Our Leadership Team

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Susan Ford Dorsey, President

As President of Sand Hill Foundation, Susan Ford Dorsey directs philanthropy for the organization. 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 several nonprofit organizations, including Environmental Defense Fund and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. She also sits on various advisory committees at Stanford University, including the Freeman Spogli Institute, the Haas Center for Public Service  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 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. 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 a successful 17 year record in impact investing, having co-founded the Bay Area Equity Fund (now DBL Partners). As a managing partner, he raised and managed the fund, serving on the investment Committee from the Fund’s inception. He also managed two funds for the Westly Group, and now co-manages in the Innovations for Impact Fund, an early stage investor in social impact companies, concentrating in in Health and Wellness, Sustainability, and Longevity. He invested at an early stage in Tesla, Solar City, Revolution foods, and others, and recently in Shared-X, Antora, Biocellation, and Carbon Lighthouse.

Prior to co-founding the Bay Area Equity Fund, Mr. Dorsey worked as an Investment Banker for 20 years. 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 also serves on the Board of Medicines 360 and Bright Heart Health, as well as the advisory board of the initiative on Impact Investing of the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University, and on advisory boards at Stanford University. He is married to Susan Ford Dorsey, President of the Sand Hill Foundation.


STAFF

 

Jennifer Perez Brown, Grants Manager

Jennifer joined the Sand Hill Foundation team in May 2021. She is excited by the promise of philanthropy to provide a more equitable quality of life for all. She joined PFS in the fall of 2018 as an office manager and grants assistant, supporting the Grants Management team. Being a first-generation college graduate Jennifer is proud to work on a team that helps support philanthropic work in under-resourced communities and projects that enhance and strengthen our region.

Prior, to joining PFS she served as a district office intern for Assembly member David Chiu, where she was the initial point of contact for constituents who needed assistance. She also helped with various off-site projects, staffed press and local events, and updated the constituent database. She also served as a democracy coach for Generation Citizens, teaching a class of 8th-grade students twice a week about civic participation while encouraging political participation to address local issues.

Jennifer graduated from San Francisco State University with a B.A in political science. Outside of work, she loves to travel, explore the wonders of the Bay Area, and visit her mother who always prepares delicious authentic Mexican cuisine.

Contact Jennifer Perez Brown at jennifer@sandhillfoundation.org.

 

Evan Jones, Program Officer

Evan joined Sand Hill Foundation in 2023. As a Program Officer, Evan believes in the impact and promise of the social sector and the people who make that promise a reality. Prior to joining Sand Hill, 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.

 

Ash McNeely, Executive Director

Ash joined Sand Hill Foundation in 2007. As executive director, she leads the foundation team in grantmaking strategy, special initiatives, and planning. Inspired by continuous learning and collaboration, Ash serves on San Mateo County’s United for Youth Steering Committee and is a member of several grantmaking collectives including the Frontline Justice Fund. 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 is proud to serve on the board of Mission Asset Fund and is board emeritus of Horizons Foundation and Accion Opportunity Fund. Ash hired Pacific Foundation Services to assist Sand Hill Foundation in 2008 and is now a longtime member of their program staff, serving as senior philanthropic advisor for other family foundations that partner with the firm.

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.

 

Jessi Misslin, Senior Program Officer

Jessi has worked with Sand Hill Foundation since 2013. She manages the foundation’s Wellness funding portfolio, including the oversight of the Wellness Partnership Initiative, providing long-term support for multisector 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.