Kate Schwass

Kate Schwass has served as the Executive Director of GreenLight Fund Bay Area since 2017 and Senior Executive Director since 2021. Throughout her 6 years of leadership at GreenLight, she has led three investments in organizations to bring to the Bay, raised two funds totaling nearly $15 million, and spearheaded GreenLight’s first-ever accelerated investment cycle at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Along with directing the Bay Area’s work, in her role as Senior Executive Director, she manages and coaches other Executive Directors across the GreenLight network on their leadership, selection cycles, portfolio management, and fundraising. She has led GreenLight’s External Affairs team on an interim basis and is a member of its Management Team. In the Bay, she serves on the boards of ParentChild+, EveryoneOn, and Food Connect, three of the Bay Area’s seven portfolio organizations.

Kate has nearly 2 decades of experience leading and working with nonprofit organizations, from small, local organizations to large, national institutions. Prior to joining GreenLight, she was the Founding Bay Area Executive Director and Interim VP of Development and Communications at CollegeSpring, a national nonprofit focused on helping low-income students realize their college potential. While at CollegeSpring, Kate tripled the number of students served locally, doubled the fundraising revenue, and built a diverse and committed regional board of directors. She has also previously served as the Director of Development for Envision Education, a Bay Area charter school network, overseeing fundraising, communications and enrollment; held various roles in the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA), leading Northern California and Nevada as Regional Director; and worked in Santa Barbara at the Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse and United Way.

In 2017, Kate was named a Cross-Sector Leadership Fellow of the Presidio Institute, a program sponsored by the White House in support of leaders working to unlock solutions to society’s most complex and pressing challenges. She holds a B.A. in Religious Studies from Westmont College. She lives in Oakland, and in her free time, can be found chasing after her two children and husband, skiing, playing tennis, and listening to Beyoncé on repeat.