Silicon Valley One - Fall 2007 - (Page 8)

Five Minutes With … launch Gregory Avis and Patricia Bresee—outgoing and incoming chairs of Silicon Valley Community Foundation’s board—discuss the future By Michael Lester Changing Chairs O n January 1, Gregory Avis finishes chairing the community foundation, and vice chair Patricia Bresee takes his place. We spent a few minutes with both to find out what’s in store with the shift. What got you here? Avis: I like being involved and providing leadership. I feel like I can contribute something, and I’m fortunate enough to be in the position where I have the time to do it. I’m not interested in just playing golf and fishing. Bresee: My career had been focused on children and family. As a private attorney, I represented children in every possible judicial forum, and then most of my 15 years on the bench were as a juvenile court judge. I have a great deal of empathy and worked hard at acquiring a real knowledge about services available for children and families. I brought that interest and that knowledge to the community foundation. involved. Every moment has been critical, but the challenges—and the excitement—now will be quite different. We have seen these two foundations begin to merge. Greg and I just shepherded the process with the help of a lot of great people—the board, the staff, the community. The merger is innovative, bold and fits with what Silicon Valley is all about. What’s ahead for you personally with the community foundation? Avis: I was on the Community Foundation Silicon Valley board since 1999 and had been chair for a couple of years. I’ve been doing this for eight, nine years. It’s time to turn over the reins. But I hope there is some room where they can wheel me in for advising or fundraising. Still, it’s important for chairs to give their successors plenty of space in which to operate and not cast a shadow. Avis: This year we’ve been looking inward. We hired Emmett Carson, who has hired senior staff, and now everyone is together in one building. The board has begun unifying our investments and developing our programs. We’re adding new board members. The work that’s just starting is the looking outward— initiating programs and making grants. Bresee: We are still very, very young. This integration and implementation process is long and 8 one innovation through philanthropy saul BromBerger and sandra Hoover pHoTograpHy What is the state of the community foundation? www.siliconvalleycf.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Silicon Valley One - Fall 2007

From Emmett D. Carson Home Run Back From the Brink Checking In on Corporate Giving Central Valley Air Gets a Breather Why I Give Five Minutes With ... Full Faith and Credit Giving and Receiving What If?

Silicon Valley One - Fall 2007

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