led the U.S. operations, including advocacy, fundraising, and program development, and he pushed World Vision to give global attention to the AIDS crisis. Under his leadership, the organization’s U.S. revenue grew to more than $1 billion as it expanded its work for vulnerable children worldwide. He retired in 2018 and remains involved as President Emeritus.

Books and public influence
Stearns is known for urging the church to respond to global poverty and AIDS. He wrote The Hole in Our Gospel (2009), which won the 2010 Evangelical Publisher’s Association Book of the Year. He also wrote Lead Like It Matters to God (2021), in which he argues that “success is overrated” and highlights 17 values for leaders. He has published op-eds on poverty and AIDS and appeared on major TV networks.

policy notes
In 2014, World Vision U.S. announced it would hire Christians in same-sex marriages, provoking donor protests; the policy was reversed two days later. Stearns has also emphasized the importance of addressing the global refugee crisis and caring for the world’s most vulnerable children.