Executive Director, Red Sox Foundation/Executive Vice President, Social Impact
Rebekah Splaine Salwasser joined the club in January 2018 as Executive Director of the Red Sox Foundation. In her role, she will help realize the ambitious vision of the Foundation, which is to make a difference in the lives of children, families, veterans, and communities in need by providing them with health, educational, and recreational opportunities.
Paramount to the Red Sox Foundation's success are the strong relationships the Foundation and team have forged with Dana-Farber, Home Base, and The Dimock Center. In addition to managing its key partnerships, Salwasser is responsible for the overall success of the Foundation's giving strategy, programming, fundraising and sponsorships, capacity building, and various other events and projects that will help build the brand and strengthen the impact of the Foundation within the New England community.
In addition to her Executive Director role, Salwasser became the Chair of the Red Sox's Social Justice, Equity & Inclusion Advisory Committee in June 2020. In this role, she aims to use the Red Sox platform to promote and amplify racial and social justice causes that align with the organization's core values, and to develop sustainable initiatives that promote social justice, equity and inclusion. Given this role and her work in the community, she was promoted to Executive Vice President of Social Impact for the Red Sox in January 2021.
Before joining the Red Sox, Salwasser was the Executive Director for Scholar Athletes, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to support academic achievement through athletics. Prior to running Scholar Athletes, she was the Community Relations Director for the Boston Celtics for five years, overseeing charitable giving, community and fundraising events, and player engagement for the Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation. Before the Celtics, she was the Executive Director of the Charlestown Lacrosse & Learning Center, a small nonprofit in Boston that provided academic & athletic assistance to local youth. In 2003, Salwasser was also a player for the Boston Breakers women's professional soccer team, fulfilling a lifelong dream.
Salwasser is currently on the Board of Directors for The New Commonwealth Fund, the Women's Foundation of Boston, Home Base, and the YMCA of Greater Boston. She also sits on the Advisory Boards for Dream Big! and the Pan Mass Challenge.
In 2020, Salwasser was WISE (Women in Sports & Events) Boston's "Woman of Inspiration", and in 2018 she was selected to Boston Business Journal's "40 Under 40" class, and her and her husband were recognized by Boston Magazine as a Top 5 "Power Couple." Salwasser was an Emerging Leader for the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education in 2013, and was recognized in 2013 as one of Boston's Future Leaders by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce.
Though born and raised in Cambridge, MA, Salwasser currently resides in Dorchester with her husband, Zac, and three children, Calvin, Niko, and Evie.