From nonprofit founders to CEOs to volunteers, Silicon Valley benefits from the generosity of thousands of big hearts and minds. Here are the region's leaders in philanthropy.
FOUNDER, ALWAYS DREAM
Kristi Yamaguchi knows her organization, Always Dream, has an immediate impact on children and literacy. First, the statistics: Only 32% of fourth graders in California read above grade level. “We’re reversing this trend: 82% of parents report their child asks to be read to more often, 88% of parents report they have the tools to support their child to develop a love of reading,” says Yamaguchi, whose nonprofit serves low-income families with access to books, digital tablets with e-books, and a literacy coach who supports, encourages, and empowers families. The organization currently serves 21 regional schools and over 2,700 kids. By 2027, the Olympic gold medal skater says the organization aims to reach 75 schools and 10,000 students. “We will continue to be a visible champion of literacy and raise the bar with our fundraising efforts, so we can continue to impact more lives and ensure all children have the literacy resources to succeed in school and life,” she says. alwaysdream.org
STEPHEN AND JARED SILVER
SILVER FAMILY FOUNDATION
shsilver.com
SHERYL SANDBERG
SHERYL SANDBERG AND DAVE GOLDBERG FAMILY FOUNDATION
sgff.org
AMY WENDER
FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT, WENDER WEIS FOUNDATION FOR CHILDREN
wenderweis.org
EVAN AND SARA WILLIAMS
SOMELAND FOUNDATION
@ev
MARC AND LYNNE BENIOFF
SALESFORCE FOUNDATION
salesforce.com
JOHN A. AND JOHN M. SOBRATO
SOBRATO FAMILY FOUNDATION
sobrato.com
BRIAN ACTON
ACTON FAMILY GIVING
actonfamilygiving.com
CASE AND LISA SWENSON
SWENSON FOUNDATION
swensonfoundation.org
JOHN AND MARCIA GOLDMAN
JOHN & MARCIA GOLDMAN FOUNDATION
jmgoldmanfoundation.org
LARRY KRAMER
PRESIDENT, THE WILLIAM AND FLORA HEWLETT FOUNDATION
hewlett.org
CYNTHIA J. BRANDT
CEO AND PRESIDENT, LUCILE PACKARD FOUNDATION FOR CHILDREN’S HEALTH
lpfch.org
HARVEY FINEBERG
PRESIDENT, GORDON AND BETTY MOORE FOUNDATION
moore.org
CARI TUNA
PRESIDENT, GOOD VENTURES FOUNDATION
goodventures.org
PRESIDENT & CEO, BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF SILICON VALLEY
“I get the awesome privilege of a front-row seat to witness young people achieve things they may not have thought possible,” says Steve Wymer, president and CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Silicon Valley. Wymer, who spent nearly a decade in DC as an advisor for three U.S. senators (he also held executive roles at TiVo, Nextdoor and eBay), says he witnesses profound change through his organization’s work every day. “A few months into this job, I introduced a 7th-grade boy in our program to an adult friend of mine exploring volunteer opportunities in youth development,” he says. “Both the child and my friend happened to be of Mexican descent. When I told the boy my friend was an engineer, the child scoffed and said, ‘Latinos don’t code.’ My friend sat beside the kid and said, ‘Young man, that is absolutely not true. I do. And you can, too.’ I got to witness a paradigm shift. It impacted all three of us, and I also seek ways to repeat powerful interactions like this. I provide help to kids in need in a community I truly love. I’m immeasurably blessed to serve in this way.” bgclub.org
LAWRENCE PAGE
PRESIDENT, DIRECTOR AND CHAIRMAN, THE CARL VICTOR PAGE MEMORIAL FOUNDATION
650.313.2002
JAN KOUM
PRESIDENT, THE KOUM FAMILY FOUNDATION
@jankoum
LAURENE POWELL JOBS
RESIDENT, WAVERLY STREET FOUNDATION
emersoncollective.com
WENDY SCHMIDT
PRESIDENT AND DIRECTOR, SCHMIDT FAMILY FOUNDATION
tsffoundation.org
DEANNA GOMBY
PRESIDENT AND CEO, HEISING-SIMONS FOUNDATION
hsfoundation.org
TASHIA MORGRIDGE
PRESIDENT AND DIRECTOR TOSA FOUNDATION
tosafoundation.org
MARK ZUCKERBERG AND PRISCILLA CHAN
CHAN ZUCKERBERG INITIATIVE
chanzuckerberg.com
ANNE WOJCICKI
PRESIDENT AND CHAIRWOMAN ANNE WOJCICKI FOUNDATION
@ANNWOJ23
BRIAN AND TEGAN ACTON
FOUNDERS AND CO-CHAIRS, SUNLIGHT GIVING
sunlightgiving.org
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, DRESS FOR SUCCESS SAN FRANCISCO AND SAN JOSE
Erin Badillo understands the art of pivoting. During the pandemic, the fourth-generation San Franciscan learned one of her Dress for Success clients didn’t have a LinkedIn profile. “Via virtual programming, we helped her create one,” says Badillo of her organization, which gives women a boost in finding meaningful employment at a liveable wage. “As soon as she applied for the job, we helped her with interview coaching. She landed the job in the spring of 2020 and has been steadily climbing the ranks—and we get to be with her during that journey. It’s a tremendous gift to help more than 800 women each year find a meaningful and financially supportive job.” Badillo says she and her team are expanding their digital literacy and equity work. “We’re getting new laptops and tablets into the hands of clients who otherwise couldn’t attend a Zoom interview or a great class online. We also provide coursework and coaches to help clients increase skills to apply for the next job and succeed in the Bay Area’s tech world.” dressforsuccess.org
LORI L. HUANG
PRESIDENT, THE JEN-HSUN & LORI HUANG FOUNDATION
@NVIDIA
AMY RODDE
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, THE VALHALLA CHARITABLE FOUNDATION
valhalla.org
AJAY KELA
PRESIDENT AND CEO, WADHWANI OPERATING FOUNDATION
wfglobal.org
JOHN P. MORGRIDGE
CHAIR, CISCO SYSTEMS FOUNDATION
cisco.com/go/foundation
KATEY KENNEDY
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, THE 1440 FOUNDATION
1440foundation.org
THOMAS SIEBEL
PRESIDENT, THE THOMAS AND STACEY SIEBEL FOUNDATION
@tomsiebel
TIMOTHY KNOWLES
PRESIDENT, THE CARNEGIE FOUNDATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF TEACHING
carnegiefoundation.org
MIKE KUBZANSKY
CEO, OMIDYAR NETWORK FUND INC.
omidyar.com
Wendy Shew was in Thailand teaching when a devastating earthquake hit Nepal nearly a decade ago. The Bay Area resident wanted to help. Eventually, she founded Building Education, whose mission is to build 1,000 schools that spark a legacy of change in developing countries. “Building Education seeks for the most vulnerable communities that suffer from multidimensional poverty to have access to health care, education, clean water, energy and basic infrastructure,” says Shew, who also worked in the international aviation business as a jet engine specialist before volunteering and living in Asia, Europe and Africa. “My core value in life is leaving the world a better place than I found it,” she says. “Going to Nepal to see the schools built is the most gratifying part of our work at Building Education. [It’s extraordinary] to look into the child’s eyes and see the amazement when they receive their first backpack or the joy and excitement of the kids flying down their first slide. During interviews, students tell us about their dreams of becoming a teacher or police officer when all they and their families have known is farming. This is our impact: educating individuals and bringing talent to stay in the country and develop a nation.” bebuildingeducation.org
JOHN PAYE, AMY PAYE VENUTO, KATE PAYE
FOUNDERS, INSIDE ANNE’S CLOSET BENEFITTING COLORECTAL CANCER ALLIANCE
ccalliance.org/get-involved/inside-annes-closet
HEATHER PIETSCH
BOARD PRESIDENT, RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE CHARITIES BAY AREA
rmhca.org
PART THE CLOUD
alz.org
MICHAELA “MIKEY” HOAG
FOUNDER, PART THE CLOUD
alz.org
MICHAEL AND SARA FRANTI
FOUNDERS, DO IT FOR THE LOVE
doitforthelove.com
DAVID GRECO
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ALL STARS HELPING KIDS
allstarshelpingkids.org
BRANDON STAGLIN
FOUNDER, ONE MIND
onemind.org
ESTA SOLER
FOUNDER, FUTURE WITHOUT VIOLENCE
futureswithoutvilence.org
KYRA KAZANTIZ
CEO, SILICON VALLEY COUNCIL OF NONPROFITS
svcn.org
PETER OLSON
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PENINSULA VOLUNTEERS
penvol.org
NICOLE TAYLOR
PRESIDENT & CEO, SILICON VALLEY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION
siliconvalleycf.org
MICHELE LEW
CEO, THE HEALTH TRUST
healthtrust.org
ALISON MICHEL-HALL
SENIOR DIRECTOR, EDUCATION CATALYST KIDS
catalystkids.org
ASHLEY HUNTER
FOUNDER, FITKIDS
fitkids.org
MARTHA RYAN
CHAIR, BOARD OF GOVERNORS COMMONWEALTH CLUB OF CALIFORNIA
commonwealthclub.org
LOUIS CHICONE
CEO, ABODE SERVICES
abodeservices.org
LESLIE BACHO
CEO, SILICON VALLEY SECOND HARVEST
shfb.org
TALI RONEN
CHAIR, EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OSHMAN FAMILY JCC
cetweb.edu
ARIK ARMSTEAD
FOUNDER, ARMSTEAD ACADEMIC PROJECT
arikarmstead.com
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, 49ERS FOUNDATION
“We’re incredibly fortunate to be the only team in professional sports to have classrooms in our stadium and host students daily,” says Justin Prettyman, executive director of the 49ers Foundation, which educates and empowers Bay Area youth through collaborative and innovative community-focused strategies. “Coming into the office on any given day and having the opportunity to pause and see young people build their knowledge of STEAM concepts through the power of sport is a testament to how special this organization is.” Prettyman is also excited about new initiatives to deepen and expand the 49ers’ impact into the East Bay by selecting African American Female Excellence (ousd.org) as its newest Legacy Beneficiary. 49ers.com
SUE PETERSEN
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS COMMUNITY FUND
mlb.com/giants/community/fund
HEATHER HOOPER
DIRECTOR, SHARKS FOUNDATION
nhl.com/sharks/sharksfoundation
RAHUL DEVASKAR
DIRECTOR, QUAKES FOUNDATION
sjearthquakes.com
Photography by: BY TRACY EASTON; COURTESY OF THE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF SILICON VALLEY; COURTESY OF WENDY SHEW; COURTESY OF THE 49ERS FOUNDATION
