Lisa Goldberg, 54, Foundation President
Lisa Goldberg, president of the Charles H. Revson Foundation, died Monday of a brain aneurysm. She was 54.
From 2003 until her death, Goldberg had been president of Revson, which makes grants in the area of urban affairs, education, Jewish philanthropy and education, and biomedical research policy.
“We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Lisa, who led the foundation with such wisdom and grace,” said Goldberg’s predecessor at Revson, Eli Evans. “She was deeply respected in the foundation world and beyond, in both the U.S. and Israel. With her intellect and vision, she inspired the many funders and grantees who have been partners in the Revson Foundation’s work — from the Israeli “Sesame Street” and the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies to the Jewish Women’s Archive and American Jewish World Service. She combined rare qualities — warmth and brilliance, an analytical mind and an informed heart — which have left a mark on every accomplishment of the Revson Foundation.”
Goldberg started out at Revson in 1982 as a program officer. During her time there, the foundation provided funding for several television series, including “Genesis: A Living Conversation” with Bill Moyers, the civil rights documentary “Eyes on the Prize” and “Heritage: Civilization and the Jews” with Abba Eban. In addition to the entities named by Evans, during Goldberg’s time at Revson the foundation supplied grants to Brandeis University’s Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies and to the Jewish Funders Network. It also helped establish Israel’s National Science Foundation.
Goldberg had been a senior staff member of President Carter’s Commission for a National Agenda for the 1980s.
She is survived by her husband, John Sexton, president of New York University; daughter Katherine Lodgen Sexton; son and daughter-in-law Jed Sexton and Danielle DeCrette; granddaughters Julia, Ava and Natalie; brother Phillip Goldberg, U.S. ambassador to Bolivia, and sister Donna Eskind.
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