Lowell Weiss
Senior Advisor
As advisor to williamsworks, Lowell helps our clients focus their philanthropic goals, plan for impact, and develop effective advocacy strategies.
Lowell is the president of Cascade Philanthropy Advisors, a firm that helps donors—from multibillion-dollar foundations operating on a global scale to families investing in their own communities—use their money, time, and brainpower to create meaningful social change.
Lowell previously served in a leadership role at one of the world’s foremost change-making institutions, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Among his many responsibilities, Lowell served as staff director of the team responsible for providing Bill and Melinda Gates with analytical insights on how to make highest and best use of Warren Buffett’s historic $31 billion gift to the foundation. Prior to his tenure at the Gates Foundation, Lowell served as the director of the chairman’s office at a pioneering venture philanthropy organization, the Morino Institute.
As Special Assistant to the President in the Clinton White House, Lowell traveled extensively with President Clinton, wrote more than 150 speeches for him, and served as a key communications strategist on issues ranging from the environment to economic development. He also served in a similar capacity with Vice President Al Gore during the 1996 presidential campaign. Before that, he wrote a New York Times bestselling book with political consultant James Carville, served as an editor at The Atlantic Monthly, and published articles in magazines including U.S. News and World Report and The New Republic.
Lowell serves on the board of City Year Seattle/King County; helped create and launch an initiative that inspired 1,000 federal employees to serve as reading tutors in D.C. Public Schools; and for many years served as a mentor in Northeast Washington, DC. He graduated magna cum laude from Amherst College.