Anna Lee Appointed AIP Foundation Executive Director

Lee will bring fundraising and DEI-focused expertise to support and further advance the physical sciences.

WASHINGTON, February 1, 2023 -- AIP is pleased to announce Anna Lee as the new executive director of AIP Foundation. Starting February 1, Lee will lead the foundation as it magnifies philanthropic support of the Institute.

“AIP Foundation was established to support the charitable, scientific, and educational mission of AIP,” said CEO Michael Moloney . “Anna’s appointment as executive director will bring valuable leadership and strategic direction to the foundation, as evidenced by her passion and past accomplishments. We are looking forward to all the success I know she and her team will achieve.”

Prior to joining AIP, Lee played a leading role in the capital campaign to build the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. When she began fundraising as campaign director, the building did not exist. By the time of the grand opening, her team had succeeded in raising more than $300 million— well over their original goal.

“I really enjoy my career in fundraising because it allows me to make an impact by connecting donors to their passions and helping them make their own personal difference in the world,” said Lee. “I also love supporting the people and the programs that can change our society.

“AIP and AIP Foundation facilitate many of those efforts, such as the TEAM-UP Together initiative ,” she continued. “I am excited about joining an organization that empowers physical scientists, promotes the advancement of science, and removes barriers to learning – all things crucial for solving our grand challenges.”

As Senior Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations at the A. James Clark School of Engineering, University of Maryland for five years, Lee brought in industry partners to invest, enhance, and create new programs in support of underrepresented minority students in STEM.

“We are excited for Anna to lead AIP Foundation as executive director,” said the foundation’s founding chair Dr. France Córdova. “Her philanthropic expertise – demonstrated through strategic fundraising at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture and diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts at the University of Maryland – will be invaluable as we continue our work to advance the physical sciences with a unified voice of strength from diversity.”

Lee plans to leverage AIP Foundation’s current strengths to establish a best-in-class fundraising operation. She will lead the team as they continue to share the history of the physical sciences, motivate and encourage a new generation of scientists, attract and inspire new partners, and support AIP priorities through critical fundraising opportunities.

“Everything I’ve done in my career up to now has prepared me for this role — the campaign fundraising, the board interactions, the corporate and foundation relations, and the theme of supporting diversity and inclusion,” she said. “So, I’m excited to get to work.”

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ABOUT AIP FOUNDATION

AIP Foundation  is an independent not-for-profit corporation, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charitable organization, with the American Institute of Physics Inc. (AIP) as the sole member of the corporation. AIP Foundation was launched in 2020 to generate philanthropic support to deepen and share the history and importance of the physical sciences throughout the world, and to motivate and encourage a new generation of scientists. AIP Foundation provides support to three areas within AIP, focused on History Programs, Library, and Student Programs.

ABOUT AIP 

The mission of AIP (American Institute of Physics ) is to advance, promote, and serve the physical sciences for the benefit of humanity. AIP is a federation that advances the success of our 10 Member Societies and an institute that operates as a center of excellence supporting the physical sciences enterprise. In its role as an institute, AIP uses policy analysis, social science, and historical research to promote future progress in the physical sciences. AIP is a 501(c)(3) membership corporation of scientific societies. 

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For more information, please contact

Ashley Piccone 
AIP Media
+1 301-209-3090
media@aip.org