Lisa Burke - JBMF

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Lisa
Burke

Chief Operations Officer

She • Her • Hers

Background

A lifelong resident of Sacramento, Lisa loves seeing the growth of her hometown turning into a destination throughout her years.

She currently serves California’s Central Valley as the Chief Operations Officer at James B. McClatchy Foundation.

Her professional background encompasses 25+ years in government affairs and community relations where she worked to support local government, telecommunications, and land-use planning firms.

Her expertise in human resources, information technology, accounting and auditing management, project and grant management, contracts, vendors, insurance, and facilities management allows the JBMF team to operate day-to-day with ease and efficiency.

Lisa holds a B.A. in Urban Economics from CSU Sacramento, an M.A. in Training and Organizational Development, and a certificate in nonprofit leadership from Golden Gate University.

“

It’s an honor to help worthy organizations to increase their capacity for great work being done in the community.“

A hope to ease burdens

I’ve worked on many boards throughout my career and have worked closely with various nonprofits through grantwriting and fundraising. The common theme, in my experience, has been the challenges in funding all these nonprofits struggled with.

Many organizations have big dreams of creating change and impacting communities, yet their work and hope for a better future for all is often compromised by financial constraints.

Seeing this need made me want to do more, specifically on the grantmaking side of the equation. I find it both professionally and personally rewarding knowing my work at JBMF makes a difference for those in need.

On a personal note

When not at work, you can find me hiking and camping with my husband and our dog, Olive.

I feel a special affinity for National Parks, but my all-time favorite is the Redwood National Park found along Northern California’s coast. There is something cathartic about being surrounded by thousand-year-old giant sequoias encapsulated by the ethereal mist of the Pacific ocean. You can say I feel most at home surrounded by nature. I am fortunate since Sacramento is in close proximity to the Sierras, the Bay Area and Napa.

Besides being outdoors, I enjoy the company of my close friends especially when it involves farm-to-fork, organic and locally- sourced foods.

I endeavor to practice sustainability and minimalism by using less plastic, recycling, upcycling, responsible shopping oftentimes through thrifting, and do-it-yourself crafts.

Hobbies that I enjoy are meditation and learning about history. My current favorite podcast being the Revisionist History where something from the past is re-examined and re-learned from a modern perspective.