EPIP Welcomes Tamir Novotny as Incoming Executive Director

October 27, 2015 -- EPIP is delighted to announce that Tamir Novotny has been selected as its new Executive Director, beginning Monday, November 16th.

In preparing for his new role, Tamir stated: "I could not be more thrilled to be the next steward of EPIP. As a member of the EPIP family, I've seen firsthand how powerful EPIP can be for its members and for the field. I look forward to taking our work to new levels of power and influence in the years to come."

Tamir is no stranger to the EPIP community, having been an active member since early 2013. He has served on the EPIP New York Steering Committee, and as Regional Coordinator for the Northeast chapters. He has contributed to EPIP’s national programming, including EPIP’s 2015 national conference and its Wednesday Webinar series.

“We are excited to welcome someone who is already a part of the EPIP family as our new Executive Director. Tamir is a familiar face to many EPIP chapter leaders and members, and we look forward to working with him on this next chapter of EPIP’s work and mission,” said Jasmine Hall Ratliff, Program Officer of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and outgoing Chair of the EPIP Board of Advisors.

Tamir joins EPIP after nine years at Living Cities, in a variety of positions with increasing responsibility. While at Living Cities - a philanthropic collaborative of 22 major foundations and financial institutions focused on improving the lives of low-income urban residents - Tamir developed and led portfolios in areas including housing, smart growth, and civic technology.  Most recently, as a Senior Associate on their Public Sector Innovation team, he worked with Living Cities’ members, other foundations and practitioners to seed and spread innovative municipal policies and practices, including around community engagement, human-centered design and government-philanthropic collaboration. Through his influential work at Living Cities, Tamir has established a track record of advancing systemic change toward social justice and racial equity.

A resident of Astoria, Queens in New York City, Tamir received a Masters in Public Administration from New York University in 2008 and a BA from NYU in Metropolitan Studies in 2006.

Describing himself on Twitter as “a one-time welfare kid trying to make a difference in the world” he plans to continue EPIP’s evolution into an organization to advance social justice in America and around the world. Tamir also envisions EPIP’s members coming into their own as active members of the philanthropic and social change communities.

“As we look forward to our 15th year, EPIP eagerly anticipates welcoming Tamir to lead our members, advisory board, staff and supporters in the next leg of our journey in our mission to develop emerging leaders committed to building a just, equitable, and sustainable society,” said Interim Executive Director, Emily Kessler. Emily will remain on staff as the Senior Advisor to the Executive Director to assist with a smooth transition.

Founded in 2001, Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy, a Tides Center project, develops extraordinary new leaders committed to building a just, equitable, and sustainable society. Headquartered in New York City, EPIP has over 1,000 diverse members from 35 states and 12 active chapters. The EPIP community offers members peer support, professional development, and a voice in shaping the present and future of philanthropy.