Keith Leaphart
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Keith Leaphart (born February 9, 1975) is an American entrepreneur, philanthropist, physician and politician. Leaphart is the Chair of the Lenfest Foundation, CEO of Replica Creative and founder of Philanthropi, a
fintech Financial technology (abbreviated as fintech) refers to the application of innovative technologies to products and services in the financial industry. This broad term encompasses a wide array of technological advancements in financial services, ...
company. He is also the Secretary-Treasurer of the
Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) is an agency created in 1937 to construct, finance, operate, and maintain the Pennsylvania Turnpike (both the mainline and the Northeast Extension). The commission consists of five members. Four memb ...
.


Early life

Leaphart was born and raised in
West Oak Lane, Philadelphia West Oak Lane is a neighbourhood, neighborhood in Northwest Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The neighborhood was developed primarily between the early 1920s and late 1930s, with the areas near to Cedarbrook constructed after World War ...
by his mother, Etheyln, who worked as an administrative assistant at the
Free Library of Philadelphia The Free Library of Philadelphia is the public library system that serves the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is the 16th-largest public library system in the United States. The Free Library of Philadelphia is a non-Mayoral agency of the ...
. Leaphart's father, Frank, worked as an electrician and left when Leaphart was a baby, but the two remained close. Starting at the age of 10, Leaphart was used by drug dealers as a runner, but by age 12, Leaphart had become a
Paperboy A paperboy is someoneoften an older child or adolescentwho distributes printed newspapers to homes or offices on a regular route, usually by bicycle or automobile. In Western nations during the heyday of print newspapers during the early 20th cen ...
. As part of a desegregation program, Leaphart and his sister were bused to an elementary school in Northeast Philly. Leaphart was a student in the
School District of Philadelphia The School District of Philadelphia (SDP) is the school district that includes all school district-operated State schools, public schools in Philadelphia. Established in 1818, it is the largest school district in Pennsylvania and the eighth-lar ...
and graduated from Central High School. Leaphart received a scholarship to attend
Hampton University Hampton University is a private, historically black, research university in Hampton, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missiona ...
where he graduated in 1996 with a degree in biology. In 2003, he graduated from
Saint Joseph's University Saint Joseph's University (SJU or St. Joe's) is a Private university, private Jesuits, Jesuit university in Philadelphia, Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, and Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The university was founded by the Jesuits, Society of J ...
and the
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) is a Private university, private medical school with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and additional locations in Suwanee, Georgia (PCOM Georgia) and Moultrie, Georgia (PCOM Sout ...
with a dual degree. He served as an administrative intern at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children and served his residency at
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital Thomas Jefferson University Hospital is the flagship hospital of Jefferson Health, a multi-state non-profit health system based in Philadelphia. The hospital serves as the teaching hospital for Thomas Jefferson University. With 937 licensed b ...
. Upon graduation, Leaphart worked as a long-term substitute at George Washington Carver High School for Engineering and Science.


Career

Upon completing his residency, Leaphart aimed to become the CEO of a hospital. However, he had already founded a successful cleaning company while in medical school. While running the cleaning company, Leaphart was cleaning the office of Philadelphia billionaire and philanthropist,
Gerry Lenfest Harold FitzGerald "Gerry" Lenfest (May 29, 1930 – August 5, 2018) was an American lawyer, media executive, and philanthropist. Lenfest, along with his wife Marguerite, were among the most prominent Philadelphia-based philanthropists in his ...
. They then became good friends and business partners. In 2007, Leaphart explored running for Congress and had an exploratory committee funded by Lenfest. However, Leaphart opted not to run and instead focused on ways the private sector can help Philadelphians. Leaphart served as an executive on loan to the city of Philadelphia where he advised Mayor
Michael Nutter Michael Anthony Nutter (born June 29, 1957) is an American politician who served as the 98th Mayor of Philadelphia from 2008 to 2016. A member of the Democratic Party, he is also a former member of the Philadelphia City Council from the 4th di ...
on programming to help men who had served time in jail. With a loan from Lenfest, Leaphart bought Replica Creative, a design and print firm, in 2009. He turned the company into a leading competitor in the digital economy and Replica Creative was recognized as a leading small business in Philadelphia by Mayor Michael Nutter. Since 2013, Leaphart has served as the chair of the Lenfest Foundation, where he works to help disadvantaged youth in Philadelphia. Similarly, Leaphart serves on the board of the
Philadelphia Media Network The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC (formerly Philadelphia Media Network (PMN)) is an American media company. It owns ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' and ''Philadelphia Daily News''. The company is owned by The Philadelphia Foundation, a nonprofit or ...
, the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, the Philadelphia Convention & Visitor Bureau and
Comcast Comcast Corporation, formerly known as Comcast Holdings,Before the AT&T Broadband, AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation, not th ...
's external Joint Diversity Advisory Council. Leaphart's accomplishments in helping Philadelphia's youth and local economy were recognized when he was awarded the Vision for Philadelphia Award in 2013. In 2018, Leaphart launched Philanthropi, a fintech company that helps donors track their charitable contributions and find new charitable causes to support. Leaphart was nominated as the Secretary-Treasurer of the
Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) is an agency created in 1937 to construct, finance, operate, and maintain the Pennsylvania Turnpike (both the mainline and the Northeast Extension). The commission consists of five members. Four memb ...
by Governor
Josh Shapiro Joshua David Shapiro (born June 20, 1973) is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the 48th governor of Pennsylvania since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he was the attorney general of Pen ...
in 2023. He was confirmed by the
Pennsylvania Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mi ...
to this position on July 5, 2023.


Personal life

Leaphart is still a licensed physician and works at Bryn Mawr Rehabilitation Hospital during the nights and weekends. He lives in Overbrook Farms, Philadelphia and has two sons.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leaphart, Keith Living people 1975 births 21st-century African-American businesspeople African-American investors American investors Businesspeople from Philadelphia 21st-century American businesspeople American activists Physicians from Philadelphia Hampton University alumni Saint Joseph's University alumni Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine alumni 20th-century African-American people