Lindsay Kist

Lindsay Kist brings more than 15 years of experience in philanthropy, communications, partnership development, and community-centered programming to her role as Executive Director of the Winter Park Institute. Throughout her career, she has worked to connect people and organizations around ideas that can strengthen communities.

Before joining WPI, Lindsay served as Vice President at the Winter Park Health Foundation, a private philanthropic organization working to improve health in Winter Park, Maitland, Eatonville, and surrounding communities. There, she helped advance strategic initiatives and collaborations across Central Florida.

Earlier, Lindsay spent 11 years with the New York-based Women’s Sports Foundation, a national nonprofit founded by Billie Jean King to expand opportunities for girls and women in sports. She also worked with Excelle Sports, a digital media platform created to give women’s sports and athletes more consistent national coverage. Across those roles, she built partnerships, raised visibility for work she believed in, secured support, and developed relationships with donors and national partners.

Lindsay’s commitment to Central Florida extends beyond her professional work. She serves on the board of New Hope for Kids and on the Howard Phillips Center’s Community Leadership Council. Those roles have deepened her belief that lasting community impact grows through trusted relationships and a willingness to learn from one another.

At the Winter Park Institute, Lindsay leads strategy, programming, partnerships, and community engagement. She is particularly drawn to the Institute’s ability to bring globally recognized voices into conversation with the people of Central Florida, and to create opportunities for those conversations to continue through community reads, forums, classrooms, and gatherings across the region.

“Through the Institute, world-renowned thinkers don’t simply visit Central Florida. They spark conversations that continue around dinner tables, in classrooms, in boardrooms, and throughout our community.”

As Executive Director, Kist oversees strategy, programming, partnerships, and community engagement, advancing the Institute’s commitment to meaningful dialogue and ideas that improve lives and communities.