Linda Cicero, Stanford University
Nicole Taylor
The Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF) recently named Nicole Taylor as its new president and CEO. This appointment comes after a period of tumult and change at SVCF, having been in the news recently after the reveal of questionable financial decisions and the existence of a toxic work culture enabled by the founder and former president and chief executive, Emmett D. Carson. Carson stepped down in late June of this year.
A real veteran of the public and private nonprofit sectors, Taylor returns to the Bay Area after spending more than two years in Tempe, Arizona at Arizona State University (ASU). She was hired in early 2017 by ASU as deputy vice president and dean of students and later expanded her role to also serve as vice president of the ASU Foundation. A graduate of Stanford University with a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s in education, Taylor has spent most of her life and career in California. She began this career as an educator in the Oakland public school system before moving on to executive and leadership positions.
She would go on to serve as CEO of College Track for two years before returning to Stanford University to work as managing director of its Haas Center for Public Service for another couple of years. It was after this that Taylor focused her career on her work at the East Bay Community Foundation (EBCF), ultimately spending 15 years with the organization and serving as its president and CEO for nearly six. With her successes at the helm of EBCF noticed, she was brought on to lead the Thrive Foundation for Youth as its president and CEO in July of 2013, serving in this position for more than two years. She then made another return to Stanford University to work as associate vice provost and dean of community engagement and diversity until her 2017 move to ASU.
Throughout her impressive career as an executive, Taylor has consistently held numerous board memberships as well. She served on the board of the Helzel Family Foundation for nearly ten years and was a member of the board of directors for the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco for about six. Taylor is currently on the board of directors of the Rogers Family Foundation and Common Sense Media.
“Nicole brings a legacy of exceptional leadership and community impact to SVCF,” stated Dan’l Lewin, incoming Chair of SVCF’s Board of Directors and member of the Board Search Committee for a press release about the appointment. “She has a genuine connection to improving the lives of those in our local community, and her passion for helping individuals pursue their own philanthropic goals make her an optimal choice to lead our organization.”
Nicole Taylor officially assumes the responsibilities of leading the Silicon Valley Community Foundation as its president and CEO on Dec. 19, 2018. She takes over for Greg Avis, interim president and CEO who returned to the organization for the past several months to help see it through its period of transition and recovery.
