Rip Rapson is president and CEO of The Kresge Foundation, a private, national foundation founded in 1924, which is dedicated to building and strengthening pathways to opportunity for people with low incomes living in America’s cities, including in Kresge’s hometown of Detroit. Since 2006, he has expanded the foundation’s grantmaking and investing tools to improve the economic, social, health, cultural and environmental conditions of city life across the nation.

He previously served as president of the McKnight Foundation in Minneapolis, where he led early childhood development efforts, created a regional public-private-philanthropic economic development organization, and enhanced environmental protections along the Mississippi River. He earlier served as the deputy mayor of Minneapolis, with responsibility for designing a $400 million neighborhood revitalization program, revamping the municipal budgeting process and elevating the city's commitment to children and families.