Jamie Merisotis

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 Post, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Stanford Social Innovation Review, Washington Monthly, Politico, The Hill, Roll 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 serves as a trustee and board member of The Ditchley Foundation in the UK, the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, Citizens Energy Group, and ACT. Merisotis is past chairman and trustee emeritus of the Council on Foundations and currently leads a task force on philanthropy’s ethical responsibilities. He is also a past chairman of The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. A distinguished graduate and trustee emeritus of Bates College, he has been awarded honorary degrees from colleges and universities worldwide.