Jo-Ann Sockolov

Jo-Ann has held human resources management and executive leadership roles in the corporate sector, with responsibility for HR strategy, policies and legal compliance, talent acquisition, performance and compensation management, benefits administration, training and development, executive coaching, and workplace culture. Her experience spans a wide breadth of organizational life cycles. She held key senior positions at Marsh McLennan, Argonaut Insurance Company, and Align Technology.

Jo-Ann has served on and led a number of nonprofit boards, where she led strategic planning and execution, strengthened board diversity and governance processes and practices, helped to develop strategic partnerships with other community-based organizations and government agencies, and worked closely with executive leadership and fundraising staff to advance individual and major donor development efforts. She is well networked with diverse community, government, and business leaders throughout San Mateo County.

Jo-Ann founded Transform Collaborative, a consulting practice specializing in nonprofit organizational and leadership development, in 2016, with the goal of helping San Mateo County’s most courageous nonprofit leaders and their teams design and implement breakthrough advancements in their services and contributions in support of the public good. She takes much of her inspiration in this work from a long family history of public service, beginning at the turn of the 20th century in Ireland. Today, Jo-Ann and her husband are strongly committed, with their two daughters, to continuing this lineage of action and advocacy for the fulfillment of the vital needs of marginalized populations and communities through their volunteerism and family philanthropy.

Jo-Ann holds a M.A. and B.A. in Speech Communications Studies and a B.S. in Business Administration from San Francisco State University. She represented the United States as a Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholar to New Zealand to promote peace and foster international goodwill. There, she attended the University of Auckland, where she studied cultural anthropology and linguistics. Jo-Ann is a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) and holds a lifetime designation as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR). She earned certifications in Specialized Studies in Nonprofit Management through U.C. Irvine Extension Program and Human Resources Management through the U.C. Berkeley Extension Program, completed The Standards for Excellence, Ethics & Accountability Program through the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University, and is a graduate of the Community Advocates Leadership Academy through Green Foothills and Redwood City-San Mateo County Chamber of Commerce Leadership Program. She is certified in Youth Mental Health First Aid by the San Mateo County Health Department and is a Yoga Alliance certified