Executive Director Transition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Fleishhacker Foundation
Announces New Executive Director
San Francisco, December 16, 2019 - The Fleishhacker Foundation announced today that its long-time Executive Director, Christine Elbel, will be retiring at the end of 2019 and that David Blazevich has been named as her successor.
Founded in 1947 by prominent business leader and philanthropist Mortimer Fleishhacker Sr., the Fleishhacker Foundation supports small to mid-sized arts organizations, the renowned Eureka Fellowship Program for visual artists, and K-5 literacy projects in the San Francisco Bay Area. During Christine Elbel’s tenure, which began in 1990, the Foundation strengthened its support of community-based arts and education organizations and the diverse constituencies they serve. Under her leadership, the Foundation has become well known as a supportive champion of local performing and visual artists, whose distinctive voices make the Bay Area so special. It also developed a precollegiate education initiative to support Bay Area organizations that provide literacy services to disadvantaged public school students, and it actively engaged with national organizations to advance philanthropy in meaningful ways.
“We salute Christine’s many remarkable accomplishments,” said Fleishhacker Foundation President John Ehrlich. “She has led the Foundation with distinction and been a tireless and effective advocate for our grantees and the important work they are accomplishing in the community,” Ehrlich noted. “The Board of Directors is also delighted to welcome David Blazevich as the Foundation’s next Executive Director. Given his considerable experience working in philanthropy and with a wide array of nonprofits in the Bay Area, we are confident that he will help the Foundation build on its success and deepen its impact.”
“This is a bittersweet moment of meaningful transition for the Foundation,” added Vice President Robin Strawbridge. “After 30 years, Christine has become an integral part of this family foundation, and her mark on both the community and Fleishhacker-sponsored programs will be remembered for years to come. As we enthusiastically embrace the next generation of family members onto the Board, we are equally looking forward to welcoming David and all he brings to the role.”
“I am very excited to begin working in partnership with the Board to advance the Fleishhacker Foundation’s important mission,” said David Blazevich. “I have long admired the crucial role the Foundation plays in helping to further the work of dynamic, community-based arts and education organizations and individual artists in the Bay Area. At a time when so many vital nonprofits and artists and are struggling amid skyrocketing costs in our region, the Fleishhacker Foundation’s work has never been more critical,” Blazevich noted.
David Blazevich served as Senior Program Director at The Bernard Osher Foundation since 2006, where he oversaw its national Osher Lifelong Learning Institute grant program and worked with a diverse portfolio of arts and culture grantees in the San Francisco Bay Area. Prior to joining the Osher Foundation, he was Director of Special Program Initiatives and Foundation Relations at KQED Public Media and served on the staff and boards of a broad range of nonprofits, including Larkin Street Youth Services, the Frameline Film Festival, the New Conservatory Theatre Center, and others. He is a former theatre director and a regular volunteer instructor for the Prison University Project at San Quentin. Mr. Blazevich began his new role at
the Fleishhacker Foundation on December 10.
About the Fleishhacker Foundation
The Fleishhacker Foundation is a family foundation located in San Francisco, California.
It was established to improve the quality of life in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Foundation
makes grants to local, community-based organizations through two main programs: Arts &
Culture and Precollegiate Education. Arts grants are made to support artistic efforts across an
array of disciplines, including dance, music, theater, and film as well as visual, media, and
interdisciplinary arts. Education grants are awarded to Bay Area organizations to support K-5
literacy programs serving disadvantaged public school students. The Foundation also offers
unrestricted support to visual artists in the Bay Area through its Eureka Fellowship Program.
For more information visit www.fleishhackerfoundation.org.
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