Ko will Oversee Annenberg Community Support and Drive Best-in-Class Measurement Framework
October 17, 2024 — The Annenberg Foundation today announced Chris Ko will join the Foundation’s leadership team as senior director of programs and impact. Ko brings to the position nearly two decades of experience in nonprofit organizations and municipal government, most recently serving as vice president of impact and strategy for United Way of Greater Los Angeles.
“As an innovation-driven family foundation devoted to addressing the critical issues of our time, we were impressed by Chris’s solid and long-standing record of leading improvements in housing, education and economic mobility programs in our community,” said Cinny Kennard, Executive Director of the Annenberg Foundation. “I’m thrilled to welcome Chris to helm our talented grants team, bringing his unique skills and creative thinking about how to best respond to our L.A. region’s needs at this challenging time.”
As senior director of programs and impact, Ko will provide operational and strategic oversight of the Annenberg Foundation’s community support fund for nonprofit organizations across greater Los Angeles. He will lead enhancements to defining and tracking impact, working with executive leadership to help steer the Foundation’s work and optimize program and grantee outcomes. In addition, Ko will serve as a liaison with community stakeholders, assessing and responding to needs while stewarding opportunities for collaboration and philanthropic best practices.
The Annenberg Foundation’s community grantmaking has focused on a broad range of issues including food insecurity, mental health, unfinished learning and other critical community needs resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I am thrilled to be joining the Annenberg Foundation,” said Ko. “Their evident commitment to expressing curiosity and courage philanthropically has resulted in ground-breaking initiatives, and I look forward to building on that legacy with my new colleagues and community partners.”
Ko spent 14 years at United Way of Greater Los Angeles, where he was responsible for housing and homelessness, education and community college success. During his tenure he oversaw the distribution of more than $100-million in grants and helped to build community coalitions which created and passed ballot measures around housing, homelessness, and racial justice. He previously served as a policy aide for the Office of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and has worked to expand community schools in West Philadelphia, and alongside Liberian refugees in Ghana.
Ko earned his bachelor’s degree in Urban Studies summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania, where he also undertook graduate studies in nonprofit management, policy and urban planning. Formerly a Stanton Fellow for the Durfee Foundation, board member of Coro Southern California and 40 Under 40 Civic Leader, Chris currently serves on the boards of Social Justice Partners and Brilliant Corners.
The Annenberg Foundation is a family foundation that provides funding and support to nonprofit organizations in the United States and globally. Since 1989, it has funded programs in education and youth development; arts, culture and humanities; civic and community life; health and human services; and animal services and the environment. Learn more at Annenberg.org.
