The David and Lucile Packard Foundation announced today that Dr. Ruth Levine, Vice President of Just Societies and Chief Learning Officer, will also serve as its Vice President of Families and Communities. In this expanded role, she will continue to lead the Foundation’s commitment to learning and impact while guiding the grantmaking strategies of the Just Societies and Families and Communities goal areas.

Dr. Levine joined the Foundation in 2023 to become its inaugural Vice President of Just Societies and Chief Learning Officer. Dr. Levine came to the Foundation as an internationally recognized development economist and expert in gender equity, global health, education, and evaluation with more than three decades of experience working on the design and implementation of policies and programs. For the past year, she has served as Vice President of Families and Communities in an interim capacity following the retirement of Meera Mani. In that capacity, she has demonstrated the value – for the teams and the impact of our grantmaking – of the expanded scope.

“The complex challenges we’re seeking to address today are interconnected, and the solutions must be as well,” said Nancy Lindborg, President and CEO of the Packard Foundation. “In this new role, Ruth is well positioned to maximize synergies across our work. She has proven to be an effective, energetic leader at the Foundation, and I’m delighted she will deepen collaboration internally and with partners to drive even greater impact.”