Dear Sheldon,

As you conclude your term as our beloved Board Chair, we want you to know how grateful we are for you.

Your pivotal role as our Board Chair has created an invaluable impact at The Miami Foundation that can and will last a lifetime. We appreciate you not only fearlessly leading a group of strategic thought partners, but also doing so as a visionary and enthusiast of our foundation.

Joining our board in 2020 and transitioning to Board Chair in 2024, your leadership and influence brought our team to places we previously only dreamed of reaching. We took big, bold steps together towards making Miami thrive– many steps taken because of the courage and trust you instilled in us.

Courage

We can’t imagine taking on the role of Board Chair was an easy feat, while simultaneously serving on several impactful boards, including Baptist Health South Florida, Miami Dade College Foundation, The New World Symphony, Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, and The Orange Bowl Committee. Our gratitude for your time and effort to make our foundation a philanthropic pillar of our community reaches the greatest of lengths.

In your acceptance of the role as Board Chair to support our CEO and President, Rebecca Fishman Lipsey, you described her as “one of Miami’s highly motivated, committed, and brilliant young leaders,” and we want you to know what we think of you.

“Leading this Foundation with Sheldon as Chair was such a gift. He believes in the highest potential of people, and I saw my own leadership flourish with him by my side. He is trusted for a reason, and I’m so grateful to now understand exactly why.” -Rebecca Fishman Lipsey

We’ll especially cherish our memories of you and Rebecca serving as Ignite Miami panelists, in addition to being recognized together in the South Florida Business Journal as Power Leaders in philanthropy.

Engagement

On top of your profound responsibilities behind the scenes, your efforts in being present at our foundation’s most important events and moments did not go unnoticed. Thank you for showing up for us every day.

Together, we took Give Miami Day to new heights, and you helped us prove that everyone in Miami can make a difference.

When we asked you to describe The Miami Foundation in one word, you said “engagement” because you said our foundation provides an opportunity for all residents in our community to participate in making Miami a better place for everyone. We’re grateful you chose to engage with us.

Looking Forward

While we’re technically saying farewell to you as our Board Chair, we are thrilled this isn’t a permanent goodbye! We look forward to continuing to receive your wisdom as a board member in the year to come.

Our incoming Board Chair, Erin Knight, is inspired by your legacy and grateful to build on the solid foundation you established.

“Sheldon’s deep roots in Miami and his commitment to philanthropy have been pivotal in helping The Miami Foundation advance its initiatives over the past several years. I look forward to building upon his work and continuing to drive collective impact in our community.”

From all of us to you,

Thank you, Sheldon.