Jamie Merisotis

Jamie Merisotis

President and CEO

Our leader is a voice of philanthropy, education, human work and talent development, and public policy.

Jamie Merisotis, an internationally recognized leader in higher education, human work, philanthropy, and public policy, has been Lumina Foundation’s president and CEO since 2008.

Frequently sought as a media commentator and contributor, his writing has appeared in The Washington PostThe New York TimesThe Wall Street JournalStanford Social Innovation ReviewWashington MonthlyPoliticoThe HillRoll Call, and other publications. He is currently a regular Forbes contributor.

Previously, Merisotis was president of the nonpartisan, D.C.-based Institute for Higher Education Policy, which he co-founded. He also was executive director of a bipartisan national commission, appointed by the president and congressional leaders, to study college affordability. Merisotis is the author of America Needs Talent, named a Booklist Top 10 Business book of 2016, and Human Work in the Age of Smart Machines, an Amazon bestseller released in 2020.

Merisotis is an experienced board leader. He serves as board member and advisor to several organizations including The Ditchley Foundation in the UK, the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, Citizens Energy Group, Lingoda GmbH in Germany, and LifeHikes. Merisotis also advises companies that rely on artificial intelligence and machine learning to address complex challenges related to work and learning.

Merisotis is past chairman and trustee emeritus of the Council on Foundations.  He also is past chairman and investment committee chair of The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, the world’s largest such entity offering exceptional learning experiences to transform the lives of children and families.

A distinguished graduate and trustee emeritus of Bates College, he has been awarded honorary degrees from colleges and universities worldwide.

Articles by Jamie

More from Jamie

Let’s tap the real power of college alumni

Football games, open houses, booths selling swag—it’s fall homecoming season on college campuses, and your alma mater is eager to show off its athletic accomplishments, its new energy-efficient buildings, and its innovative academic programs. A goal of these perennial pep rallies, of course, is to raise money—the hope being that alums will be sufficiently moved by the old school spirit to open their wallets wide.

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