DeLeo Bio

Robert De Leo, Executive Director

Robert De Leo joined the Polly Klaas® Foundation as its Executive Director in February 2006, bringing with him an extensive background in human services and nonprofit administration.

De Leo has worked with a cross section of public and private sector organizations to forge lasting partnerships on behalf of various constituencies.  His career has been dedicated to advancing the cause of people with special needs, to creating programs and services that promote the healthy development of young children and to advocating for policies that elevate the well-being of all families. He has served on community boards and advisory committees and has worked with national, state and local legislators to help shape policies in support of the handicapped, the working poor and the needs of children and youth. 

De Leo has long felt a connection to the Foundation's history and mission. As a 20-year resident of Sonoma County, he clearly remembers his reaction to the news of Polly's abduction in 1993. At the time, as Executive Director of the Community Child Care Council of Sonoma County, he issued a press statement on behalf of the child care community, to amplify how "this tragic loss will remain embedded in the collective conscience of this country and serve as a reminder of the urgent need to set the national agenda with our children at the top. We salute the people of Petaluma who came together, stuck together and endured together; enlisting the unprecedented participation of the whole world and setting new standards for the meaning of the word 'community.'"

More than 12 years later, and still inspired by Polly's legacy, De Leo takes the helm of the Foundation to further its national commitment to "Keeping America Safe for All Children." As Executive Director, he implements the policies of a dedicated volunteer Board to manage Foundation staff, finances and fundraising efforts, and works to strengthen the Foundation's partnerships with law enforcement, policymakers and other child find organizations. Above all, De Leo leads the Foundation with a compassionate and enduring focus on its core mission: to find missing children and to develop programs that prevent child abductions. 

De Leo's career accomplishments include serving as the Director of Rehabilitation and the Deputy Director of United Cerebral Palsy Association of Philadelphia. He has held a number of other executive level positions, including Regional Case Management Supervisor for Redwood Coast Regional Center, Executive Director of United Cerebral Palsy Association of the North Bay and Executive Director of the Community Child Care Council of Sonoma County. Most recently, he served as Executive Director of Exodus, Inc., an agency providing residential treatment for autistic and severely disabled children and adults. 

De Leo holds a BA in Psychology from Temple University and an MA in Counseling from Villanova University. His postgraduate experience includes work in Clinical and Developmental Psychology.  He and his wife Mary Ellen King, a marketing/communications consultant, have been residents of Sonoma County since 1986.