March 28, 2024

Driving through Pennsylvania last fall, I visited with Phil Koch, Vice President of Policy and Community Impact for the Pittsburgh Foundation - and a longstanding thought partner on effective approaches to community foundation policy leadership.

It was a beautiful day, so Phil suggested we walk and talk around Pittsburgh's downtown.

I did not expect what I saw or heard. The waterfront in this Rust Belt city was amazing, as was our conversation about the history of its transformation. When I learned that Lisa Schroeder, President & CEO of the Pittsburgh Foundation, had spearheaded that decades-long, cross-sector revitalization effort, I realized we had a community leadership genius in our midst.

Phil recently posted a Pittsburgh Foundation webinar about how to effectively address homelessness in Pittsburgh. I share it here to commend Lisa's opening remarks. They are a pitch-perfect articulation of the natural importance of community foundation policy leadership for community strength - and organizational excellence.

Enjoy!

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If you'd like to explore your policy leadership questions, ideas, and challenges with colleagues from across the country, please join us on Friday, April 12 at Noon ET/11CT/10MT/9PT