Judy Belk to Serve as CPNL’s Waldemar A. Nielsen Philanthropy Fellow

Georgetown University’s Center for Public and Nonprofit Leadership is proud to announce Judy Belk as our new Waldemar A. Nielsen Philanthropy Fellow. Judy has previously served as the President & CEO of the California Wellness Foundation for nine years. During this time, Judy led the foundation to create a $13 million ground-breaking initiative targeting unmet health needs for women of color, launched a mission related investing strategy to leverage the foundation’s endowment for social impact, and founded the Hope and Heal Fund, California’s first donor collaborative on gun violence prevention. Prior to her tenure with CalWellness, Judy was a senior vice president at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors for eleven years, and served as vice president of global public affairs for Levi Strauss & Co, where she oversaw the Levi Strauss Foundation and the company’s worldwide corporate social responsibility initiatives.

Judy is a published writer and frequent contributor to The Los Angeles Times. Her work has also been published in the New York Times, Washington Post, and numerous other media outlets. She currently serves on the boards of The SCAN Foundation, Sonen Capital, and Hedgebrook. She is a former board member of the Surdna Family Foundation.

Judy is currently based in Los Angeles but has deep ties to the DMV region. Her family roots go back eight generations in Alexandria, Virginia where she was born and raised and where her family played a pivotal role in the fight for racial justice. She is currently working on a book of personal essays titled, “Ten Miles from the White House.’

Judy is bringing robust knowledge and deep inquiry about philanthropy and social impact to CPNL, which we are excited to highlight during her time as the Nielsen Philanthropy Fellow. During her time with us, she will be interviewing philanthropy leaders to capture their lessons learned about leading in times of uncertainty. Judy will also be engaging participants in our Executive Certificate in Philanthropic Leadership in coaching sessions and conversations about their leadership journeys. She will hold roundtable conversations and office hours with McCourt School students and engage with faculty across departments.

Please join us in welcoming Judy to Georgetown University and our Center.

To learn more about the Waldemar A. Nielsen Philanthropy Fellowship, please visit: https://cpnl.georgetown.edu/research/philanthropy/