Full width image with content box - VP 1+2
Driven by optimism about the resilience and hopefulness of the human spirit.
Full width image with content box - VP 3-5
Driven by optimism about the resilience and hopefulness of the human spirit.
Waves for VP 1 + 2
Our Vision
We believe that a community’s ability to thrive is determined by the combination of equitable opportunity, dedication, and heart. An equitable world is one in which all people can flourish and reach their full potential.
Our Mission
Sand Hill Foundation is driven by optimism about the resilience and hopefulness of the human spirit. We partner with and fund locally-based organizations to strengthen economic stability and wellness for families with low income, and to advance advocacy efforts that create a more sustainable environment in our home community of San Mateo County.
Waves for VP 3-5

Our Vision
We believe that a community’s ability to thrive is determined by the combination of equitable opportunity, dedication, and heart. An equitable world is one in which all people can flourish and reach their full potential.
Our Mission
Sand Hill Foundation is driven by optimism about the resilience and hopefulness of the human spirit. We partner with and fund locally-based organizations to strengthen economic stability and wellness for families with low income, and to advance advocacy efforts that create a more sustainable environment in our home community of San Mateo County.
Waves for ALL VP
Our Values section
Our Values
Compassion
We all want our children and
families to thrive. Our efforts are rooted in a deep belief in the power of compassion. Through care, we build community.
Growth
We are committed to helping
both proven and promising nonprofits build on their core strengths, innovate, and continuously learn in order to address evolving local needs.
Trust
We uplift the community
wisdom, history, and diverse perspectives of the people who call this place home.
Nimbleness
We seek to respond quickly to
new and emergent community concerns, recognizing that needs change over time, as do those best suited to meet them.
President’s Message: It’s Time to Accelerate

This year, I have been struck by the increasing needs in our community and the imperative to support our grantees in deeper ways. The stresses on our community are enormous. Food insecurity, immigration raids, housing shortages, and more, challenge our residents, making people fearful and unsettled. The time is now for more action and more funding.
For 30 years, Sand Hill Foundation has been here for San Mateo County: providing funding, facilitating partnerships, convening funders, and strengthening non-profits. San Mateo County is a place of extraordinary natural beauty with a resident population rich in diversity and ambition. We are lucky to be a part of this County. And yet, many among us are struggling daily.
My late husband and I made a promise to each other in 1994 about the future of Sand Hill Foundation. His fervent desire was to give the majority of our wealth away during our lifetimes. Sadly, he passed away just four short years after we made that commitment. Since his passing, Sand Hill Foundation has contributed in excess of $150 million and has helped countless local organizations serve their clients. I know he would be proud.
So, after much reflection, I have decided to make good on our promise to distribute the majority of Sand Hill Foundation’s assets. It will take a few years to wind down as we want to do so gradually and thoughtfully, but these next three years manifest the perfect opportunity to accelerate. I have very mixed emotions about this decision, but it is the right one for me and my family because now is the time in our country for more love, more generosity, and more community-based action.
In our remaining time, our plan is to be present, helpful, and giving. We, like you, seek better days ahead.
In gratitude,

Susan Ford Dorsey
President
Waves for ALL VP
Meeting Essential Needs in Family Healthcare
Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford
Sand Hill Foundation’s connection to Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford dates back decades—to before it even opened. In the late 1980s, the hospital’s founding donor and namesake, Lucile Packard, sought building and development insights from Tom Ford to envision plans for the institution. More than 30 years later, Packard Children’s is one of the nation’s top children’s hospitals, a safety net care provider for the local community, and a renowned research center. It is also Sand Hill Foundation’s top funding recipient. Susan Ford Dorsey is Chair of the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health board and has galvanized marquee programs over many years, helping to build the institution we know today.

News & Resources
Waves for ALL VP
Board of Directors

Susan Ford Dorsey
President
As President of Sand Hill Foundation, Susan Ford Dorsey directs philanthropy for the organization. Read More
A leader in philanthropic activities and community service, she is dedicated to preserving our natural environment and improving the lives of local families.
Susan serves on the boards of Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health and Environmental Defense Fund. She also sits on various advisory committees at Stanford University, including the Freeman Spogli Institute, Hoover Institution, and the School of Humanities and Sciences’ advisory board. Her past board service has included Menlo School, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Children’s Health Council, Common Sense Media, Peninsula Open Space Trust, Palo Alto Medical Foundation, and Silicon Valley Community Foundation.
Prior to leading Sand Hill Foundation, Susan was the founder and president of Health Innovations, a healthcare consulting firm specializing in business development, strategic planning, and marketing.

Susan Lockwood
Vice President
Susan Lockwood has been on the Sand Hill Foundation board since the organization’s inception in 1995, and currently serves as Vice President. Read More
She recently retired as Chief Financial Officer of Ford Land Company, a real estate development and management firm founded by Tom Ford. She has broad experience in real estate finance and accounting.
Susan completed her undergraduate degree in Business Administration at the University of California at Berkeley and holds a CPA license in the State of California. She was born and raised in Menlo Park, where she lives with her husband.

Michael C. Dorsey
Director and Treasurer
Michael C. Dorsey has 20 years of impact investing experience, having co-founded the Bay Area Equity Fund (now DBL Partners) and managed two funds for the Westly Group. Read More
He has been on the Sand Hill Foundation board since 2017 and has served in past on the boards of Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco and United Way Bay Area.
Michael now co-manages the Innovations for Impact Fund, an early-stage investor in social impact companies, concentrating in health and wellness, sustainability, and longevity. He invested at an early stage in Tesla, Solar City, Revolution Foods amongst others, and recently in Shared-X, Antora, Biocellation, and Carbon Lighthouse. He sits on the corporate boards of Medicines 360 and Bright Heart Health.
Prior to co-founding the Bay Area Equity Fund, Mr. Dorsey worked as an investment banker for two decades. He served as Head of Technology Investment Banking of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette and Cowen & Co. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University and an MBA from Yale School of Management. He is married to Susan Ford Dorsey, President of Sand Hill Foundation.
Our Staff

Ash McNeely
Executive Director
ash@sandhillfoundation.org
Ash McNeely is executive director of Sand Hill Foundation where she leads the team in grantmaking strategy, special initiatives, and investment planning. Read More
Inspired by continuous learning and collaboration, Ash serves on San Mateo County’s United for Youth Steering Committee and was a founding member of several grantmaking collectives, including the Frontline Justice Fund at Tides Foundation and the Bay Area Environmental Education Funders Collaborative.
Ash hired Pacific Foundation Services to assist Sand Hill Foundation in 2008 and, from 2012 to 2025, became a longtime member of their program staff and senior philanthropic advisor for other family foundations that partner with the firm. From 2012 to 2023, she was managing director of Skyline Foundation. She has participated in numerous national forums, advising on philanthropic trends and strategy at the Council on Foundations, Grantmakers for Education, Institute for Private Investors, and Grantmakers for Effective Organizations. She sits on the board of Mission Asset Fund, and board emeritus of Horizons Foundation and Accion Opportunity Fund.
Prior to her work at Sand Hill Foundation, Ash spent four years in the Philanthropic Partnership Group of the Pew Charitable Trusts primarily focused on environmental policy, eight years leading advised fund grantmaking for philanthropic families at Silicon Valley Community Foundation, and ten years in performing arts marketing and development. She has been a visiting lecturer at Stanford University, Harvard Business School, and Colorado College.
Ash received an M.B.A. in nonprofit management from Golden Gate University and graduated summa cum laude from Vassar College. When not enjoying all this wonderful work, Ash can be found outside with family, friends, dogs or horses.
Contact Ash McNeely at ash@sandhillfoundation.org.

Evan Jones
Program Officer
evan@sandhillfoundation.org
As a Program Officer, Evan believes in the impact and promise of the social sector and the people who make that promise a reality. Read More
Prior to joining Sand Hill Foundation in 2023, Evan served as the Executive Director of the Mid-Peninsula Boys & Girls Club (MPBGC) (now part of Boys & Girls Clubs of the Peninsula) where he helped expand MPBGC’s impact and footprint in San Mateo County. He has worked in Bay Area nonprofits since 2009 and was one of the first youth developers at Opportunity Impact (now part of Mo Magic) in San Francisco’s Fillmore neighborhood. Evan has advised Bay Area nonprofits as a board member and consultant serving on the boards of Facing History & Ourselves, Bay Area as well as the Avery Fuller Welch Foundation for Children and is a Silicon Valley Multicultural Awards fellow.
After receiving his A.B. in history from Dartmouth College, Evan taught high school History and English in the Boston Area. He attended Georgetown Law School where he worked on the Annual Review of Criminal Procedure and as an intern for the Honorable Robert Merin of the DC. Superior Court as well as Earth Justice in San Francisco. Evan lives in San Francisco’s Visitation Valley neighborhood where he can be found enjoying McLeran Park or working on his San Francisco native plant garden. Evan is a native of Washington D.C and hopes to see the day that D.C. has equal representation in the House and Senate.
Contact Evan Jones at evan@sandhillfoundation.org.

Tatiana Gordon
Grants Manager
tatiana@sandhillfoundation.org
A South San Francisco native, Tatiana joined Sand Hill Foundation as grants manager in 2025. She works in close partnership with grantee organizations to ensure a clear, accessible grantmaking process—collaborating with the Sand Hill Foundation board and team to support lasting change across communities in San Mateo County. Read More
Tatiana is also part of the team at Pacific Foundation Services (PFS), which provides support services to Sand Hill Foundation. In her role, she works with other Bay Area-based private foundation clients supporting grantee organizations across a variety of funding priorities. Prior to PFS, Tatiana worked at Bay Area independent schools, in admissions and development. Outside of work, she regularly volunteers as an alumni scholarship application reader for UCEAP (UC Education Abroad Program). Tatiana graduated from University of California, Irvine with a Bachelor of Arts in English, and Film & Media Studies.
Contact Tatiana Gordon at tatiana@sandhillfoundation.org.

Jessi Misslin
Senior Program Officer
jessi@sandhillfoundation.org
Jessi has managed Sand Hill Foundation’s Wellness funding portfolio since 2013, including the oversight of the Wellness Partnership Initiative. Read More
This program provides long-term support for multi sector collaborations focused on increasing access to high quality mental health services for young people and their families. Her passion for youth mental health stems from her experience in both the philanthropic and nonprofit sectors focused on the intersection of mental health and the arts, youth development, and outdoor education. As Vice President of Program & Engagement, Jessi is a member of the management team at Pacific Foundation Services, the philanthropic advisory firm supporting Sand Hill Foundation. In her role, she oversees the firm’s program team, who provide tailored grantmaking support services including programmatic design, research, and analysis, while promoting values-based and grantee-centric practices.
Prior to joining Sand Hill Foundation and Pacific Foundation Services, Jessi spent seven years working with out-of-school-time organizations, including Summer Search, 826 Valencia, and Boys & Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities. She is also one of the founding members of Open Roads, a creative outdoor education organization. Jessi currently sits on the board of WithAll, a national organization promoting healthy body image and the prevention of eating disorders in young people. She has participated in the Arts Loan Fund Steering Committee, through Northern California Grantmakers and completed the Berkeley Executive Leadership Program through the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business. Jessi completed her undergraduate studies at Minneapolis College of Art & Design and holds a Creative Nonfiction Writing Certification from the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies. Outside of work, Jessi can be found cheering on her two sons from the sidelines of a court or field, enjoying her husband’s amazing cooking, or attempting a new hobby, like watercolor.
Contact Jessi Misslin at jessi@sandhillfoundation.org.
Our History
A Legacy of Giving Back in San Mateo County
Our Founding
Sand Hill Foundation is a private family foundation established by the late Tom Ford and Susan Ford in 1995. The Foundation emerged from Tom’s lifelong passion for giving back to the local community he loved. As a real estate developer, he was ahead of his time when, in the late 1960s, he built the environmentally-sensitive and now iconic properties along Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, California.
Today, Susan Ford Dorsey carries on the Foundation’s work in Tom’s memory in collaboration with the board of directors, guiding philanthropy, serving on nonprofit boards, and adapting the organization’s focus in response to community needs.
Sand Hill Road and Giving Back
As one of Silicon Valley’s founding fathers, Tom Ford’s development of the office corridor along Sand Hill Road in the late 1960s helped build the collaborative ethos that fueled the region’s early growth.
Sand Hill Road represents the collegial spirit of Silicon Valley’s history, bringing together businesses in venture capital, banking, and finance. But the deals that flowed due to the proximity of business interests weren’t the only factor in shaping the Valley.
Tom’s dedication to both community development and the preservation of natural space in and around Sand Hill Road would also have a lasting effect on making the Valley what it is today.
Tom initiated a practice of donating 25 percent of rent received from the Sand Hill Road office development to nonprofit organizations serving the broader community. He galvanized other business leaders and helped build a culture of giving in Silicon Valley, making Sand Hill Road a center for not only business innovation but also for philanthropy.

“Happiness comes not from hard words like money and power, but from misty words like honor, love, loyalty, trust and faith.”
— Tom Ford’s guiding principle
Waves for ALL VP

Sand Hill Road, circa 1904

The Sand Hill Road development, circa 2000