Greentrike is excited to announce that Ralph Smith will be the keynote speaker at the annual Power of Play Lunch on September 24, 2024, from 12 p.m. – 1 p.m. (doors open at 11:30 a.m.) The POP Lunch will be held in person at the Hotel Murano Pavilion.
About Ralph Smith
Ralph Smith is the founding managing director of the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, an effort to increase rates of third-grade reading proficient for children from low-income families, including a network of more than 350 communities – with 5,200 local organizations and institutions, including more than 510 state and local funders. Previously, as senior vice president for the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Smith led initiatives to help communities improve child outcomes by strengthening families and neighborhoods.
Smith taught Corporations and Securities Law and Education Law and Policy as a tenured member of the law faculty at the University of Pennsylvania. He also served as chief of staff and special counsel for the School District of Philadelphia and as a senior advisor to Philadelphia’s mayor. Smith led efforts to design and implement the school district’s landmark voluntary desegregation plan; negotiate some of the nation’s first education reform-driven teacher contracts; and develop Children Achieving, a districtwide blueprint supported by the Annenberg Challenge.
Over the last three decades, Smith has served on the boards of the major philanthropic associations and a dozen-plus social sector organizations. His private sector board service includes BookNook, EPS Learning, Geisel-Seuss Enterprises, Leapfrog Enterprises, Nobel Learning and Stride K-12.
Ralph Smith at the 2023 Symposium
The Power of Play Lunch
Honorary Chair Bill Robertson invites you to Greentrike’s Power of Play Lunch, our annual fundraiser and networking event. Join us during your lunch hour to support programs that promote playful learning for children and youth in our community.
To learn more and purchase tickets, please visit POPLunch.org!
