Email This PageTralance Addy ’69
Tralance Addy ’69 
was named the first executive director for the Stanford Institute for Innovation in Developing Economies (SEED). SEED seeks to stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship in developing countries, with the aim of attaining levels of enterprise formation and scaling of businesses that have beneficial impact, especially on the lives of those living in poverty.
Former chief executive of Plebys International, a development company specializing in underserved world markets, Addy was earlier president and CEO of WaterHealth International, the initial Plebys project. WaterHealth provides access to affordable and clean water to more than 5 million communities in developing rural and urban areas. Before Plebys, Addy was international vice president for Johnson & Johnson, where he worked for 21 years.
Addy earned B.A. and B.S degrees in chemistry and engineering at Swarthmore followed by M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in engineering from the University of Massachusetts–Amherst. An innovator himself, Addy holds a number of patents and is a fellow with the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering. He has served on many business and civic boards, including Swarthmore’s Board of Managers.
