2023 Corporate Philanthropy Institute: Building New Standards

Charu Adesnik is the Executive Director of the Cisco Foundation, and Director of Social Innovation Investments at Cisco Systems, Inc.  In this capacity, she oversees the mission, vision, strategy, programs, and governance of the Foundation.  Charu also leads Cisco's strategic investments of cash, donations of Cisco technology, and advisory services to support NGOs that work with underserved and vulnerable communities in areas of Crisis Response, Education, Economic Empowerment, and Climate Regeneration.  Beyond this, Charu oversees execution of Cisco’s goal to positively impact 1 billion people by 2025.  

Charu began her career at the World Bank, where she supported the development of the Bank’s country assistance strategies, and implemented technical assistance programs in East Asia and Pacific.  Prior to joining Cisco, she worked in the Financial Sector Development practice of Deloitte Consulting, where she developed sector level strategies and interventions, led client engagements, provided technical assistance on client engagements, managed diverse project teams, and oversaw relationships with key corporate and public sector clients in more than 25 countries, in every region of the world.  She has designed, executed and evaluated the impact of global initiatives across multiple disciplines, including financial services, economic empowerment, critical human needs, disaster response, education, and gender. 

Fatima Angeles is the Executive Director of the Levi Strauss Foundation, which advances pioneering social change in the areas of HIV/AIDS, worker rights and well-being, and social justice in communities touched by Levi Strauss & Co.’s business. Before joining LSF, Fatima was vice president of programs at The California Wellness Foundation where she led the Cal Wellness’s grantmaking efforts to improve the health and wellbeing of Californians. 

Fatima currently serves on the boards of directors for John Muir Health, CARESTAR Foundation, Confluence Philanthropy and the Sisters of St. Joseph Healthcare Foundation. She also served on the boards of Grantmakers In Health and Northern California Grantmakers. She also served as chair of the board of the Asian and Pacific Islander Health Forum and as a board member of the Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center and of Funders Concerned About AIDS. 

Fatima earned her master’s degree in public health from Columbia University and her bachelor’s degree in biology, with a minor in Asian American Studies, from the University of California, Berkeley. 

Caroline is the CEO and founder of Platypus Advisors, a social impact consulting firm she launched in March 2020 after a decade leading impact programs at top technology companies and 20 years in social good across the nonprofit and for-profit realms. She serves as an advisor, thought partner, and impact whisperer to CEOs and other C-suite leaders at organizations everywhere from pre-IPO to Fortune 50.

Wherever she goes, Caroline brings a platypus mindset to her work, helping stakeholders across sectors adapt and collaborate for maximum impact.

She has served as Global Head of Social Innovation at Eventbrite; Global Head of Philanthropy and Community Outreach at Twitter; and Senior Director of Corporate Affairs and Director of Global Employee Community Engagement, Office of Sustainability and Social Innovation, at Hewlett-Packard.

Caroline was an Aspen Institute First Mover Fellow and currently sits on the board of Global Fund for Women as Vice Chair.

She received her BA from Vassar College and was a Sloan Fellow at Stanford University Business School.

Steve has a long history with NCG including stints on various committees as well as the NCG and Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers boards. Over the last several years he’s been a consultant on special projects, corporate philanthropy and social responsibility and briefings. As Vice President of Strategic Initiatives, he’s focused on programs, initiatives and projects that address the issues affecting our region from displacement and gentrification to income inequality to the arts, climate change and disaster resiliency. 

In addition to his consulting practice, Steve has been the Director for Foundation and Corporate Giving at Gap Inc., a program officer at the Marin Community Foundation, and served in Mayoral administrations in both San Francisco and Oakland. When he’s not working you can often find him at Amoeba Music, traveling abroad, binge watching an amazing series, exploring the Bay Area or at some wine bar.

Raised by a Filipino immigrant family in the working class town of Pittsburg (no “h”), CA, Christine acts from the deep belief that we are stronger together and can go farther together than we ever could alone. She is Co-Director of Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN), organizing with immigrants and refugees for a healthy environment and thriving economy for all communities. For over 20 years, Christine strategized, organized, and built coalitions across environmental health and justice, workers rights, and economic and racial justice issues. Previously, she was Executive Director at the Center for Story-based Strategy, training 2,000+ people and working with 200+ groups to reinvigorate narrative strategies for social justice. Christine is an ordained priest of the Chozen-ji line of Rinzai Zen, and trains in Oakland, CA and Kalihi Valley, HI. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Linguistics from Stanford University, with a focus on language and power.

Aron is recognized globally as a preeminent authority on just and sustainable business. In addition to leading BSR, which has grown substantially throughout his tenure as President and CEO, Aron advises senior executives at BSR’s 300+ member companies and other global businesses and partners on the full spectrum of environmental, social, and governance issues.

Aron joined BSR in 1995 as the founding director of its Business and Human Rights program. He later opened BSR's Paris office in 2002, where he worked until becoming President and CEO in 2004. Aron has served on advisory boards to CEOs at AXA, Barrick Gold, Marks & Spencer, Nike, Recruit Holdings, SAP, Shell, and he serves as a director of the We Mean Business Coalition and RISE.

Aron speaks frequently at leading business and public fora and is widely quoted in top-tier media, such as the Financial Times, Le Figaro (France), The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Axios, and Politico. He is co-author of the book Sustainable Excellence: The Future of Business in a Fast-Changing World, which spotlights innovative sustainability strategies that enable business success.

Prior to joining BSR, Aron practiced law in San Francisco and worked as a journalist at ABC News in New York. He holds a BA from Tufts University and a JD from the University of California, Berkeley.

Rajni oversees efforts to embed a focus on equity and inclusion across Genentech’s value chain, with a focus on the commercialization process and beyond. Her team sets an integrated health equity strategy across Genentech’s US business (Commercial, Medical, and Government Affairs), embeds equity practices and core capabilities across key roles and functions, and fosters a culture of measurement and learning -- with the ultimate goal of ensuring that patients facing the greatest barriers benefit from the innovation of our industry.

Prior to this role, Rajni was Head of Giving and Social Impact at Genentech, where she led a team to drive Genentech’s philanthropic commitment to advancing health equity, diversifying the healthcare and scientific workforce, and supporting local communities near Genentech sites. During her tenure, she catalyzed $225M in equity-focused investments, including new competitive grant funds, multi-sector collaborations, and local signature programs. Before joining Genentech, Rajni advised Fortune 100 companies, private foundations, and research institutions to develop health equity strategies, strategic CSR programs, and new business models.

Rajni holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and International Studies from Northwestern University and a master’s degree in International Development Management from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Rajni is a Missouri native but has called the Bay Area home for more than ten years. She lives in Oakland with her husband and two daughters.

Malia Bachesta Eley is a Manager on the Salesforce Philanthropy team where she leads climate and disaster resilience programming. In this role, she oversees Salesforce's disaster resilience philanthropy efforts, manages Salesforce's multi-million dollar humanitarian grant portfolio, and drives programming to explore financing strategies beyond philanthropy. Prior to Salesforce Malia worked at FleishmanHillard where she advised Fortune 500 Companies and leading foundations on their philanthropic, DEI, and communication strategies. Before that, she worked at the Global Development Incubator bringing more than a dozen social impact ventures to market across East Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia.

Jorge Fontanez is the Chief Executive Officer at B Lab U.S. & Canada, a Global Partner of the nonprofit B Lab, commonly known for certifying for-profit companies trademarked as B Corps, who as a community are mobilizing to change the economic system to benefit all people, and the planet. He also founded Marca Studio in 2015, a brand and marketing strategy consultancy, serving for-profit social enterprises and  nonprofits. He is a First Mover Fellow of The Business & Society Program at The Aspen Institute. Jorge brings the mindset of an intrapreneur to his work, having dedicated his private sector career focused on stakeholder engagement at the intersection of marketing, technology and sustainability. His perspective on business as a driver for social change was formed by his experiences in leadership roles at Alcoa, Colgate-Palmolive, and JPMorgan Chase & Co. Jorge received his MBA from Stern and a BSE from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Kathy builds connections between companies and communities to catalyze change and impact. She is currently leading Pinterest Impact Fund and impact partnerships with a strategic focus on emotional wellbeing. Prior to Pinterest, Kathy led the Hewlett Packard Enterprise Foundation and HPE's corporate community investment strategy. At HPE, Kathy launched HPE Gives, which distributed more than $35M during her time there, along with a number of other initiatives, including an employee-nominated grants program and HPE Accelerating Impact.

In addition to her in-house corporate roles, Kathy also has rich experience in the philanthropy and nonprofit sector. She previously consulted for companies on corporate responsibility at Silicon Valley Community Foundation and led corporate and foundation partnerships for City Harvest, an anti-hunger nonprofit in New York City. Data and process-minded from the get-go, Kathy started her career in finance and change management at Barclays, where she was actively involved with company volunteering.

She is on the Board of Directors for the Association of Corporate Citizenship Professionals, where she serves on the Program Committee to advocate for development and DEI within the corporate impact profession. Passionate about economic opportunity and food justice, Kathy is also on the Board of Directors of Farming Hope, an organization in San Francisco that provides garden-to-table job training, feeds the community, and rescues excess food. A lifelong learner, Kathy is usually tackling multiple books, listening to a podcast, or taking yet another course. 

Nisha Kadaba is an Impact and Purpose leader with 15 years of experience working across the nonprofit, social enterprise and corporate sectors. She is currently at PagerDuty, where she architects strategic programs to mobilize core company assets - technology, people, funding, and voice - to accelerate the impact of mission-driven organizations. Prior to PagerDuty, she led impact partnerships at Playmob, a tech-for-good start-up that harnesses the power of games to educate and drive positive change.  Nisha’s passionate about building cross-sector partnerships and initiatives at the intersections of technology, business, and social impact that address global challenges and build sustainable livelihoods.  She’s previously held multifaceted roles at Room to Read and the CAA Foundation.  Nisha received her MSc degree in Environment and Development at the University of Edinburgh and her BA in Political Science and International Relations from UCLA.

Stephanie has led social impact, corporate grantmaking, employee volunteerism and engagement, and strategic partnerships for global companies in tech, aviation and sports. She is currently the Senior Social Impact Programs Manager at Cadence Design Systems. She started in tech at Salesforce, leading the citizen philanthropy programs team for the Americas managing employee volunteerism, giving and engagement for nearly 30,000 employees. She moved into tech after various roles in the airline industry focused on leading social impact strategy and investments, building community partnerships, new customer acquisition, and competitive research and analysis. Prior to that, she managed community relations and partnerships for the Golden State Warriors (go Dubs!). She began her career in the nonprofit sector leading fundraising and development, managing boards and helping organizations scale. She has a BA in Psychology and Communications from the University of California, Davis. She’s also a mom to two wonderful (but feral) kids.

With a background in international relations, economic empowerment, and human development, Karen has spent the past 15+ years as a bridge-builder between the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Her north star is equalizing the birth lottery because there are smart people with great ideas everywhere, but access to resources, capital, and opportunity is not equal.

As the Strategic Partnerships and Rapid Response lead on PayPal's Social Innovation team, Karen drives collaborations with internal and external stakeholders to support existing and new partnerships as well as lead Social Innovation’s Rapid Response efforts. During her tenure at Kiva, Karen cultivated and expanded strategic partnerships in the US and across Asia with a portfolio of corporate, foundation, and institutional partners. Prior to joining Kiva, Karen managed strategic corporate partnerships for the American Heart Association. Karen enjoys working closely with ecosystem partners to build mutually beneficial, long-term, strategic partnerships. She’s passionate about connecting and leveraging the worlds of non-profits and for-profits to create positive social impact and racial equity in the US and abroad.

As part of her Master’s Degree program, Karen helped implement an HIV/AIDS program for high school students at the Bapagrama Educational Center near Bangalore in southern, rural India. In 2010 Karen was a microfinance Kiva Fellow with the Local Enterprise Assistance Program in Monrovia, Liberia. She has lived, worked, studied, and/or traveled extensively throughout Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, North America, and South America. Karen holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Development from UC San Diego and a Master's Degree in International Relations from SIT Graduate Institute in Vermont. She also completed Seth Godin’s short and
immersive altMBA program as well as IDEO U’s Leading for Creativity program.

Luis Lozada is the CEO of Democracy Works, a nonpartisan civic tech nonprofit organization working to increase voter access, support election officials, and deepen America’s culture of civic engagement. Lozada joined the Democracy Works team in 2020 and was elevated to CEO in 2022. During his first year as CEO, Lozada oversaw the launch of a new Elections Data API, as well as a renovation of TurboVote, Democracy Works' flagship product. These TurboVote upgrades provided voters the ability to check their registration status, find their polling locations, and receive guidance on how, when, and where to vote, in addition to the original tools to help register to vote and receive election reminders. The API offers developers an opportunity to use Democracy Works Elections Data to reach more voters through their own tools and apps. Under Lozada's leadership, Democracy Works has grown its partnerships with more than 40 states to provide voters with official polling location information, found on both official state websites and through routine internet searches. Prior to joining Democracy Works, he served as Executive Vice President of Operations for RapidCourt and as Associate General Counsel for YMCA of the USA. Luis earned his Bachelor of Science in Information Management & Technology from Syracuse University and his Juris Doctor from Northwestern University School of Law. By leveraging technology as a countermeasure to the myriad process barriers to voting, Lozada and the team at Democracy Works strive to improve America’s elections infrastructure and bring voter participation to historic heights.

Dwayne S. Marsh assumed the position of President and CEO of Northern California Grantmakers on September 9, 2020. He brings 27 years of experience in the public, nonprofit, and philanthropic sectors with a career commitment to advancing racial and economic equity.

Dwayne recently completed a four-year turn as co-Director of the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) and Vice President of Institutional and Sectoral Change at Race Forward Race Forward. During his tenure, the membership network of local, regional, and state entities committed to advancing racial equity through the policies, practices, and public investments grew from just over 20 to nearly 200 participating jurisdictions.

Prior to GARE, Marsh spent six years as a senior advisor in the Office of Economic Resilience (OER) at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. There, he helped advance sustainable planning and development through interagency partnerships, departmental transformation, and funding initiatives managed through OER. He was OER’s principal coordinator for a $250 million grant program and led the development of capacity building resources that reinforced the work of pioneering grantees in 48 states and the District of Columbia. Under his leadership, OER prioritized equity as a foundational principal for its planning and investment initiatives.

Marsh brings to the movement his expertise and considerable experience in coalition building for regional equity and leadership development for policy change. He provides technical assistance and capacity building knowledge to equitable development initiatives that address continuing disparities in affordable housing, transportation investment, and environmental justice. Before HUD, Marsh spent a decade at PolicyLink, the national organization committed to economic and social equity. Before PolicyLink, he directed the FAITHS Initiative for eight years at The San Francisco Foundation, building a nationally renowned community development and capacity building program that continues to this day. His career has been defined by supporting communities traditionally marginalized from full participation in our economy and society to build power and leverage lasting systems transformation.

Dr. Michael McAfee became President and CEO of PolicyLink in 2018, seven years after becoming the inaugural director of the Promise Neighborhoods Institute at PolicyLink. His results-driven leadership, depth of knowledge about building and sustaining an organization, and devotion to serving the nation’s most underserved populations made him the obvious choice to lead the 20-year-old PolicyLink as Angela Glover Blackwell transitioned to founder in residence.

During his time at PolicyLink, Michael has played a leadership role in securing Promise Neighborhoods as a permanent federal program, led efforts to improve outcomes for more than 300,000 children, and facilitated the investment of billions of dollars in neighborhoods of concentrated poverty. He is the catalyst for a new and growing body of work — corporate racial equity — which includes the first comprehensive tool to guide private-sector companies in assessing and actively promoting equity in every aspect of their company’s value chain. Michael carries forward the legacy to realize the promise of equity — just and fair inclusion into a society in which all can participate, prosper, and reach their full potential.

Michael also understands the urgency of now. The nation is rapidly becoming a majority people of color. In cities and towns across the country many people are embracing the concept of equity and intent on achieving racial and economic equity for all. At the same time, as the word is used more, the concept of equity is in danger of becoming diluted, just another catchphrase of civil society, leaving the true promise of racial and economic inclusion unrealized. Michael is determined that this will not happen.

Michael is ensuring equity does not become watered down. He is turning movement leaders’ eyes toward redesigning the “rules of the game” so that all people in America — particularly those who face the burdens of structural racism — participate in a just society, live in a healthy community of opportunity, and prosper in an equitable economy. He is achieving this by enacting liberating public policies targeted to the 100 million people living in or near poverty, the majority of whom are people of color.

His legacy will lie in his efforts to stand in transformative solidarity with others, collectively charting a course to Win on Equity. He is building a well-planned, well-coordinated, well-executed, and sustained campaign that frees America’s democracy from the oppressive blend of patriarchy, capitalism, and racism.

Before joining PolicyLink, Michael served as senior community planning and development representative in the Chicago Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). While at HUD, he managed a $450 million housing, community, and economic development portfolio where he partnered with local leaders to create more than 3,000 units of affordable housing and 5,000 jobs and to ensure access to social services for more than 200,000 families. Before his public service, Michael served as the director of community leadership for The Greater Kansas City Community Foundation and Affiliated Trusts. He was instrumental in positioning the organization to raise $121 million from individual donors, an accomplishment recognized by the Chronicle of Philanthropy for receiving more contributions than any community foundation in America. Michael’s commitment to the needs of people of color and those living in poverty extends to his work on the boards of Independent Sector, North Lawndale Employment Network, REI, Strive Together, and Sweet Beginnings, LLC, each of which is committed to creating opportunity for those among the 100 million economically insecure people in America.

Previously, Michael served in the United States Army and as Dean's Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He earned his Doctor of Education in human and organizational learning from George Washington University and completed Harvard University's Executive Program in Public Management.

He is a sought-after speaker on community and economic development, leadership, organizational development, racial equity, and youth development. His articles have appeared in Academic Pediatrics, Cascade, published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia; Community Development Innovation Review, published by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco; Harvard Education Press, New York Times, Stanford Social Innovation Review, and Voices in Urban Education, published by the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University.

Michael lives in the Oakland Hills with his wife, Maja, and their two Brussels Griffons (Gigi and Griff). He is an avid off-road hiker and practitioner of yoga.

Scotland Nash is an associate director for employer transformation, at Talent Rewire/FSG.  In this role, she develops innovative curricula and facilitates employer engagements for a mix of virtual and in-person events with the goal of inspiring mindset shifts and practice change for employer participants on both an individual and organizational level. She supports both employers and frontline workers when implementing strategies that increase opportunity employment.  As a member of the Corporate Racial Equity Alliance design team, she is leading the design of the corporate pilots and company engagement.

Before FSG, Scotland worked in education and education support services for 20 years. She has had the role of high school social studies teacher, education director, instructional leader, adjunct professor, and consultant in the Chicago area and in Seattle. In this work, she has led systems change in coaching and evaluating teachers, implementing various academic best practices, and facilitating conversations to explore bias and understand its impact.

Allie Ottoboni is President of eBay Foundation where she guides multi-million dollar investments in programs focused on inclusive entrepreneurship. A champion of trust-based philanthropy, Allie has strategically led the eBay Foundation team to increase annual grantmaking, build an impressive portfolio of grantees impacting tens of thousands of entrepreneurs and galvanize thousands of eBay employees through giving and volunteering programs. Allie has also guided the development and growth of the eBay Foundation Board, including inviting and welcoming two Board Members from outside the company – a first for the eBay Foundation. This marks an important step in how the organization is deepening the experience and expertise of its governance, staying authentic in the work and providing learning opportunities for all.

Allie is a seasoned philanthropy professional and a self-professed psychology nerd who's never met a whiteboard she didn't love. Allie resides in San Jose, CA with her husband and two children, is an avid reader and enjoys baking, pickleball and hiking. Allie is an alumna of Indiana University, Bloomington where she earned a BA in Psychology and Spanish.

and

Vice President
Checkr Inc.

Ken Oliver is the Vice President of Checkr.org, the Social Impact division of Checkr, Inc., and also serves as the Executive Director of the Checkr Foundation. Checkr.org is dedicated to the mission of Building a Fairer Future of Work: one job at a time, by reshaping the narrative and providing pathways to sustainable employment for the 80M Americans who suffer from an arrest and conviction record. Ken's professional expertise spans the landscape of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ), record clearance, talent development, talent sourcing strategy, change management, and public policy. His proximate leadership is informed by lived experience after having been sentenced to life in prison for joyriding. During his close to 24 years of incarceration, he served nine years in solitary confinement for reading a book by former Black Panther Party member, George Jackson. With the support of Stanford University and corporate law firm Mayer Brown, Mr. Oliver successfully filed a civil rights lawsuit against the state, which led to his release in 2019. Upon reentering society, Mr. Oliver quickly established himself in the legal field, first as a paralegal at a public interest law firm and later as a state policy director. In 2020, he co-founded and became the Executive Director of a nonprofit organization focused on providing justice-impacted individuals with career pathways in tech and the knowledge-based economy. Under his leadership, the organization secured a $28.5 million investment from the State of California to establish a unique residential tech training campus for justice-impacted individuals.

Ken's insights and contributions to the field have been recognized and featured in publications such as Newsweek, Fast Company, Forbes, Inc., the New York Times, and others. He also played a role in shaping California Governor Newsom’s 2021 Future of Work Report.

In addition to his primary roles, Mr. Oliver holds board positions with several organizations, including The Last Mile, the San Mateo County of Community Colleges Foundation (SMCCCF), Turning Basin Labs (TBL), ClimbHire, Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice (CURYJ), the Justice Reform Foundation (JRF), and the National Reentry Workforce Collaborative (NRWC).

Kari Hayden Pendoley has brought profit and purpose together for Fortune 5 companies, Nobel Laureates, Forbes Top 10 Self-Made Women, celebrated social entrepreneurs, and government agencies to advance the work of ESG, DEIB, sustainability, public relations/communications, and more. As the founder of Impact Savvy, she leads a team of dynamic and diverse professionals to build custom and creative programs for her clients.

Kari previously spent 8 years serving as the Global Head of ESG & Social Impact for a $1B+ consumer products brand. She led a cross-functional team of 25 to build the ESG practice from the ground up, conducting materiality with c-suites, setting supply chain and environmental targets with board members, adapting programs for international offices/affiliates, and authoring the company’s first public ESG report.

Kari’s deep philanthropy expertise ranges from U.S. public education to international women’s rights. She managed a portfolio of $15M in global grants. She developed campaigns between companies and charities, activated over 1 million new donors from the general public, and generated media for clients from GQ, CNN, NY Times, LA Times, The Today Show, and Access Hollywood. Kari’s deep marketing expertise has resulted in award-winning social media campaigns with celebrity talent that trended on multiple social platforms generating billions of media impressions while positioning the company as an ESG influencer. Featured in Forbes, Allure, and awarded by SocialMediaToday as one of the 5 Best Social Media Campaigns of the Summer.

Kari started her DEIB work through external grantmaking, with 90% of funding under the corporate foundation reaching underserved and Black, Indigenous, and Persons of Color (BIPOC) communities. Certified by the National Diversity Council as a DEI professional, Kari served on national boards leading equity cabinets, sets metrics for DEI external reporting, pilots employee resource groups and engagement programs, and serves as a bridge for anyone or any team dismantling personal bias to move toward collective gains.

Kari is a thought leader and industry expert speaking on panels and giving keynotes for Full Circle Fund, Sustainability Leadership Council, Tech Summit, Social Innovation Summit, Northern California Grantmakers, Cause Marketing Summit, Corporate Philanthropy Institute, Net Impact, Engage for Good, and lecturer at Northwestern University.

Sally Ray brings nearly 30 years of experience working in the nonprofit world and a passion for community and social service to her current role as director of domestic funds, and previously as director of strategic initiatives and the director of the Hurricane Harvey Recovery Fund. In her current role with CDP, Sally oversees grantmaking for several domestic disaster funds, including the CDP Atlantic Hurricane Season Fund, the CDP California Wildfires Recovery Fund, the CDP Hawaii Wildfires Recovery Fund and the CDP Disaster Recovery Fund.  

Sally is a sought-after speaker on strategic topics of long-term recovery funding, support for trauma-informed care after a disaster, funding grassroots organizations to build community resilience and supporting organizational and community capacity for recovery after a disaster. She has been a speaker for National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (NVOAD), the Federal Emergency Management Association and local, state and regional disaster-related conferences and training.  

It seems almost fated that Sally had moved back to Houston just as Harvey formed. Though her home and family survived, she witnessed firsthand the devastation Harvey brought to many communities up and down the Texas Gulf Coast. 

Sally is also familiar with the long-term effects of a disaster on a community after working with disaster response and recovery organizations throughout Oklahoma. While with the Oklahoma City Community Foundation, Sally helped organizations address children and families' significant mental health needs following the Moore tornado and other devastating storms. Her efforts on behalf of survivors made her keenly aware of how long it often takes communities to recover from disasters. Through her prior work as the regional chief development officer for the American Red Cross of Central and Western Oklahoma, she developed a deep awareness of those who struggle to return to "normal" or a "new normal" after a disaster. 

Sally's nonprofit career began in Houston in the early nineties when she worked in communications and alumni services at South Texas College of Law. Moving to Oklahoma in 1999, Sally continued her career in higher education at Oklahoma City University but soon found her true calling in social services as the vice president of financial development at the YMCA of Greater Oklahoma City. She moved to the Y in Arlington, Texas, in 2008, then moved back to Oklahoma to work with the Red Cross in 2011, before joining the Oklahoma City Community Foundation in 2014. 

Sally lives and works remotely in Oklahoma City, OK, with her husband, Bill. She and Bill have two adult sons, Michael and Steven. She is an avid sports fan and has a particular passion for the Houston Astros, the Oklahoma City Thunder, and all the athletic teams of Oklahoma State University, her alma mater. 

As managing director, Kimberly oversees Talent Rewire’s efforts to innovate new approaches, tools, and research to drive employer systems transformation, and subsequently to scale the team’s learnings to the broader workforce field. She has supported a diverse range of employers—from Fortune 100 companies to small and medium-sized businesses—to adopt new HR practices and policies that improve the economic mobility of their frontline.

Prior to joining FSG, Kimberly worked at Teach For America, where she spent 8 years in a variety of roles to expand educational opportunity for children and families including acting as the interim executive director of Teach for America in Washington, leading the region’s 50 corps members and 800 alumni.

Kimberly frequently speaks to employers and workforce organizations on the topics of job quality, economic mobility, and systems change. She was a member of the Aspen Institute’s Job Quality Fellowship Class of 2022-23.

Lauren Smith, MD, MPH, is the chief health equity and strategy officer for the CDC Foundation, bringing more than 25 years working at the intersection of health care delivery and management, public policy and public health fields.

Smith partners with the CDC Foundation’s other senior leaders to develop and drive strategic efforts to embed health equity across the Foundation’s entire portfolio of work, with an explicit focus on structural inequities that affect the health, wellbeing and resiliency of marginalized populations. Her work has included COVID-19 response activities, promoting health equity through partnerships with state public health departments and community-based organizations and a focus on data equity.

Smith joined the Foundation from FSG, a social impact consulting firm, where she served as co-CEO and led the firm’s U.S. health practice. In this role, she partnered with community, social sector, public sector, health care, public health and philanthropy leaders, including in place-based collaborations. She has also served as the medical director and interim commissioner for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the medical director of the pediatric inpatient service at Boston Medical Center, the senior strategic advisor for a national innovation and improvement network focused on reducing infant mortality, the national medical director of the Medical Legal Partnership for Children, as well as state and federal government roles in the Office of Inspector General for the US HHS and as a policy fellow for the Massachusetts Speaker of the House.

Smith holds a BA with honors in biology from Harvard College, an MD from University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, and an MPH from University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health. She completed her pediatrics residency and chief residency at Children’s Hospital Boston and her general pediatrics fellowship at Boston Medical Center, Department of Pediatrics. She has published extensively in the peer-reviewed literature on health equity and the implication of social policies on child and family wellbeing. She has also served on numerous national and state advisory committees focused on public health and health care.

Justin Steele is a Director at Google.org, where he leads Google’s philanthropic grantmaking in the Americas. Prior to joining Google.org, Justin held several executive roles at Year Up, a job training nonprofit, and began his career as a management consultant at Bain & Co. and The Bridgespan Group. He earned an undergraduate degree in engineering from the University of Virginia and a dual MBA/MPA from Harvard, with a focus on nonprofit management and urban social policy. Justin resides in Oakland with his wife and four daughters, serves as a trustee of the San Francisco Foundation, and co-founded Outdoorithm, a social enterprise dedicated to making camping more inclusive and accessible.

As Director of Corporate Insights, Kate leverages her 10+ years of CSR practitioner experience and training in strategic foresight to lead the Insights team; augmenting CECP’s ability to empower companies on their purpose journey.

Prior to CECP, Kate worked on the Digital Services team at United Way Worldwide, providing subject matter expertise and insights to help advise UWW corporate partners in their CSR efforts, create value-add products, and worked with the broader United Way network in their efforts to better serve their partners.

Kate worked in corporate social responsibility for 10 years at several large, multi- national companies headquartered in Chicago, IL and Denver, CO. In her roles, she focused on strategy, employee engagement, ESG reporting, and corporate philanthropy. Prior to her corporate experience, she spent several years at various nonprofits, including two years as an AmeriCorps member in the state of Oregon.

Kate obtained a graduate certificate in Philanthropy and Nonprofit Management from Loyola University Chicago and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Luther College. She is passionate about climate change, DEI, and education as well as home improvement projects and traveling with her family. She calls Livermore, California home where she lives with her spouse and two young children.

Jessica Weare is Vice President of Corporate Responsibility at Silicon Valley Community Foundation, partnering with corporations across the region to help address community challenges and advance strategic corporate philanthropy. Previously, Weare directed Microsoft’s philanthropic work in Silicon Valley, supporting nonprofits working in education, workforce development, and civic technology. At United Way Bay Area’s public policy committee, Weare successfully advocated in Sacramento and Washington D.C. for legislation strengthening public education, healthcare, economic mobility, and charitable giving. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Yale University, and a doctorate from Stanford University