TC Today - Teachers College Columbia University

The Education Broker
When education nonprofits need private funds, Lisa Philp plays matchmaker
If, as many people believe, the future of education is
public-private partnerships, the world is going to need
more people like Lisa Philp.
Witness the critical, behind-the-scenes role Philp
played last summer in ensuring the success of i3, the U.S.
Department of Education’s Investing in Innovation Fund.
Under the program, nearly 1,700 education nonprofits
from around the country submitted proposals for outof-the-box
approaches to boost student achievement.
In early August, USDOE chose 49 winners—and then
things got interesting. Federal law required the i3 funds
to be assigned by September, leaving the recipients with
just one month to come up with the requisite 20 percent
matching private funds.
“It was all or nothing—the groups either raised their
match, or they were shut out,” says Philp, 45, a TC master’s
degree student in interdisciplinary studies who also serves
as Managing Director and Global Head of Philanthropic
Services at J.P. Morgan Private Bank.
There are times when
someone sells a business or
inherits money and decides
it’s time to move from being a
check-book giver to becoming a
more strategic philanthropist.
Under intense pressure, Philp found funding partners
for 14 nonprofit organizations to win grants, including
two New York City programs—the School of One, which
combines teacher-led instruction with individualized software,
and the District 75 arts education program for children
with special needs. Among those answering Philp’s
call was Laurie Tisch, Vice Chair of the Teachers College
Board of Trustees, who provided matching funds through
the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund.
“Lisa has the reputation for being a really straight shooter
and very organized,” Tisch says. “She knows what she is
talking about.”
Indeed, few people have a better understanding of the
sea changes in philanthropy in recent decades—particularly
on the education front. Philp began her career at
Public Technology, Inc., a nonprofit resource for municipalities
in Washington, D.C. After earning her MBA in
marketing and nonprofit management at Northwestern
University’s Kellogg School of Management, she entered
New York’s philanthropic world at the New York
Regional Association of Grantmakers, now known as
Philanthropy New York.
There, she served as Director of Communications and
Government Relations, forging public-private partnerships
to support neighborhood improvement programs
around the city. In 1998, she joined J.P. Morgan as a vice-
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