FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Toy Foundation Welcomes Pamela Mastrota as Executive Director
New York, NY | June 28, 2021 — The Toy Foundation’s Board of Trustees and The Toy Association are pleased to announce that Pamela Mastrota has joined The Toy Foundation (TTF) as executive director, effective today (June 28). As a 501(c)3 children’s charity, TTF operates under the umbrella of The Toy Association to provide philanthropic support and the vital commodity of play to children and families under stress and in dire situations around the globe.
Mastrota will bring her extensive C-level and nonprofit leadership, fundraising, and relationship-building experience to the role, where she will be responsible for maintaining and evaluating all aspects of TTF’s operations, programs, administration, relationships, and fundraising/donor practices in a manner that supports, strengthens, and advances The Toy Foundation’s mission.
Most recently, Mastrota served as chief operating officer for Make-A-Wish Metro NY & Western NY, leading all operations including finance, human resources, marketing, IT/data management, and project management. Under Mastrota’s leadership, the number of volunteers in underserved areas grew by 180 percent to best serve Make-A-Wish kids through the recruitment of experienced and culturally diverse department heads and the development of organizational plans that improved productivity and efficiency. Mastrota reduced the wait time from two years to seven months to fulfill children’s wishes and reduced volunteer and staff turnover by 40 percent over her five-year tenure.
Prior to that role, Mastrota served as president & CEO for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society Long Island Chapter, where she developed quality community programs and services to increase chapter-wide income and double endowment size and recruited a dynamic and professional fundraising staff.
"The past year of extraordinary progress, innovation, and impactful grantmaking through the Trustees and staff of The Toy Foundation continues with the appointment of an exceptionally talented and accomplished executive leader in Pam Mastrota," said Steve Pasierb, president & CEO of The Toy Association. "Pam brings expertise as a COO and CEO in both the major nonprofit and private sectors together with skills in fundraising and program growth management that are certain to benefit the children the Foundation serves, and call deserved attention to the deep philanthropic commitments across the toy and play community."
Andy Weiner, chairperson of The Toy Foundation and chief advisor of Toy’n Around, said: “A thorough national search produced an outpouring of highly qualified candidates, and, above all, the search committee was excited by the deep experience Pam Mastrota brings to this important role. Pam is extremely well-suited for our collective vision to be an advocate for and beacon of philanthropy across the toy industry. Under Pam's guidance, The Toy Foundation will continue to expand its national pediatric hospital grant program, launch an industry-wide diversity & inclusion (D&I) initiative, continue The Toy Bank, and develop a comprehensive strategy of communications and fundraising. Her leadership will help drive collaboration throughout the toy, play, and retail community as we welcome all to engage in these life-changing programs.”
Stated Mastrota: “I look forward to embarking on this incredible opportunity to lead, develop, and empower The Toy Foundation team in its work on behalf of the entire toy industry to make the biggest impact among children and families who need it the most.”
Mastrota holds a Master of Health Administration and a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations and Communications from Hofstra University. She has continued her education by participating in the Harvard Business School’s Executive Education Program for multiple years and holds an active membership in Compel CEOs, a peer-to-peer advisory organization that supports executives in reaching their business goals.
Ellen Lambert, who was interim executive director of The Toy Foundation for the past year, helped drive the Foundation’s progress during the pandemic and developed the D&I initiative for The Toy Foundation. She will stay on as a consultant to The Toy Foundation and focus on D&I programming exclusively.
Information about The Toy Foundation can be found at www.ToyFoundation.org.
About The Toy Foundation www.toyfoundation.org
The Toy Foundation (TTF) is a 501 (c)3 children's charity whose mission is to provide philanthropic support and the vital commodity of play to children and families under stress and in dire situations, across the country and globe. TTF's donations represent the charitable works of TTF and the toy industry. Last year, TTF provided $360K in cash grants to nearly 4 million children severely impacted by the pandemic. Since its inception in 2003, TTF’s signature Toy Bank has provided $225 million in toys to more than 26 million underserved children coping with serious illness, enduring temporary home placements in the foster care system, living with domestic violence, and/or dealing with natural disasters. TTF is also broadening its mission to provide grant funding to children's hospitals to encourage healing through play and to foster a diverse and inclusive culture and pipeline of talent for the toy industry.
About The Toy Association www.toyassociation.org / www.thegeniusofplay.org / www.playsafe.org
Founded in 1916, The Toy Association™, Inc. is the not-for-profit trade association representing all businesses involved in creating and delivering toys and youth entertainment products for kids of all ages. The Toy Association leads the health and growth of the U.S. toy industry, which has an annual U.S. economic impact of $98.2 billion, and its roughly 900 members drive the annual $32 billion U.S. domestic toy market. The Toy Association serves as the industry’s voice on the developmental benefits of play and promotes play’s positive impact on childhood development to consumers and media. The organization has a long history of leadership in toy safety, having helped develop the first comprehensive toy safety standard more than 40 years ago, and remains committed to working with medical experts, government, consumers, and industry on ongoing programs to ensure safe and fun play.
As a global leader, The Toy Association produces the world-renowned Toy Fair New York and Toy Fair Dallas; advocates on behalf of members around the world; sustains the Canadian The Toy Association; acts as secretariat for the International Council of Toy Industries and International Toy Industry CEO Roundtable; and chairs the committee that reviews and revises America’s widely emulated ASTM F963 toy safety standard.