Philip Gaskin
Senior Director of Entrepreneurship, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
First recorded January 28, 2020
Philip Gaskin is the senior director of entrepreneurship for the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, where he leads the strategic implementation and execution of the Foundation’s Zero Barriers national strategy of removing systemic barriers to startup and success for entrepreneurs and their communities. Based in Kansas City, Missouri, and with an endowment of $2 billion, the Kauffman Foundation focuses on projects that encourage entrepreneurship, support education, and contribute to Kansas City civic life.
Prior to joining the Kauffman Foundation, Philip was chief operating officer at MissionHub, which supports social entrepreneurs and impact investors in building sustainable businesses that drive long-term social and environmental change. There, he led organization-wide initiatives on process and product improvements for greater efficiency. He served as lead partner to Impact Hub’s global association to promote interorganizational alignment, shape global business strategy, and advance strategic development efforts in developing regions of the world including Africa and Latin America.
Earlier, Philip was a political campaign director for various candidates, including Cory Booker for U.S. Senate and President Barack Obama in Pennsylvania for Obama for America, where he built and scaled grassroots ecosystems of volunteers that delivered historic results, aligning community, city, and state leaders to support his initiatives.
