Willa Seldon

Willa Seldon is a partner in Bridgespan’s San Francisco office and co-leads our Children, Youth, and Families practice. She advises nonprofits, social enterprises and foundations – collaborating with leaders on refining their strategies and improving their operating and economic models. Building on her for-profit experience in joint ventures and mergers, Willa is a leader in Bridgespan’s work in cross-sector, nonprofit, and funder collaborations. Her clients have included Family Independence Initiative, David Thomas Foundation for Adoption, the Rockefeller Foundation, and StriveTogether. Willa also has led engagements to support mobilization efforts, such as the Aspen Forum for Community Solutions and the White House Council for Community Solutions.

Willa brings leadership and management experience from both the nonprofit and for-profit worlds. She has transformed organizations, led them to viability, and established systems that enable organizations to better achieve their missions and long-term sustainability.

Before joining Bridgespan, Willa served as the chief executive officer of the Glide Foundation, where she focused on growing programmatic impact and enhancing the organization’s infrastructure and systems. She also launched Glide’s social media strategy and web-based infrastructure. Prior to Glide, Willa served as the executive director of the Tides Center, a nonprofit engaged in providing infrastructure services to nonprofit groups.

She is a member of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco's Economic Advisory Council, on the Board of Directors of College Futures Foundation, former vice-chair of the Board of Trustees of Bryn Mawr College, and former chair of KQED. She also was awarded the Most Influential Women in Business award by the San Francisco Business Times. Willa’s for-profit experience includes seven years at Milepost, a venture capital firm she co-founded and senior executive experience at AirTouch Communications, a multi-billion dollar wireless communications company.

Willa has an MBA from Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration, a JD from Yale Law School, and an AB in Economics from Bryn Mawr College.