“Discerning and adapting cumulative and iterative patterns of thought is fundamental to pursuing change across generations.”
Rip is a veteran of urban policy and philanthropic leadership
Rip Rapson is the President of The Kresge Foundation, where he has championed pathbreaking approaches to addressing the most difficult and complex challenges facing America's cities.
“Working across disciplines and sectors creates the essential calculus for civic problem solving.”
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New in 2025: Drawn to Challenge
Drawn to Challenge is a lively, entertaining, and highly personal collection of stories describing innovative approaches to confronting the full sweep of some of the most intractable challenges facing American cities, drawing on Rip Rapson’s public service career in both Minneapolis and Detroit.
Illustration Gallery
Explore Rip's use of drawing as a tool to crystalize complexity and convey ideas in a lively and unexpected way.
Arts in Detroit: 2022
Reimagining Detroit 2020
Books
Learn more about Rip's published works, ranging from a memoir on his five decades of public service, to wilderness conservation battles and the biography of an architectural genius.
“Painting a portrait of leadership moments across decades.”
Select Nightly Notes
Delve into Rip's written notes sent to his staff and board every weeknight, beginning in March 2020, as he sought a way to stay connected.
Detroit's Interior Treasures: Part IV, The Penobscot Building
Youth in Charge: Café Reconcile Builds Community in New Orleans' Center City
Speeches
For more than 30 years, Rip has given speeches on a dizzyingly wide spectrum of issues. Read more about the topics Rip has spoken on.
