A longtime leader in nonprofit and philanthropic sectors, Dr. Stephanie Kripa Cooper-Lewter is the executive vice president at the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust where she leads the operational work of staff across departments and serves as a strategic partner to the Trust’s president. Working to ensure people in Forysth County and across North Carolina – regardless of race, gender or income – have access to health care, education and economic opportunity, the Trust invests around $20 million dollars annually to support thriving communities and residents locally and statewide.
Prior to joining the Trust in 2020, Dr. Cooper-Lewter was recruited to Charlotte as the inaugural executive director of Leading on Opportunity, where she led a county-wide effort to address the finding that Charlotte ranked last in economic upward mobility among the United States’ 50 largest cities, and later served as Executive Director for Financial Security Charlotte. Prior to her work in Charlotte, she served at the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina for nearly a decade. There, she was promoted to vice president of initiatives and public policy, managing the organization’s strategy; several grantmaking portfolios; and diversity, equity, and inclusion investments. She also previously served as president/CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Columbia. She had extensive direct practice social work experience in child welfare, health and educational settings prior to joining the field of philanthropy in 2009.
Dr. Cooper-Lewter served on the regional Board of Trustees for Philanthropy Southeast (formerly Southeastern Council of Foundations). An immigrant from India, she also served on the national Board of Directors for Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees.
She holds a Ph.D. in social work from the University of South Carolina, a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Minnesota, and a bachelor’s degree in social work. She has also completed the Personal and Executive Life Coach certification through the Coaching and Positive Psychology Institute. Over the years, she has taught hundreds of social work students in bachelor and master level programs as adjunct faculty at the University of South Carolina, Columbia College, and Benedict College. She received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Minnesota School of Social Work and the Alumna of the Year Award from the University of South Carolina College of Social Work.