In this Q&A series, funders in the EOF network share how they are addressing economic equity and opportunity, the work they are the most proud of, and questions they’d like to engage with funders colleagues on.
Funder Q&A with Lauren King, W.K. Kellogg Foundation
(September 2026)
“As a grantmaker, I feel a responsibility to support systems-change efforts that take a collaborative approach to building a more modern workforce ecosystem that expands equitable access to responsible AI tools, strengthens the capacity of workforce and community-based organizations, and prepares workers for jobs reshaped by automation and generative AI.”
Funder Q&A with Dr. Katie Beckmann, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation
(July 2026)
“It’s possible to have a connected system of care – healthcare, child care, economic supports – that’s truly designed around what families need to be healthy and thrive.”
Funder Q&A with Denise Castillo Dell Isola, Irving Harris Foundation
(February 2026)
“In our Early Childhood program area, we fund an ecosystem of organizations working at the intersection of racial, gender, and economic justice using strategies of policy, advocacy, and systems building; grassroots power and multi-issue movement building; and leadership development.”
Funder Q&A with Katie Wehr, McKnight Foundation
(October 2025)
“At McKnight, we recognize that economic equity and opportunity are core components to what it takes for people and planet to thrive – on the Vibrant & Equitable Communities team, on which I sit, we name it through the lens of power, participation, and shared prosperity.”
Funder Q&A with Enyi Okebugwu, Imaginable Futures
(August 2025)
“In the US, we fund solutions that ensure young children and their parents get the education they need to thrive, renewing the promise of our child care and postsecondary systems as engines for family opportunity.”
Funder Q&A with Roger Perez, Gitlab Foundation
(April 2025)
“The GitLab Foundation is dedicated to improving lifetime earnings by expanding access to opportunities. Our vision is a world where one million more people can afford a better life.”
Funder Q&A with Livia Lam, Ford Foundation
(January 2025)
“Today, in philanthropy, I leverage grantmaking to empower groups to collaborate on community solutions, ultimately reshaping the relationship between the state, civil society, and the economy.”
Funder Q&A with Wafa Dinaro, New Economy Initiative
(October 2024)
“New Economy Initiative is an ecosystem of support so anyone with an entrepreneurial dream can pursue it, despite not having access to family or generational wealth.”
Funder Q&A with Anna Shireen Wadia, Care for All with Respect and Equity (CARE) Fund
(September 2024)
“The CARE Fund is investing $50 million over five years in movement building for a universal publicly supported care infrastructure that will fuel economies, improve the wellbeing of kids and families, create millions of good jobs, promote equity, advance democracy, and enable people with disabilities and older adults to live independently with safety and dignity.”
Funder Q&A with Stephanie Davison, The Kresge Foundation
(August 2024)
“We try to be pragmatic when thinking about economic equity—we ask, how do we partner with families where they are and where they dream?”
Funder Q&A with Eesha Bhave, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies
(July 2024)
“Our Gender and Reproductive Equity (GRE) grantmaking portfolio’s Economic Power strategy area supports an ecosystem of organizations that lead on policy solutions and their effective implementation for economic equity and advancement for women, such as equal and fair pay, paid family leave, quality childcare and a care economy that works for everyone.”
Funder Q&A with Chayenne Polimédio, William And Flora Hewlett Foundation
(May 2024)
“Our strategies aim to make sure that democracy, and government, are working for everyone; that all people can access government benefits and services equally and fairly; and that policy design and implementation is equitable.”