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Elspeth Revere is the CEO of Ravenswood Consulting Group where she advises donors and nonprofits on effective philanthropy, strategic planning, and nonprofit management. Ms. Revere’s recent clients include Vamonde, a new Chicago cultural tourism app, CHANGE IL, which works on voting rights and redistricting, Memphis Partners for Resilient Communities, formed to respond to the Strong, Prosperous, and Resilient Communities Challenge, New England Foundation for the Arts, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and Forefront, the Illinois membership organization of nonprofits and philanthropy.

Ms. Revere retired from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation at the end of 2015 after 24 years, where she was Vice President of Media, Culture, and Special Initiatives. Her responsibilities included support for journalism, documentary films, and media in a technologically changing environment, the arts in Chicago, the MacArthur Awards for Creative and Effective Institutions, Discovery grants, and a changing set of special initiatives – most recently on strengthening American democracy. In her many years at the Foundation, Ms. Revere designed and implemented grantmaking initiatives on topics ranging from human rights to copyright to community service for young adults.

Ms. Revere recently published an essay in The Chronicle of Philanthropy, reflecting on her many years as a grantmaker.

Revere holds a master's degree in urban policy and planning from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a bachelor's degree in anthropology from the University of Chicago. She serves on the Boards of Directors of Kartemquin Educational Films and the Center for Public Integrity.