About PVF > Foundation Staff
Bill Somerville
President and Founder of PVF, Bill brings 48 years of experience in non-profit work, including 17 years as Executive Director of the Peninsula Community Foundation.
Bill is nationally recognized as an expert on creative grantmaking. He has consulted at over 400 community foundations in the United States, Canada and abroad on effective operations and grantmaking. Bill publishes the periodical Building Community Foundations, distributed to 950 community foundations worldwide. He currently teaches courses on philanthropy at Stanford University, UC Berkeley's Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, and Laney Community College, in Oakland, CA.
Grassroots Philanthropy: Field Notes of a Maverick Grantmaker, by Bill Somerville with Fred Setterberg, published in February 2008 by Heyday Press, is a guide to decisive, hands-on grantmaking, to energize and motivate individual donors, foundation grantmakers, and nonprofit leaders alike.
Bill is a recipient of the 2004 Gerbode Fellowship Award in recognition of outstanding achievement as a non-profit executive. He is a member of the National Advisory Board, Haas Center for Public Service, Stanford University, and the UC Berkeley School of Social Welfare Advisory Board.
Email: bsomerville@venturesfoundation.org
Dawn Hawk
Program Officer, handles PVF grantmaking, conducting site visits, outreach and evaluations of non-profit organizations. She is responsible for PVF's trademark Immediate Response Resource Grants Programs. Dawn's expertise is in program design and administration.
She received a Master of Arts in Film Production from San Francisco State University and has a diverse background in small business management, teaching and film production.
Email: dhawk@venturesfoundation.org
Sabrina Habel
Administrative Assistant, responsible for office management and program and development support. Sabrina recently completed her undergraduate studies with high honors in International Relations from
Email: shabel@venturesfoundation.org
