Jonathan Lavine

Jeannie Lavine speaks at the Library of Congress in 2019

Jonathan Lavine was born in Providence, Rhode Island and graduated from Classical High School in 1984. Lavine then attended Columbia College where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and earned a BA Magna Cum Laude in 1988.[1] Columbia also awarded him the David Truman Award for outstanding contribution to the academic affairs of the college.[2]

From 1990-1992, Lavine attended Harvard Business School, earning an MBA with distinction.[2]

Lavine married Jeannie Diane Bachelor in June 1992 at Temple B’nai Abraham in Livingston, New Jersey.[3] They have two children, Allie and Emily and reside in Lexington, Massachusetts.[4]

Lavine began his career as an analyst at Drexel Burnham Lambert upon his graduation in 1988. From 1991-1993, he worked as a consultant for McKinsey & Company[5] until moving on to Bain Capital. In 1997, Lavine founded Sankaty Advisors, LLC as the credit affiliate of Bain Capital and served as managing partner and chief investment officer of the firm.[6] Sankaty was renamed Bain Capital Credit in 2016.[7][6]

In 2016, Bain Capital named Lavine co-managing partner of the firm. Lavine continued to lead Bain Capital Credit after becoming co-managing partner of Bain Capital.[7]

In 2008, Lavine also became a member of the Boston Celtics ownership group,[8] Boston Basketball Partners LLC.

City Year

Jonathan and Jeannie Lavine began supporting City Year in 1991 with an $18 donation.[9] Lavine joined the City Year board in 2006. He has also chaired the City Year Headquarters for Idealism Campaign[10] and the Development Committee.[11] In 2012, he provided a pledge of $10 million in support of City Year's Long-Term Impact strategy.[12] In 2013, he was elected Chair of the National Board of Trustees[13] and in 2014, he served as the National Chair for City Year's 25th Anniversary.[14]

Boston Children's Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Lavine joined the Boston Children's Hospital Trust Board of Trustees[15] in 2005, and in 2007, established The Lavine Challenge, which matched permanent named endowed funds.[16] Lavine also contributed to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute as a member of the Board of Trustees[17] and established the Lavine Family Fund for Lymphoma Research and the Lavine Family Central Registration in the Yawkey Center.[18]

Columbia

Lavine was elected to the Columbia University Board of Trustees in 2011.[19][1] He is a former chair of the Columbia College Board of Visitors[20] and was co-chair of the Columbia Campaign. In 2011, he worked with Gerry Lenfest in establishing a $5 million match for Core Curriculum.[21] Lavine also served on the dean search committee.[22]

In May 2018, Lavine and his family made a $2.5 million endowment gift to Columbia/Barnard Hillel to support Jewish student life at Columbia University. In recognition of the gift, Columbia/Barnard Hillel's Executive Director position was renamed the Lavine Family Executive Director.[23]

In April 2018, Lavine was elected co-chair of the Columbia Board of Trustees alongside Lisa Carnoy.[24]

Harvard

In 2011, Jonathan and Jeannie Lavine established the Lavine Family Cornerstone Scholarship Fund, which provided financial aid to four Harvard undergraduates.[25] In 2012, the Lavines provided a $5 million grant to the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative (HHI) to train humanitarian leaders and extend the reach of humanitarian education internationally.[26][27] The gift also established the Lavine Family Humanitarian Studies Initiative, an expansion of the Humanitarian Studies Initiative (HSI), and made HSI the largest program in humanitarian studies in the world.[27]

In 2017, Jonathan and Jeannie Lavine donated $12.5 million to Harvard Business School to establish scholarships for first-generation college students. The donation was the largest in the school's history for scholarships.[28]

Board memberships and support

In 2007, the Lavines formed the Crimson Lion Foundation, a private family foundation through which they have concentrated their philanthropic activities.[29]

Since 2012, the Lavines have supported LIFT Communities. In 2017, they donated $4 million to establish the Lavine Family Innovation Fund to develop services that help families living in poverty achieve economic mobility.[30]

In July 2016, Lavine donated $1 million to civil rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson's Equal Justice Initiative.[31] In an interview on Here and Now, Lavine stated that he and his wife donated after reading Stevenson's book Just Mercy.[32]

In February 2018, Lavine and his wife donated $5 million to public radio station WBUR to create CitySpace, a cultural events venue in Boston. The donation was the largest single donation to WBUR in the station's history.[33]

In April 2018, the Lavines sponsored an “Americans and the Holocaust” exhibit at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.[34]

Lavine has been a supporter of several other organizations including the USO,[35] Cradles to Crayons,[36] Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Boston,[37] uAspire,[38] Best Buddies International,[39] American Jewish World Service.[40]

Jonathan Lavine has served on the Boards of Horizons for Homeless Children[41] and Opportunity Nation,[42] and was a member of the Leadership Circle for Be The Change, Inc.[43] He is on the advisory board of the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism at Brandeis University.[44]