Executives and Board of Directors

Desmond Tutu, Honorary Chair

Desmond Tutu is the Honorary Chairman of the Board for the HOPE Foundation. Tutu was elected and ordained the first African South African Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa, and primate of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa (now the Anglican Church of Southern Africa). He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984. He is also a recipient of the Albert Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism and was also rewarded with the Magubela Prize for Liberty in 1986.

Renee Fleming, Honorary Board Member

A two-time Grammy winner, American soprano Renée Fleming continues to thrill audiences with a voice described as the "gold standard of soprano sound," a meticulous and dazzling gift for characterization, and a rare stylistic versatility. Her superb artistry has inspired her instatement as a Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur by the French government (2005), as well as the "Renée Fleming Iris" (2004) and Master Chef Daniel Boulud's dessert "La Diva Renée" (1999).

President, Alan M. Blankstein

Alan M. Blankstein is Founder and President of the HOPE Foundation (Harnessing Optimism and Potential through Education), a not-for-profit organization whose Honorary Chair is Nobel Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu. HOPE supports educational leaders over time in creating school cultures where failure is not an option for any student. Alan authored the award-winning book, Failure Is Not an Option^®: Six Principles That Guide Student Achievement in High-Performing Schools. Now in its second edition, it has become the gold standard of creating and sustaining learning communities.