Venture Partner, DRK Foundation
Menlo Park, CA
Liz Berry Gips has over three decades of experience in the education sector, initially in the US and later in Africa. She has held leadership roles at NGOs, philanthropies and development agencies. Currently, Liz is a Venture Partner at DRK Foundation, supporting the scaling of innovative social enterprises. She is also the Chair of the Board of the School of Leadership Afghanistan (SOLA), which is now based in Rwanda.
Previously, Liz held senior positions at Global Education Fund, USAID, the Mastercard Foundation and Village Health Works. She has worked in South Africa, Rwanda, Burundi and Kenya on numerous initiatives, ranging from designing leadership development programs, to launching innovative schools and strengthening school systems. A throughline running across these experiences is Liz’s passion for improving education outcomes in the most vulnerable communities and her deep belief in the need to equip young people with the entrepreneurship and leadership skills to succeed in today’s world.
In addition to her operating roles, Liz has served on several boards, including the African Leadership Academy in South Africa.
Liz received a BA from Williams College and an MBA from Yale University. Liz and her husband, Don Gips, live in Menlo Park. They moved to the Bay Area in 2019 after raising their family in Washington, D.C., Boulder, Colorado and South Africa. They are the proud parents of three grown sons. Liz loves to ski, hike and spend time with family and friends in their Colorado mountain cabin.