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 350 community foundations in the United States, Canada and abroad on effective operations and grantmaking. Bill publishes two periodicals: Building Community Foundations, distributed to 850 community foundations worldwide, and Dialogue, to 1,700 non-profit organizations on fund development. He currently teaches courses on philanthropy at both Stanford University 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
Moira C. Walsh
Associate Executive Director & COO of PVF, responsible for donor development, program work, and managing foundation operations. Moira works closely with donors to create their customized giving plans, matching their giving interests with high-impact, cutting edge community service organizations.
Moira has extensive experience in the non-profit arena, having worked with numerous non-profit agencies and led and served on non-profit boards. Prior to joining PVF, Moira was a partner at a San Francisco law firm where she practiced law for 12 years. Moira holds a BA from UC Santa Barbara and a JD from George Washington University, National Law Center, in Washington, D.C.
Email: mwalsh@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
Tina Hernandez
Administrative Assistant, responsible for office management and program and development support.
Concurrently, Tina is working toward a Masters Degree in Counseling, Marriage and Family emphasis, at
Email: thernandez@venturesfoundation.org
Nick does a sound check while recording the Great Wall Orchestra at the Asian Art Museum. With Youth Sounds, an after-school media production program in Oakland, CA, youth learn to articulate how they see themselves and the world around them.
Youth Sounds was funded by a PVF Discretionary Grant