| Peter Hero, Senior Advisor |
For 18 years Peter Hero was the President of Community Foundation Silicon Valley (CFSV). In
early 2007, he helped lead the merger of CFSV with a nearby community foundation, creating a
new $1.7 billion entity, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, to which he is now Senior Advisor
to the CEO until the end of 2008. At the merger CFSV had $1.1 billion in assets (compared to
assets of just $7M when he began) and annual grants exceeding $100 million. The 50-year old
Foundation was recognized in 2001 as the national “Outstanding Foundation of the Year” by
the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), the only community foundation ever to
receive this award.
Prior to this position, Peter was President of the Maine College of Art, a 4-year college of art
and design. He holds an M.B.A. from Stanford University School of Business, an M.A. (With
Distinction) in Art History from Williams College, and (Honorary) Doctor of Laws from the Maine
College of Art.
In 1991, Peter was appointed by President George Bush to a 6-year term on the National
Council for the Arts. In 2002, President George W. Bush appointed Peter to the National
Museum Services Board. Other recent recognition includes the John Gardner Leadership Award
(given by The American Leadership Forum), Lifetime Achievement in the Arts (by Arts Council
Silicon Valley), and, in statewide recognition by the California Arts Council, Exemplary
Contributions to the Arts.
Currently Peter is the founding Chairman of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) Foundation
and on the Board of Directors of the Skoll Foundation, eBay Foundation, PBS, Stanford
University’s Haas Center for Public Service, the American India Foundation, and in 2004 he was
appointed a Synergos Foundation Global Fellow. Peter was a founding Director of The
Entrepreneur’s Foundation and is a past Board member of the Council on Foundations where
he chaired the National Committee on Community Foundations. He currently chairs the World
Bank Advisory Committee on global community foundation development.
For more than a decade Mr. Hero has been working internationally, particularly in Central and
Eastern Europe, where he is helping to create a regional network of community foundations.
Czech Republic President Vaclav Havel appointed him to the 2002 NATO Summit Council of
Advisors in Prague. Peter is a lecturer at Stanford Graduate Business School (which has
written a case study on CFSV) and his writing has been published in the United States and
Europe.
early 2007, he helped lead the merger of CFSV with a nearby community foundation, creating a
new $1.7 billion entity, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, to which he is now Senior Advisor
to the CEO until the end of 2008. At the merger CFSV had $1.1 billion in assets (compared to
assets of just $7M when he began) and annual grants exceeding $100 million. The 50-year old
Foundation was recognized in 2001 as the national “Outstanding Foundation of the Year” by
the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), the only community foundation ever to
receive this award.
Prior to this position, Peter was President of the Maine College of Art, a 4-year college of art
and design. He holds an M.B.A. from Stanford University School of Business, an M.A. (With
Distinction) in Art History from Williams College, and (Honorary) Doctor of Laws from the Maine
College of Art.
In 1991, Peter was appointed by President George Bush to a 6-year term on the National
Council for the Arts. In 2002, President George W. Bush appointed Peter to the National
Museum Services Board. Other recent recognition includes the John Gardner Leadership Award
(given by The American Leadership Forum), Lifetime Achievement in the Arts (by Arts Council
Silicon Valley), and, in statewide recognition by the California Arts Council, Exemplary
Contributions to the Arts.
Currently Peter is the founding Chairman of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) Foundation
and on the Board of Directors of the Skoll Foundation, eBay Foundation, PBS, Stanford
University’s Haas Center for Public Service, the American India Foundation, and in 2004 he was
appointed a Synergos Foundation Global Fellow. Peter was a founding Director of The
Entrepreneur’s Foundation and is a past Board member of the Council on Foundations where
he chaired the National Committee on Community Foundations. He currently chairs the World
Bank Advisory Committee on global community foundation development.
For more than a decade Mr. Hero has been working internationally, particularly in Central and
Eastern Europe, where he is helping to create a regional network of community foundations.
Czech Republic President Vaclav Havel appointed him to the 2002 NATO Summit Council of
Advisors in Prague. Peter is a lecturer at Stanford Graduate Business School (which has
written a case study on CFSV) and his writing has been published in the United States and
Europe.
