Patricia Varela is a grants manager responsible for managing grants under the Foundation’s Just Societies Goal area. In this role Patricia oversees the compliance and due diligence reviews of grant files, collaborates with teams and colleagues across the Foundation to ensure best-in-class grantmaking, and contributes to the continuous improvement of grantmaking processes.
Before joining the Foundation, she was the Grant Operations Specialist at Paragon Philanthropy, where she led, managed, and executed grantmaking processes in support of Equivalency Determinations and Expenditure Responsibility grants for U.S. private and Donor-Advise Funds sponsoring foundation clients. Patricia has a master’s degree in international affairs from the University of San Francisco and a bachelor’s degree in communications and sociology from the University of California, Davis.
She is an active volunteer with local youth development and immigrant rights nonprofit organizations in San Francisco. She is fluent in Spanish and enjoys running in Golden Gate Park, traveling, and spending time with loved ones.