John Esterle Email & Phone Number

John Esterle is a Co-Executive Director at The Whitman Institute.

Listed skills include Board Development, Community Outreach, Non Profit Administration, Social Entrepreneurship, and 21 others.

• Co-Executive Director And Trustee

  The Whitman Institute

  May 1988 - Jul 2022 - San Francisco

  I retired as Co-Executive Director of The Whitman Institute in July 2022 when TWI, an independent foundation based in San Francisco, spent out all of its assets and ceased operations. TWI worked to advance social, political, and economic equity by funding dialogue, relationship building, and inclusive leadership. TWI also played a leading role in launching the Trust-Based Philanthropy Project in 2020, a five-year collaborative initiative to address the inherent power imbalances between foundations and nonprofits. I began my career at TWI in 1988 and became its Executive Director in 1998. I later led its transition from an operating to a grantmaking foundation as well as its decision to sunset the foundation. A past board president of Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement and the Rooftop PTA, I also served on the boards of The Germanacos Foundation, LeaderSpring, and Images and Voices of Hope. Currently, I am a board member of The Right Question Institute. Prior to joining TWI, my most notable job was directing a pilot project called Crime and the News Media, which featured a series of dialogues between journalists and advocates of alternatives to incarceration. I received my B.A. in Liberal Arts from the Hutchins School of Interdisciplinary Studies at Sonoma State University and my M.A. in Broadcast Communication Arts from San Francisco State University..