Emmett Carson

Emmett Carson is CEO and President of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, one of the largest community foundations in the world.

Today, with over $3 billion under management, Emmett oversees the community foundation’s work with donors and corporations whose giving is responsible for the foundation being both the largest grant-maker to Bay Area nonprofit organizations and the largest international grant-maker among community foundations in the U.S. Before this, Emmett was the CEO of The Minneapolis Foundation, and prior to that, he oversaw the Ford Foundation’s U.S. and global grant-making program on philanthropy and nonprofit sector.

In addition to his work at the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, he is a prolific writer and is recognized as an international leader in the field of philanthropy. Dr. Carson is an authority on social justice grantmaking, as well as public accountability by nonprofits. He also serves as a Senior Fellow at Synergos, a global nonprofit that supports initiatives tackling the challenges of poverty and injustice.

Emmett received both his master’s and Ph.D. degrees in public and international affairs from Princeton University and his bachelor’s degree in economics from Morehouse College.