Ed Lesser

Ed graduated in 1955 from the University of Pennsylvania – Wharton School with a BA in Economics and went to work for Bankers Trust Co in NYC. He spent his entire career with the Bank in various management positions. He was a Vice Chairman of the Bank’s Board, a member of a five-person Management Committee chaired by the CEO, and had line responsibility for a significant portion of the company’s domestic and international commercial banking and trust businesses.

After Ed retired, he spent 15 years on the Board of the Edwin Gould Foundation in NYC, an organization that sponsored supplemental education programs for inner-city youth of middle and high school age to prepare them for college eligibility.

Ed moved to Arizona full-time in 2012 and became interested in New Pathways for Youth, a Phoenix-based not-for-profit with programs to help at-risk youth maximize their potential and prepare them to pursue college or apprentice training programs.

Ed joined Forest Highlands in 2013 and joined the Forest Highlands Board in 2019 where he served as Chair of the Strategic Planning Committee and also Treasurer from 2020 through 2022.

Ed was married to Donna Maxwell for 55 years. Donna passed away after a three-year battle with cancer. They have three children and three grandchildren. He later married Emily, and they just celebrated their 10th anniversary.