10 CIVIC LEADERSHIP Bridging the gap for Cambridge kids For Liz Keating, becoming a Cambridge Rindge and Latin School (CRLS) parent was a wake-up call. “There is such inequity in this city that I only really under- stood when my oldest son started high school at CRLS,” says Liz. Her CRLS experience includes meeting many talented children born in other countries, seeing college readiness challenges for families, and witnessing hunger. “There are quite a few kids in our school system for which their free or reduced lunch is their main meal of the day,” she says. “One of my son’s friends mentioned his family has little food in the house over school breaks, so I got some food cards for them.” This is who Liz is: compassionate, aware, action-oriented, and bridging the gaps where she can. Liz became involved with CCF while raising funds for the Falcon Pride Scholarship, a unique multiyear scholarship for CRLS graduates supporting college persistence. CCF’s grant of $50,000 helped Liz and co-founder Andus Baker’s initial investment evolve into an endowed fund to serve low-income students for years to come. The fund distributed the first round of scholarships in 2017. “I realized CCF was an important organization, and I wanted to get involved with helping it realize its potential,” says Liz. “To me, the shared prosperity framing of what the Foundation is doing is spot on.” Liz joined the CCF Board of Directors in 2017, bringing a strong finance background and decades of teaching and consulting with nonprofits to bear on the Foundation’s work. She is currently the finance manager of Campus Child Care Inc., the merger of the six Harvard-affiliated childcare centers. She is also a member of CCF’s finance committee, where she’s involved in the behind-the- scenes work of the Foundation. In addition to college access and hunger, Liz has been an advocate for immigrants’ rights. For her, equity and opportunity are key. “The Foundation is making a ladder, so people have better access to opportunity,” said Liz. For an innovation hub like Cambridge, that could take many forms: eco- nomic, research, social, or simply supporting people with lots of potential—like her son’s CRLS friends. “To me, the shared prosperity framing of what the Foundation is doing is spot on.” Liz Keating, CCF Board of Directors Shared Prosperity Liz Keating Photo by Jeffrey Blackwell