Love in Leadership: Spotlight on Alissa Abdo

At St. Joseph Fund (SJF), our strength is rooted in the love and dedication of our incredible board members. Meet Alissa Abdo, SJF board member and Executive Director of On The Move. Alissa’s commitment to community and innovative approach to philanthropy make her an invaluable resource. In this spotlight, we sit down with Alissa to understand the core values that drive her dedication to our work and explore the accomplishments of our board with her influence. Alissa’s leadership exemplifies “Rooted in Love” as she strives to create lively, hopeful, healthy, equitable and just communities.

 

What inspired you to join the St. Joseph Fund Board?

The impact of SJF’s investments in my community in Northern California is significant. As I became familiar with their work, I grew to love and respect their work but also who they are as humans.

When I had the opportunity to support their leadership and also represent my region to ensure that the community’s voices were represented, I couldn’t pass it up. The work that happens because of SJF in the community felt like a good fit for me.

 

What is one thing the St. Joseph Fund has accomplished during your tenure on the board?

One accomplishment I’ve seen is how they take a systems approach to advancing equity. They understand if we don’t resource and attend to addressing the systems of inequity, over the long haul, we will always be so far downstream, working only in high-level interventions. SJF knows that if we invest more in system change, we create the conditions that prevent the need for more costly and less effective strategies.

I also feel so good about how they center love in their partnerships and grant-making. Many communities are struggling economically due to the socio-economic environment and housing instability. There is so much suffering, and how might love help transform some of that suffering? When grant-making is done with love as an intention, it sets a tone for investments that move us toward healing – in our communities and the work. This difference inspired me to join the board.

Secondly, I admire their disaster relief and resilience strategy as I have led organizations through many disasters, including wildfires, earthquakes, floods, and the pandemic. SJF recently pivoted their disaster philanthropy strategy to partner with longstanding, well-known, deeply rooted disaster philanthropy organizations. When funds are channeled in this way, it can be transformative for local communities.

I’m proud of SJF for figuring out how to rethink disaster grantmaking. It’s innovative, strategic, and a good use of resources, and it helps free up the staff to focus on other work. This pivot was very wise and forward-thinking. And it leads me to the other thing I love about the staff: They’re reflective. There’s no ego involved. They believe it’s really about maximizing the resources, supporting the communities in the way they need, and being responsive but not having to do all the work.

 

What’s one thing you hope we can accomplish or continue within the next year?

I think we’ve laid a lot of groundwork in strengthening our alignment with the larger health system and its mission and strategies. If we continue to move through that work, the impact on the fund and local communities will deepen.

 

Thank you, Alissa, for sharing your reflections with us. We are grateful for your dedication to your community and the regions SJF serves. To meet more of our outstanding board members, follow us on LinkedIn or sign up for Rooted In Love