Rebecca Fishman Lipsey

Social innovator and former policymaker Rebecca Fishman Lipsey is the president and CEO of The Miami Foundation, a $350MM community foundation focused on building a stronger, more equitable Greater Miami. Since her recent appointment, she has mobilized philanthropists, businesses and local leaders to invest in collaborative, cross-sector efforts to respond to the impacts of the COVID–19 pandemic and support the long-term recovery of their region. Already, her work has helped unlock more than $15 million in recovery funds that will help restore health, opportunity and a thriving society for all who call Miami-Dade County home.

Prior to The Miami Foundation, Rebecca was the founder and CEO of Radical Partners, a social-impact accelerator that incubates organizations seeking to strengthen Miami. Radical Partners engages more than 100,000 Miami locals each year to strengthen their own communities through their initiatives including 100 Great Ideas, ConnectMiami, Vote Miami, and Public Transit Day. More than 100 social innovators have scaled their ventures as alumni of the RP accelerator, addressing issues including education, health, housing affordability, civic engagement and access to the arts.

Before launching Radical Partners, Rebecca served as executive director of Teach For America in Miami-Dade. Under her leadership, the organization tripled in size and fundraising efforts multiplied 16-times over. She became the youngest person in history to be appointed to the Florida Board of Education, where she served a four-year term, overseeing educational policy that impacted 3 million students from kindergarten through college. 

Rebecca is an alumnus of The Miami Foundation’s Miami Fellows program (Class VI). She is also the 2017 recipient of the Foundation’s Ruth Shack Leadership Award, which annually honors an individual age 40 or under who reflects steadfast ethics and unselfish service to Greater Miami.

She was named “Best Non-Profit Executive” by The International Stevie Award for Women in Business; “Best Role Model” by Miami Today; and “20 Under 40″ by The Miami Herald.  She began her career as a teacher in Harlem, NY. She holds a master’s from Bank Street College of Education, and graduated as valedictorian of her University of Pennsylvania undergraduate class.