Co-chair of Funders Policy Institute 2022
Elena Chávez Quezada currently serves as Senior Advisor for Social Innovation to California Governor Gavin Newsom. In this role, she manages public/private partnerships with philanthropy and other key stakeholders to build a California for All. Elena was most recently Chief Impact Officer at End Poverty in California (EPIC), an initiative founded by former Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs working to end poverty across the state by elevating the voices of people experiencing it, creating and implementing bold policies rooted in their needs, and advancing a state agenda focused on economic opportunity for all. Before EPIC, Elena spent 10 years in philanthropy, working at the San Francisco Foundation, the Walter and Elise Haas Fund, and Tipping Point Community.
Prior to her roles in philanthropy, Elena managed the California expansion of Single Stop USA, connecting people with low incomes to the benefits and services they need, and worked on research and policy at the Aspen Institute’s Financial Security Program. She received a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and a master’s degree in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School, and lives in San Francisco with her husband and two sons.