Robert W. "Rob" Briggs
Vice Chair and Trustee

Rob Briggs is the chairman emeritus and former CEO of Buckingham, Doolittle &  Burroughs, the 13^th largest law firm in Ohio.  He became a Knight Foundation trustee in June 2002 and was elected Vice Chair on September 20, 2005. 

He is a member of the Governance Committee and the Program Committee. 

Briggs began his law career as a staff judge advocate for the U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAG).  He has been with Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs since 1971 where he specializes in corporate, business, estate planning and foundation matters.

An active member of the Akron community, Briggs is involved with a number of regional organizations.  He is a trustee of the Musical Arts Association (Cleveland Orchestra), Northeast Ohio Council on Higher Education, the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland Foundation and the Northeast Ohio Technology Coalition.  He is also a board member of the Ohio & Erie National Heritage Canalway, trustee and board chair of The National Inventors Hall of Fame, and co-trustee and executive director of the GAR Foundation.  He is chair of the Ohio Venture Capital Authority and as chair of the Fund For Our Economic Future, which is an unprecedented collaboration created by 80+ funders in Northeast Ohio to focus on regional economic development in the region.  

Among the honors Briggs has received for his work are the Distinguished Service Award from the Akron Community Foundation, the Hope Award from the Northeastern Ohio Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society, the Honorary Alumni Award from the University of Akron, and the Community Service Award from the Great Trail Council of the Boy Scouts and the Northwest Summit County Rotary.

Briggs received his bachelor’s degree from Duke University and his law degree from The Ohio State University’s College of Law.  He resides near Akron with his wife, Joanne, who is a practicing ophthalmologist.  They have a blended family of five children and two grandchildren.