Chris Perez

Vice President of Programs

Phone: (907) 334-0522

Chris Perez has over 25 years of grantmaking and impact investing experience in philanthropy. He joined Rasmuson Foundation in 2008 and in December 2022 was named vice president of programs. He has managed a broad range of grants and initiatives, including directing the Foundation’s program-related investment (PRI) program.

Previously, he served as senior program officer for the F. B. Heron Foundation, located in New York City, overseeing a portfolio of grants and mission investments with an emphasis on community economic development and asset-building strategies in rural communities and Indian Country. His prior experience includes positions in the corporate philanthropy and global corporate affairs departments of Pfizer Inc., serving as a program officer for the Pfizer Foundation, and as a graduate intern at the Hearst Foundations. Chris also has held positions with New York City and New York State governments focusing on urban development. Chris received a master’s degree in public administration in nonprofit management and finance from New York University and a bachelor’s in history and art history from Wesleyan University.

Chris has been active in the leadership of several national philanthropic organizations. He currently represents Alaska on the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines advisory council, providing guidance on housing development and community lending needs throughout the bank’s 13-state district. In Alaska, he serves as president of the board of directors of Spruce Root, a community development financial institution providing technical assistance and loan capital to entrepreneurs in Southeast Alaska. He is also a member of the advisory board for the Anchorage Schools Foundation, an affiliate fund of The Alaska Community Foundation.