Judy Belk serves as Senior Vice President for Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (RPA) overseeing the agency’s three regional offices in Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles, where she is currently located. RPA, founded by the Rockefeller Family is a nonprofit organization which supports individual and institutional donors in fulfilling their philanthropic mission. RPA currently advises and manages more than $300 million in annual giving.
Judy has over twenty-five years of leadership experience in strategic planning, international giving, corporate social responsibility and family philanthropy. Throughout her career she has held senior management positions in government as well as in the nonprofit and corporate sectors.
Prior to joining RPA, Judy served as Vice President of Global Public Affairs for Levi Strauss & Co., reporting directly to the Chairman and CEO with responsibilities for both the company and foundation’s leadership in the global fight against AIDS as well as its economic development, environmental and anti-racism initiatives. Judy also managed the philanthropic programs for the former Mervyn’s Division of Target Corporation where she developed major initiatives supporting the arts and women. She also served as Director of Public Affairs for the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG).
Judy is a frequent writer and speaker on organizational ethics, race, and social change, and her work has been recognized with several state and national awards. Her articles have aired on National Public Radio (NPR) and appeared in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post.
Judy currently serves on the boards of the Surdna Foundation, a national New York-based family foundation and The Marlborough School, a Los Angeles-based independent school for girls. Past board service includes the Southern California Association of Grantmakers (SCG); National Center on Family Philanthropy, the Ms. Foundation for Women, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Northern California and the Berkeley Repertory Theatre.
Judy received her undergraduate degree from Northwestern University and her Master’s in Public Administration (MPA) from California State University, East Bay. A native of Alexandria, Virginia, she currently resides in Los Angeles.