Judy Belk

A published writer and thought leader on philanthropy, social change, and civic engagement, Belk has held senior executive leadership positions in the government, corporate, and philanthropic sectors.

Most recently, Belk served for nine years as the President & CEO of The California Wellness Foundation, one of the largest philanthropic institutions in California with assets over $1 billion and an annual grantmaking budget over $65 million.

Under her leadership, the foundation launched a mission-related investing strategy to leverage the foundation’s endowment for social impact; created a $13 million ground-breaking initiative targeting unmet health needs for women of color, and founded the Hope and Heal Fund, California’s first donor collaborative on gun violence prevention.

Prior to joining Cal Wellness in 2014, Belk served for eleven years as senior vice president for Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors where she advised donors around the globe on their giving. She also served as vice president of global public affairs for Levi Strauss & Co., where she oversaw communications, corporate social responsibility, government affairs, and the Levi Strauss Foundation.

Belk has been published in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, and National Public Radio (NPR) in addition to other news outlets.

Belk serves on the board of Hedgebrook, a global women’s writing retreat promoting women’s voices and social change. She is a former board member of the Surdna Foundation, a national private family foundation with assets over $1 billion.

Previously she has also served on the boards of the ACLU of Northern California, the Ms. Foundation for Women, and the Berkeley Repertory Theater. She has received the “James A. Joseph Lecturer on Philanthropy” by the Association of Black Foundation Executives (ABFE), and the “Ann Reiss Lane Lifetime Achievement Award” from the Women Against Gun Violence. She has also been recognized as one of the nation’s most 50 influential nonprofit leaders by “The Nonprofit Times.”

Belk received a BS in communications from Northwestern University where she was honored with the University’s Alumni Medal; and a MA in public administration from California State University, East Bay, where she has been recognized as the ” Distinguished Alumnus of the Year.”

She also serves on the faculty for Georgetown University’s Executive Philanthropic Leadership Certificate Program.

She currently lives in Los Angeles.