San Diego CA— The San Diego Women’s Foundation (SDWF) is proud to welcome three new board members: Krishna Kabra, Andrea Puente-Catán, and Annie Rodriguez. Each of these women bring a wealth of experience to SDWF and its mission to connect, educate, and inspire women to come together in collective philanthropy.
These three seats were added with equity in mind as a result of a new diversity, equity, and inclusion task force created and launched by current SDWF President, Cindi Hill. Additionally, the task force determined that there needed to be spaces for representation from the San Diego nonprofit community on the organization’s board. All three members are leaders of local nonprofits that SDWF have given grants to in the past.
Krishna Kabra is currently the Executive Director at the San Diego Children’s Discovery Museum, whose mission is to inspire children to learn about our world through exploration, imagination, and experimentation. She recently joined the world of nonprofit after 22yrs of experience in the corporate world, working specifically in vision-led innovation and brand strategy. She holds a deep passion for early childhood STREAM, entrepreneurship and understands what it takes to sustainably grow an organization towards an inspiring vision. She holds a BSc in Management Sciences from the University of Manchester (UK) and an MSC in International Politics from the University of Bristol (UK).
Andrea Puente-Catán is currently the Director of Major Gifts and Hispanic Initiatives at San Diego Opera overseeing the bi-national Opera en Español Initiative that honors, values and appreciates Hispanic musical heritage. She also plans and executes strategies to build relationships with major donors, media partners, and the San Diego community. She has had a multifaceted and diverse career as a professional harpist, accomplished fundraiser, classical music producer, and advocate of Hispanic culture and opera in Spanish. As a recipient of a Rockefeller Fellowship, she commissioned and performed works by Mexican and American contemporary composers. She earned an M.S. in Fundraising and Grantmaking at New York University, and an M.M. from California State University, Los Angeles.
Annie Rodriguez is currently the Executive Director of GenerateHope, whose mission is to provide long-term housing and trauma-informed therapy, education, and vocational support to survivors of sex trafficking. She joined GenerateHope in January 2019 after a lengthy career working at the Neighborhood House Association (NHA) in San Diego. While at NHA, she worked her way up from Case Manager to Vice President of Early Childhood Development. Annie has over 25 years of experience working in non-profit organizations and 17 years of experience working in positions of leadership. She received a Master of Social Work in 2005 and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology in 2001 from San Diego State University. Annie is a native San Diegan who is deeply invested in the community and demonstrates this through her passion for leading quality programs and volunteerism. She is also a proud member of Rotary Club 33 and lives in Encinitas with her husband and two sons.
“Adding nonprofit voices to our board was an important step in ensuring that our decision-making and grants are in touch with the needs in our community,” said SDWF Executive Director, Stephanie Cook. She added, “Annie, Andrea, and Krishna bring incredible experience and fresh perspectives to our board, and we are thrilled to have them on our leadership team.”