Linford Lougheed

Linford Lougheed is an English-language educator and author of test preparation materials. In March 2025, Lougheed and his spouse, retired investor and attorney Aaron Fleischman, were recognized on the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s Philanthropy 50 list, which ranks the 50 largest individual donors in the United States annually.  1

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At-A-Glance

Occupation: Board Member or Executive
Spouse:

Aaron Fleischman

Known for:

Philanthropy

Contents

    Career

    Linford Lougheed’s English as a Foreign Language (EFL) career began in 1968 as a Peace Corps volunteer in Turkey. In 1983, he founded Instructional Design International, Inc., a company that published English teaching materials in print, audio, and digital formats. 2

    As of 2025, Lougheed has authored over 40 test preparation materials for international English assessments. These include the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC). 2

    In 2004, Lougheed founded the Aaron I. Fleischman Foundation Inc. with his now-spouse Aaron I. Fleischman, an art investor and Harvard University graduate.   3

    Lougheed established the Montgomery Botanical Center (MBC) Plant Exploration Fund in July 2018 intended to conserve plants from tropical habitats from around the world. 4

    Early Life and Education

    Lougheed enrolled in a master of arts program specializing in teaching English as a Foreign Language at the University of Illinois in 1971. As part of the program, he spent a year teaching and studying in Tehran, Iran, before finishing his coursework in Illinois.  5

    After graduating in 1973, 6 Lougheed received two Fulbright awards: a 1973 scholar grant in Sri Lanka and a 1979 professor award in Tunisia. He later received his doctorate in International Educational Development from Teachers College, Columbia University.  7

    Lougheed sat on the Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Executive Board. 8 He also sat on the board of Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Miami 9 which features a “Lin Lougheed Spiny Forest of Madagascar” exhibit named in his honor. 10

    In 2019, he joined the board of the National Tropical Botanical Garden 11 and was honored with a newly identified palm species, Sabal lougheediana, found only on the Caribbean Island of Bonaire. 8

    Lougheed has served on the library council at MoMA 12 and, as of 2020, on the board of Oolite Arts Miami. 13

    Philanthropic Activities

    In July 2018, Lougheed founded and donated $100,000 to the Montgomery Botanical Center (MBC) Plant Exploration Fund. 14

    On September 16, 2024, Dr. Lin Lougheed and his spouse, Aaron I. Fleischman, donated $75 million to the Art Institute of Chicago to support construction of a new building for the museum’s modern and contemporary art collection. 7 Following this donation, Fleischman and Lougheed were recognized on the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s Philanthropy 50 list in March 2025. The list ranks the 50 largest individual donors in the United States annually.  1

    Between 2015 and 2023, major recipients of grants from the Aaron I. Fleischman and Lin Lougheed Foundation included Teachers College, Columbia University ($150,000) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art ($1,246,500). 15

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    References

    1. Di Mento, Maria. America’s biggest donors — the 25th anniversary of our annual philanthropy 50, March 4, 2025. https://www.philanthropy.com/article/the-philanthropy-50/ 
    2. “‘test Preparation Authority’ Lin Lougheed (Turkey).” Peace Corps Worldwide, June 14, 2023. https://peacecorpsworldwide.org/rpcv-lin-lougheed-text-preparation-authority-turkey/
    3. “The Aaron I Fleischman Foundation Inc – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. Accessed October 4, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/300265819
    4. “Local Explorer Funds International Plant Exploration.” Montgomery Botanical Center, July 1, 2018. https://www.montgomerybotanical.org/news/mbc-plant-exploration-fund/
    5. Dr. Lin Lougheed – The Leading Authority in IELTS, TOEFL and TOEIC test preparation. Accessed October 6, 2025. http://lougheed.com/lougheed_bio.php
    6. Newsletter for Alumi DEILING YOU IN, Spring 1992. https://linguistics.illinois.edu/system/files/inline-files/Spring92.pdf 
    7. “$75 Million Gift to Support Future Growth on the Art Institute of Chicago Museum Campus.” The Art Institute of Chicago, September 10, 2024. https://www.artic.edu/press/press-releases/365/gift-to-support-future-growth-on-the-art-institute-of-chicago-museum-campus
    8. “Leadership: Annual Report 2020: Newsroom: Teachers College, Columbia University.” Teachers College – Columbia University, 2020. https://www.tc.columbia.edu/annual-report-2020/leadership/
    9. “Board of Trustees.” Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. Accessed October 4, 2025. https://fairchildgarden.org/board-of-trustees/
    10. “Lin Lougheed Spiny Forest of Madagascar.” Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. Accessed October 4, 2025. https://fairchildgarden.org/miami-botanical-garden/lin-lougheed-spiny-forest-of-madagascar/
    11. 2019 990 public inspection. Accessed October 5, 2025. https://ntbg.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/NTBG-2019-990-Public-inspection-copy.pdf
    12. “Exhibitions Publications Acquisitions Gifts to the Annual Fund Membership.” The Museum of Modern Art, 2008. https://www.moma.org/momaorg/shared/pdfs/docs/give/annuallisting.pdf
    13. “Acquisitions.” Oolite Arts. Accessed October 4, 2025. https://oolitearts.org/acquisitions/
    14. “Plant Exploration Fund.” Montgomery Botanical Center. Accessed October 4, 2025. https://www.montgomerybotanical.org/support/plant-exploration-fund/
    15. “THE AARON I FLEISCHMAN AND LIN LOUGHEED FOUNDATION INC.” Impala. Accessed October 5, 2025. https://app.impala.digital/profile/204239/overview