Jennifer joined MidPen’s Board in 2020. As the San Francisco Foundation’s Vice President, Policy and Innovation, Jennifer leads, guides, and directs the foundation’s policy and systems change agenda, overseeing initiatives such as The Partnership for the Bay’s Future. She oversees a team of 15 staff and manages more than $10 million in annual grantmaking.
Jennifer previously worked for the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), where she served as the Senior Director, Housing Affordability, directing a $25M grantmaking program and supporting strategies for systems change through policy advocacy and innovation. Prior to CZI, she was the Chief Strategy Officer for PICO California, the largest faith-based community organizing network in California.
Jennifer has a BA from Stanford University and an MA and PhD from the University of Nottingham, England. Her graduate research focused on social movement strategies in the struggle for housing and land rights in Venezuela and South Africa, and in 2011, her PhD won the British International Studies Association thesis of the year award. Jennifer was born into a Mexican-Irish family in Southern California, and now calls the San Francisco Bay Area home.