Lyle Matthew Kan
Social Justice Philanthropy Executive
Lyle Matthew Kan (he/him) is a leader in social justice philanthropy who was named by Inside Philanthropy as one of “Philanthropy’s Most Powerful People Under 40” in 2025.
He has held executive leadership roles at Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy, CHANGE Philanthropy, Funders for LGBTQ Issues, and Stonewall Community Foundation. He has served as a strategic advisor to the AAPI Community Development Fund, the Asian American Foundation, the Communities of Color Nonprofit Stabilization Fund, Edward W. Hazen Foundation, Equity in the Center, the Fund for Shared Insights, the Queer Youth Fund at Liberty Hill Foundation, and the Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity. An expert on trends, gaps, and opportunities in social justice grantmaking, he is well known for his reports and infographics on the scale and character of Asian American/Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, LGBTQ, and racial justice grantmaking. He is also a co-creator of the Diversity Among Philanthropic Professionals (DAPP) Survey and Report and helped launch Grantmakers United for Trans Communities, Out in the South, Power in Solidarity Hawaii, and the Racial Equity Advancement and Defense Initiative (READI).
Lyle is a trustee of the American LGBTQ+ Museum and Candid. He serves on the advisory council of The City University of New York (CUNY) LBGTQI Student Leadership Program and OutVote. Lyle holds a B.A. in individualized study from New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study and an M.Sc. in political sociology from the London School of Economics and Political Science. While often busy trying to inspire a better world, he enjoys cooking, entertaining, exercising, and spending time with loved ones in his free time. When not traveling for business or pleasure, he calls New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood home.