Kea Gorden
Chief Philanthropy Officer
As Chief Philanthropy Officer, Kea supports community-driven initiatives by building the Foundation’s assets to meet the needs of Santa Cruz County now and for our future. Directing our major and planned giving initiatives, Kea works with our donors to choose the right planned gift or gift asset to meet their personal philanthropic goals while advancing our shared vision for the community.
Early in her career, Kea was an assistant professor of political science at the College of Charleston and a researcher at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Her research, supported by a Fulbright fellowship, focused on the disproportionate vulnerabilities that Zulu-speaking communities continued to face in post-apartheid South Africa, and the resilience of these communities in their struggle for socio-economic rights. Kea’s academic work was motivated by her service in Zimbabwe as a Peace Corps Volunteer, where she partnered with local women’s groups in efforts to create sustainable livelihoods independent of subsistence agriculture.
Recognizing the importance of supporting acts of generosity to foster greater opportunity, equity, and well-being on our planet, Kea pivoted from academia to the philanthropic sector. Kea began her work inspiring creative and transformative philanthropy at The Rotary Foundation. She continued to sharpen her acumen at The University of Chicago where she helped donors with planned gifts such as bequests, charitable trusts and charitable gift annuities. Facilitating planned giving efforts for these organizations reflects Kea’s commitment to fostering impactful, sustainable solutions to the world’s most pressing problems through philanthropy. Kea now joins the Foundation to support our generous donors in leveraging resources to meet the critical needs our community faces today, and to build capacity for future generations.
Kea holds a BS in Urban Planning from Cornell University and a PhD from University of California, Santa Cruz. She returned to Santa Cruz—her chosen home and haven—in 2020 and is dedicated to making this place a refuge for all.
Ask Kea about…
Charitable giving vehicles such as charitable gift annuities, charitable remainder trusts, gifts from IRAs, gifts of complex assets, and ways to maximize both the benefits of charitable giving and the impact of philanthropic support.
