Daniel Smith and Elizabeth Riley
/SOURCE OF WEALTH: Sycamore Networks
FUNDING AREAS: Education & Youth, Arts & Culture, Health
OVERVIEW: Daniel and Elizabeth move their philanthropy through the Quonochontaug Foundation. The couple has strongly supported Smith’s alma mater, Lehigh University. Other giving has focused on the Boston area.
BACKGROUND: A native of Nyack, New York, Daniel E. Smith Jr. received a B.S. in industrial engineering from Lehigh University in 1971 and an MBA from Harvard in 1976. He was also an officer in the U.S. Navy. Smith co-founded Cascade Communications, a data communications company, and went on to co-found optical networking pioneer Sycamore Networks in 1998.
ISSUES:
EDUCATION & YOUTH: At the start of the decade, Smith and Elizabeth gave a $10 million gift to Lehigh University to establish and endow a research and innovation fund for science and engineering. Smith’s father also attended Lehigh. The Rileys continue to support Lehigh via their foundation.
Other grantees include Winsor School and Noble and Greenough School.
ARTS & CULTURE: Grantees include Museum of Science, USS Constitution Museum, and Citi Performing Arts Center.
HEALTH & OTHER: The couple supports Gardens for Health International and Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
LOOKING FORWARD: The couple’s recent giving via the Quonochontaug Foundation has been modest but perhaps an uptick is in the offing.
CONTACT:
Quonochontaug Foundation
P.O. Box 81053
Wellesley, MA 02481
