Emily Zimmern

Growing up in Louisiana in the segregated South of the 1950s and 1960s, Emily was inspired by the courageous example of civil rights activists.  She has devoted a major part of her life to building bridges across racial, ethnic and religious divides and working for fairness and opportunity for all.  As a founding Co-Chair and member of the Leadership Team, Emily was instrumental in the 1997 launch of the Community Building Initiative to address issues of racial inequity. Emily was CEO of the Levine Museum of the New South from 1995-2015. The organization became an active participant in the civic life of Charlotte and a national model for fostering community dialogue and engagement through history.

Emily’s steadfast commitment to compassion and caring for others was exemplified when she chaired the Niner Nation Remembrance Commission after the tragic shooting at UNC Charlotte in 2019, and the following year when she chaired the City of Charlotte’s Legacy Commission, contributing to the city’s evolving cultural landscape. Other civic leadership assignments include co-chairing the City of Charlotte’s Immigrant Integration Task Force and the Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte’s Outshine Hate initiative to combat antisemitism.  

Emily is a recipient of the Thurgood Marshall Fund Award of Excellence, Leadership Charlotte’s Schley R. Lyons Circle of Excellence Award, and an Honorary Doctorate of Public Service from UNC Charlotte. Woman of the Year 2002.