Rip Rapson

Rip Rapson

"In July 2006, Rip Rapson joined The Kresge Foundation as its President and CEO. The Foundation, with $3 billion in assets, nationally seeks to strengthen nonprofit organizations by catalyzing their growth, connecting them to their stakeholders, and challenging greater support through grants. Previously, as President of The McKnight Foundation, Mr. Rapson was instrumental in promoting early childhood development, launching an innovative and pioneering approach to regional growth issues, contributing to key inner city revitalization efforts, and helping create a new regional civic leadership initiative led by the private sector, among other endeavors. Prior to The McKnight Foundation, he was a senior fellow at the University of Minnesota's Design Center for American Urban Landscape, where he focused on helping older suburban communities address the challenges generated by complex and rapidly changing social, economic, and political forces. In 1994, Mr. Rapson served as Deputy Mayor of Minneapolis, during which time he was the primary architect of the Minneapolis Neighborhood Revitalization Program and a comprehensive redesign of the city's budgeting process. Preceding his practice of law and partnership in the Minneapolis firm of Leonard Street and Deinard, he was a legislative assistant to U.S. Representative Donald Fraser where he oversaw the development and passage of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Act of 1978. Rip Rapson is the author of two books, one a chronicle of the BWCA legislation and one a biography of his father, architect Ralph Rapson. He received his law training at Columbia University."


 * Director, Detroit RiverFront Conservancy
 * Director (2008), Local Initiatives Support Corporation