SVCF CEO Nicole Taylor has been at the helm for just over 100 days. During this time, she has been out in the community listening and learning, and meeting with community leaders and donors. In this podcast, executive vice president of marketing and communications, Melissa Daar Carvajal, speaks with Nicole about what Nicole has been hearing from the community and her thoughts about continuing to move SVCF forward.
Access the full show notes at siliconvalleycf.org
Starting kindergarten is a big step for children and parents. Families often have questions and concerns as they prepare to launch into this exciting adventure!
In this episode, Christine Thorsteinson, Early Education Manager at SVCF’s Center for Early Learning, talks with kindergarten teachers Heather Martinez and Adrianne Elfring, and SVCF’s Family Engagement Specialist, Leticia Gonzalez.
The group discusses kindergarten readiness and how families can prepare for this important step in their child’s education.
Access the full show notes at siliconvalleycf.org
Over the past decade, Bay Area communities have faced intense gentrification pressure, resulting in increased evictions of residents and small businesses.
In this episode, Bert Feuss, Senior Vice President of Investments at SVCF, and Kevin Stein, Deputy Director at the California Reinvestment Coalition, discuss forces contributing to rapid gentrification in the Bay Area and the Anti-Displacement Code of Conduct which calls on banks to end financing practices that lead to the eviction and displacement of residents.
Access the full show notes at siliconvalleycf.org
For the past 20 years, Raising A Reader has helped children and their families share a love of books. Founded in Silicon Valley, Raising A Reader provides books and parent training materials in 15 languages, and even braille, for families to share and integrate into their daily routines.
In this episode, Leticia Gonzalez, Family Engagement Manager for SVCF's Center for Early Learning, talks with Michelle Torgerson, President and CEO for Raising A Reader National, about opportunities families have to support their children’s healthy development with a simple but powerful strategy: sharing books regularly.
Access the full show notes at siliconvalleycf.org
Did you know that data from the census is used to determine all kinds of things, from the number of seats a state has in Congress, to the amount of federal funding it might receive for all kinds of programs? An accurate count is critical.
Anne Im, SVCF’s immigration program officer, talks with Aparna Ramakrishnan, the census coordinator for the County of San Mateo, and Nick Kuwada, the census program manager for the County of Santa Clara, about why the census is so important that it’s constitutionally mandated.
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Nicole Taylor, SVCF’s new president and CEO, started work at SVCF on Dec. 19, and had her first full weeks on the job in January. In this episode, Nicole sits down with Erica Wood, SVCF’s chief community impact officer. She talks about her initial work listening to SVCF staff, community members and a wide variety of constituents, including nonprofit leaders and donors, to discover “who we are as a community foundation and who we should be.”
Nicole describes this as a great time to have joined SVCF, given the work staff has recently done on workplace culture, especially. “There’s such an incredible base to build on,” she says.
Access the full show notes at siliconvalleycf.org
SVCF's 2019 scholarship programs opened January 7. For students Brian Carrozza and Ricardo Lombera, scholarships from SVCF were key in their educational journeys. In this podcast, Brian and Ricardo talk with Manuel Santamaria, vice president of community impact at SVCF, about what other students should know about navigating the financial aid process, writing a personal statement, seeking advice from advisors and more.
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When local nonprofit Tax-Aid needed a new logo it found a pro bono graphic designer on online platform Catchafire. In this podcast, Sonali Arurkar, vice president of partnerships for Catchafire, and Jill Sturm, executive director of Bay Area nonprofit Tax-Aid, sit down with SVCF’s vice president of community impact, Manuel Santamaria to talk about increasing the capacity of small nonprofits.
Access the full show notes at siliconvalleycf.org
In this edition of our podcast, Silicon Valley Community Foundation is pleased to feature a conversation between Greg Avis and Nicole Taylor. Greg has been leading SVCF as interim president since April 30, and Nicole Taylor was named by the board of directors as the new CEO and president of SVCF in early November.
Access the full show notes at siliconvalleycf.org
SVCF is supporting San Jose Police Department’s gun buy back program as part of our work to strengthen relations between communities of color and law enforcement.
In this episode, Lieutenant Christina LaCap, who leads the gun buy back program for the San Jose Police Department, talks with Gina Dalma, SVCF's vice president of government relations, about her job with the police department and about making a community safer through community feedback and the unlikely partnership of philanthropy, police, and a local museum.
Access the full show notes at siliconvalleycf.org
San Jose is the 10th largest city in the country and has the least staffed police department in the nation. San Jose Police Chief Eddie Garcia sits down to talk with Gina Dalma, SVCF’s Vice President of Government Relations, to talk about everything from building trust in the community to implicit bias training to what keeps Chief Garcia up worrying at night. SVCF has worked closely with the San Jose Police Department on scaling the department’s community engagement work; specifically with youth and people of color; data collection and analysis; and, most recently, with the San Jose Police Foundation on its Gun Buy Back event to be held on December 1, 2018.
Access the full show notes at siliconvalleycf.org
What does the term affordable housing mean in Silicon Valley, and how are local advocates working to support its growth? In this episode, Deputy Director of housing group SV@Home, Pilar Lorenzana, joins SVCF’s Senior Community Leadership Officer Remy Goldsmith to discuss the many aspects of affordable housing in the region. Pilar will be featured on the panel at SVCF's upcoming 2018 Regional Meeting, an event free to the public.
Access the full show notes at siliconvalleycf.org
This podcast will highlight donor circles, one of the many ways we engage with our donors in order to enhance their philanthropic experience at SVCF.
We will hear from Tobi Becerra, Senior Philanthropy Advisor, and Sawako Sonoyama Clarin, Philanthropy Advisor, both of whom work with individual donors on their philanthropy in various ways. They will be interviewing two SVCF donors, Monica Cappuccini and Jim Ducey, who are active founding members of the Donor Circle for the Arts and Africa, respectively.
You will hear about SVCF’s donor circles, why we think they’re an important philanthropic tool, and what motivates our donors to become part of them.
Access the full show notes at siliconvalleycf.org
The Bay Area housing crunch hits our most vulnerable residents hardest. That includes our local foster youth. In this episode, Andre Chapman, CEO and founder of Unity Care, is joined by Gina Dalma, SVCF's vice president of government relations, to discuss a new SVCF report about the housing challenges currently facing foster youth in the Bay Area.
Access the full show notes at siliconvalleycf.org
On October 23, Silicon Valley Community Foundation will host its second On The Table event, a day of conversation to help find solutions to our region’s housing shortage. You can register to participate or host a small-group conversation at siliconvalleycf.org/onthetable.
In this podcast, Bay Area director of programs for the Youth Leadership Institute, Fahad Qurashi, is joined by Mauricio Palma, SVCF’s director of initiatives and special projects. Their conversation centers on how On The Table helps increase civic engagement, and how we can all approach the problem of housing in the Bay Area.
Access the full show notes at siliconvalleycf.org
In this episode you will hear Sam Liccardo, Mayor of San Jose, and Gina Dalma, vice president of government relations for SVCF, discuss the changing role of cities and their growing involvement in issues including the environment, education, immigration, housing, and workforce development.
Access the full show notes at siliconvalleycf.org
Greg Avis, interim CEO, and Erica Wood, chief community impact officer, talk about recent discussions they've had with SVCF staff and community members about the community foundation and how that feedback is shaping how the organization is moving forward and searching for a new leader.
Access the full show notes at siliconvalleycf.org
In this episode, we’ll hear from SVCF’s Interim President, Greg Avis, in conversation with Luisa Buada of the Ravenswood Family Health Center.
Greg will discuss how Silicon Valley Community Foundation is moving forward after recent events, and offer his thoughts about the future of the organization.
This episode was recorded on June 20, one week before the announcement of the departure of Emmett Carson, SVCF’s former CEO. Information about that announcement is available on SVCF’s blog.
We anticipate that a future podcast will include further conversation with Greg about how SVCF is moving forward.
Access the full show notes at siliconvalleycf.org
Access the full show notes at siliconvalleycf.org
California pays the highest traffic fines in the country. For many, these fines can lead to cycles of debt. A recent report has shown that these fines disproportionately affect low income communities and communities of color. California Senator Bob Hertzberg joins Gina Dalma, vice president of government relations for SVCF in a conversation about how California got here and how reforms are beginning to help individuals. The discussion closes with advice from Sen. Hertzberg on how organizations can effectively push for policy reform.
Access the full show notes at siliconvalleycf.org
A significant number of Silicon Valley students enter Kindergarten not well-prepared or ready to learn, and when kids arrive behind, they stay behind. Erica Hays, preschool director and elementary school principal for the La Honda-Pescadero Unified School District, and Kelli Leavell with Making a Difference join SVCF's Christine Thorsteinson, PreK-3 program and research coordinator, to talk about early learning being vital to all future learning. Hays shares community-level examples from Pescadero.
Access the full show notes at siliconvalleycf.org
Housing may be the most pressing issue facing quality of life in Silicon Valley today, and it has become a top issue of concern in polls statewide. Senator Scott Wiener discusses statewide housing challenges with Gina Dalma, vice president of government relations at SVCF. The state is currently short nearly four million homes to meet current need. Senator Wiener talks causes, sensitivities--like displacement--and possible resolutions.
Access the full show notes at siliconvalleycf.org
Access the full show notes at siliconvalleycf.org
Early childhood education is top of mind for California voters. Choose Children is SVCF’s initiative to inform and educate the 2018 candidates for California governor about the importance of prioritizing public investments in young children as part of their campaign platforms.
Access the full show notes at siliconvalleycf.org
What does philanthropy mean to us in 2018? Dr. Emmett Carson, President and CEO of SVCF discusses the state of philanthropy as we begin a new year, with a new tax plan. Learn how SVCF plans to continue to tackle the region's most challenging issues through public policy and grantmaking in 2018.
Access the full show notes at siliconvalleycf.org