As part of the Weingart Foundation’s leadership team, Silvia Fuentes will develop and oversee a strategic communications strategy that advances the Foundation’s racial justice mission.

October 1, 2024 (Los Angeles, CA) — After an extensive national search, the Weingart Foundation, a private grantmaking foundation that partners with communities across Southern California to advance racial justice, named Silvia Fuentes as Director of Communications. In this newly created role, Fuentes will lead a multi-prong communications strategy to amplify the Weingart Foundation’s influence and advance its mission of racial, social, and economic justice across Southern California.

“Silvia Fuentes is a talented and strategic communicator who has demonstrated a firm commitment to our mission, and a deep alignment with our values,” said Joanna S. Jackson, President and C.E.O. of the Weingart Foundation. “With an extensive track record of elevating the voices of communities of color, Silvia will deeply enhance our ability to amplify our message, and help us showcase our stories of impact, collaboration, and transformation. We look forward to building on our communications efforts with Silvia’s leadership.”

Silvia Fuentes has worked nationally and locally on advocacy, organizing, and communications campaigns for labor rights, immigration reform, civic engagement, and educational equity. Prior to joining Weingart, she served as Director of Communications at the California Community Foundation, overseeing campaigns to raise visibility and expand the impact of the foundation’s work in health, education, immigration, and housing.

“I’ve dedicated my career to lifting the voices of communities of color, and to inspiring action to address the disparities and issues that these communities commonly face,” said Silvia Fuentes, Director of Communications, Weingart Foundation. “I feel a deep alignment with the Weingart Foundation’s values of courage, dignity, innovation, partnership, racial justice, respect, and trust. I look forward to working with my colleagues at Weingart to uplift the communities most impacted by systemic inequities through storytelling and narrative change.”

Fuentes also held key communications roles at United Ways of California, where she led public education campaigns on issues like the digital divide and wildfire disaster relief, and at UNITE HERE, where she mobilized thousands of workers to fight for labor rights through digital organizing. She holds a B.A. in advertising from the Art Center College of Design, with a concentration in graphic design.

ABOUT THE WEINGART FOUNDATION
Founded in 1951 by Ben and Stella Weingart, the Weingart Foundation is a private grantmaking organization advancing racial, social, and economic justice for all in Southern California. Since its founding, the Foundation has granted over $1 billion in grants and loans to organizations, coalitions, and collaboratives, providing critical services and building power in communities most impacted by racial and socioeconomic injustice. In 2017, the Weingart Foundation committed to aligning its entire investment portfolio with its mission through mission related and program related investments that drive equity. The Foundation also partners with philanthropic, public sector, and community leaders to advance shared solutions that advance justice.