Welcoming Monica Pressley

The Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund announced today that Monica Pressley has been named Chief Financial Officer. She will assume her new position on November 2, 2016.

Pressley joins the Haas, Jr. Fund from the San Francisco Foundation, where she has worked for 13 years as Chief Financial Officer. In this position, Pressley managed the community foundation’s financial assets, which grew from $650 million to $1.3 billion under her stewardship. Among her other responsibilities, she initiated and led the foundation’s program-related investments fund, which provides below-market loans and loan guarantees to nonprofits and other eligible organizations working to advance the foundation’s social equity goals.

Before joining the San Francisco Foundation, Pressley worked in senior finance positions in the private sector, including seven years with Barclays Global Investors in San Francisco.

“Monica brings a wealth of experience in investment management and administration, along with a deep commitment to the power of philanthropy to strengthen our communities and change lives for the better,” said Ira Hirschfield, president of the Haas, Jr. Fund. “We look forward to working closely with Monica to ensure that the Fund and our partners can continue to advance the causes of fairness, equality and opportunity in our society.”

Pressley’s responsibilities at the Haas, Jr. Fund will include oversight of investments and financial systems, as well as human resources and technology.

“The Haas, Jr. Fund has a strong reputation in philanthropy for integrity and for taking bold action to bring rights and opportunities to people who don’t have them,” said Pressley. “It is an honor to join the Fund’s senior team. I am excited about the opportunity to help the Fund keep charting a path to a fairer, brighter future for the Bay Area and our society.”

Pressley serves as a member of the Citizens Bond Oversight Committee for the San Francisco Unified School District. She is a director and past treasurer of both the Latino Community Foundation and the East Bay Foundation on Aging. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business economics from UCLA and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.

About the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund

The Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund seeks to fulfill its founders’ vision of a just and compassionate society where all people have the opportunity to live, work and raise their families with dignity. The Fund’s program areas include: immigrant rights; gay and lesbian rights; education equity; social sector leadership; and community partnerships and initiatives.