Rutledge Simmons

April 2023 - Bridge Partners is pleased to announce the appointment of Rutledge Simmons as General Counsel of NEO Philanthropy.

NEO Philanthropy is a 501(c)(3) with a mission to increase funding for cutting-edge strategies that advance social change. NEO has helped align investor and non-profit resources to foster cooperation and increase impact across multiple social sectors by leading large-scale collaborative grantmaking funds on a range of social justice issues, providing fiscal sponsorship and management to projects and campaigns, managing donor advised funds and developing organization and field-focused capacity building initiatives. 

Mr. Simmons joins NEO Philanthropy from NeighborWorks America where he spent nearly two decades serving most recently as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. At NEO Philanthropy, Rutledge will serve as a critical member and trusted advisor of the executive leadership team providing strategic and legal guidance on a variety of complex issues including grantmaking, consultant contracts, lobbying, employment and labor issues, and financial operations. 

Mr. Simmons holds a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard College and a Juris Doctor from Columbia School of Law. He is currently a Board Member of ROC USA and has chaired several boards in the past.