Founder & Legacy
About Peg Morgan
Early Life and Family History
Margaret Peg Clark Morgan was born on September 5, 1918, in Kent, Ohio, to Ethel and Howard Clark. She grew up with her parents, her younger sister Eleanor, and her grandmother Lucy Brown Clark.
Peg was the great-great-granddaughter of Owen Brown, father of abolitionist John Brown. Her family preserved historical records connected to that legacy, and her father carefully maintained materials from the John Brown era. Those archives were later donated to the Hudson Library and Historical Society.
In 2009, at age 91, Peg marked the 150th anniversary of John Brown’s raid by sharing the book John Brown, His Fight for Freedom with students in Akron and Hudson classrooms. In 2010, she was named Hudson Citizen of the Year in recognition of her contribution of the archives.
Her life remained closely tied to history, education, and community.
Education, Partnership, and Entrepreneurship
Peg graduated from Theodore Roosevelt High School in 1935 as valedictorian and was recognized as “most versatile” student. After receiving a one-year scholarship to Kent State University, she went on to graduate from Miami University with a degree in business — at a time when few women pursued a college degree.
In 1939, she began working at Goodrich in Akron, where she met Burton D. Morgan. They married in 1941 and built both a family and a life rooted in entrepreneurship.
When Burt developed the “Hamburg Sizzler” in 1952, Peg secured a purchase order from Macy’s Department Store for 10,000 units. Throughout their marriage, she played a steady and essential role in supporting entrepreneurial ventures while raising their three children.
Her involvement reflected practicality, initiative, and follow through.
Community and Philanthropic Leadership
In 1959, the Morgan family moved to Hudson, Ohio, where Peg’s ancestors had settled in the early 1800s. The family established deep roots that would shape their philanthropic legacy for generations.
In 1967, Burt founded the Burton D. Morgan Foundation to advance entrepreneurship education. Peg remained engaged in community life, including supporting local arts and public events such as the Hudson Summer Music Festival.
On April 6, 2001, the Margaret Clark Morgan Foundation was established in her honor. Over time, Peg became directly involved in shaping its direction, with an unwavering focus on improving the lives of people with serious mental illness.
A Foundation Shaped by Example
The foundation reflects qualities consistently demonstrated throughout Peg’s life: commitment to community, responsible stewardship, support for education, and willingness to advance new ideas.
Today, Peg’s carries that work forward by investing in innovation, strengthening partnerships, and helping improve systems of care for people living with serious mental illness.
Her legacy is not defined by a single moment. It is reflected in the sustained work of the foundation that bears her name.
Big problems require even bigger thinking. #ThinkBigger
Sometimes, recovery starts with something as simple as a scribble.
At Community Support Services’ Art of Recovery, Michelle Morton reminded us that healing isn’t linear—it’s layered, messy, and different for everyone.
As Expressive Arts Administrator, she shared an exercise where participants begin with a simple scribble, find a heart within it, and then tear and rebuild the page in a new way—a reflection of change itself: disrupted, imperfect, but full of possibility.
That spirit of possibility was everywhere in the room. In the artwork. In the courage it takes to share it. In the community that shows up to support it.
We’re grateful for longtime partners like @communitysupportservices_ccs, whose work continues to create space for expression, connection, and recovery. 🩵
#ThinkBigger
@communitysupportservices_css
Nearly two decades ago, Peg’s Foundation helped support a new approach to pediatric psychiatric emergencies at @akronchildrens.
That early investment helped launch the Psychiatric Intake Response Center (PIRC)—now a national model for supporting children in crisis.
Featured in “Children’s Progress,” this story highlights how bold, innovative partnerships can transform systems of care for children and their families.
#ThinkBigger #BehavioralHealth #YouthMentalHealth
No one should have to navigate a maze to get help in a moment of crisis.
That’s why Clear Pathways exists—to build scalable, sustainable crisis response systems.
#ThinkBigger #CrisisResponse
@sozoseifoundation @pewtrusts @bluemeridianpartners @ohiodbh
