Elizabeth González

Elizabeth González is chief program & strategy officer of College Futures Foundation. In this role she leads the development and implementation of the Foundation’s strategy in service of the foundation’s vision and mission. She is a long-time philanthropy professional working for national, state, and regional foundations in support of public-sector systems change strategies and the advancement of equitable intergenerational social-economic mobility. Previously, she was a portfolio director at The James Irvine Foundation, where she oversaw the education and workforce portfolios and teams—the Better Careers initiative, postsecondary success grantmaking, and Linked Learning, Irvine’s signature initiative to integrate academic and career-technical education for better student outcomes in high schools throughout California. Prior to her work at the Irvine Foundation, she was a postsecondary success program officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation overseeing a national portfolio of municipal partnerships for college success. She is the proud daughter of Mexican immigrants and a first-generation college student from southeast Los Angeles. She earned a B.A. from Columbia University, and a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of California, Los Angeles, with a focus on poverty, labor market inequality, and social policy. She currently serves as a member of the KQED board, USC’s Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy advisory board, Center for Effective Philanthropy’s advisory board, and the Public Policy Institute of California’s Statewide Leadership Council.