With 16 years of experience in the sector, Susan Kleinman Wallis brings creative passion, powerful communication, and rigorous analysis to her work with foundations and nonprofit organizations. Having worked extensively as both a funder and a fundraiser, Susan is uniquely positioned to work in the space between foundations and grant seekers. A social worker by training, her areas of expertise include child welfare, mental health, youth development, and women’s rights.
Susan spent six years as Coordinator of The San Francisco Foundation’s Koshland Civic Unity Program, where she helped to implement a community regranting model, directing over $1.5 million in Foundation grants into resident-driven projects. Susan left the Foundation to serve as Senior Program Officer at Team-Up for Youth, a project founded by the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, where she was responsible for a $1 million grant portfolio focused on youth development through sports. She went on to serve as Policy Director and Evaluation Director at Team-Up for Youth (now known as Coaching Corps) before leaving in 2011 to start a private consulting practice. Susan’s current consulting work focuses on building stronger nonprofits and helping successful programs go to scale. Susan received her B.A. in Women’s Studies from Wesleyan University and her master’s degree in Social Welfare from U.C. Berkeley.