About Rhett Wilson, Founder

Rhett Wilson has worked for over 20 years in fundraising.

Recently, he held the role of Senior Vice President of the White House Historical Association/White House Endowment Trust from 2016 to 2025. During his tenure, he built the Association's first professional fundraising division, expanding the team from 2 to over 25 staff members. Under his leadership, the donor base grew from 103 to 16,000 annually, while doubling revenue every 24 months.

From 2023 to 2024, Wilson designed and led the Association’s first capital campaign, an 18-month effort to raise $85.5 million. These funds enabled the creation of the Association’s first interactive White House museum, The People’s House: A White House Experience. This 30,000-square-foot facility, located adjacent to the White House complex, is designed to serve 25,000 visitors each month.

Working closely with four presidential administrations, Wilson contributed to numerous unique projects involving three First Families. During the Obama administration, he helped organize a reception at the White House focused on modern art and a tribute dinner for First Lady Michelle Obama. In 2020, Wilson raised the funds to assist First Lady Melania Trump in acquiring a sculpture by Isamu Noguchi for the Rose Garden—the first work of Asian American art to be added to the White House Collection. During the Biden administration, Wilson coordinated a dinner celebrating the installation of the White House portraits of President Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama. He also played a key role in organizing events with President and First Lady Dr. Biden that highlighted the Association's educational mission and the effort to launch The People’s House museum.

Wilson advises university deans and presidents, non-profit boards and CEOs, presidential library foundations, philanthropists, and family foundations on philanthropy, strategy, and vision processes.  Prior to joining the White House Historical Association, Wilson served as Associate Dean at Johns Hopkins University and Assistant Dean at George Mason University.

Wilson is a founding board member of the Caravanserai Project and a member of the board of directors of the LGBTQ+ Victory Institute. He has also served on the Board of Trustees for Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership (HOBY) and the advisory board of Alaris, a signature verification technology firm in a joint venture with Rolls Royce, Inc. Additionally, he is a former city councilman of Kearny, Arizona.