Jeannie Bachelor Lavine
Jeannie Lavine is the Co-Founder and Trustee of the Crimson Lion/Lavine Family Foundation, an organization established by her and her husband, Jonathan Lavine, which delivers financial resources to a wide variety of nonprofit organizations focused on leveling the playing field for individuals and families. Under their leadership, the foundation has supported a diverse array of causes including numerous initiatives at Columbia University designed to impact many aspects of student life, faculty support, research, and scholarship, and support of Columbia’s neighboring communities. Currently, the Lavines are chairing Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health centennial year celebrations.
Mrs. Lavine is a close partner to Mr. Lavine on his various leadership roles at Columbia and a proud parent of two Columbia alumnae, Allie Lavine ’16CC and Emily Lavine ’18CC, and a son-in-law, Nathan Rosin ’18CC. The Columbia community and her family’s transformational philanthropy have been inextricably linked for more than three decades. During that time, the Lavines have supported all 18 of Columbia’s schools. In addition to the family’s work with Columbia, Mrs. Lavine helped establish the Massachusetts chapter of Stand for Children, a nonprofit training and leadership organization that teaches citizens how to band together and become effective grassroots advocates for long-lasting improvements for children. She chairs the President’s Advisory Council for Combined Jewish Philanthropies in Boston and was a long-time Board member at Temple Isaiah in Lexington, Massachusetts.
Mrs. Lavine served as a Founding Member of The Better Angels Society, a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating Americans about history through documentary film. The Lavines have sponsored six documentaries produced by Ken Burns including “The U.S. and the Holocaust,” “Ben Franklin,” and “Vietnam.” They worked with The Better Angels Society and Ken Burns to create the Annual Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film, which recognizes filmmakers who use the documentary medium to tell stories about American history using original research and compelling narrative. In addition, the Lavines established The Better Angels Lavine Fellowship program designed to engage up-and-coming documentarians with a special emphasis on film projects telling the stories of America’s diversity. They also established the Lavine Family Documentary Fund at Columbia Journalism School.
Earlier in her career, Mrs. Lavine worked as a strategy consultant for The Monitor Group and Boston Consulting Group. She earned her degree in Economics from Harvard College, graduated magna cum laude, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Mrs. Lavine went on to Harvard Business School where she received her MBA with distinction.
Passionately committed to higher education, Mrs. Lavine is also an active member of the Harvard University community, serving as a member of the Dean’s Council of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and as a member of the Board of Dean’s Advisors for Harvard Business School. She has been recognized for her service and philanthropy to Harvard College and Harvard Business School. She also previously served as Co-Chair of the Campaign for the Harvard School of Public Health.