Chris Cardona

Education: BA: Williams College, in Political Science, MA and PhD: University of California, Berkeley, in Political Science

Publications:

• Editor, "The Meaning and Impact of Board and Staff Diversity in the Philanthropic Field," published by the Joint Affinity Groups
• Co-Author (with Jeanne Argoff), "Disability Grantmaking in California," published by Disability Funders Network

Presentations & Speeches:

• "The three "i"s of Foundation Effectiveness," EPiP National Conference
• "Philanthropic Strategy: Too Much of a Good Thing." Council on Foundations’ annual conference
• "Philanthropy in Diverse Communities," The Foundation Center
• "Latinos are Givers: Trends and Opportunities in Latino Philanthropy," Merrill Lynch Hispanic Professional Network
• "Diversity Issues in Capacity Building," Connecticut Capacity-Building Roundtable
• "Police Systems and Political Development in Latin America," Latin American Studies Association
• "Schools for Citizenship or for Clientelism? Grassroots Organizations and Local Politics in Santiago, Chile," Latin American Studies Association

Chris Cardona has worked in philanthropy and the nonprofit sector since 1997, serving as staff, board member and consultant to national and local membership networks. For three years, Cardona led Hispanics in Philanthropy's operations in the Northeast region, opening a New York office, hiring staff, raising funds, and managing a $1.6 million annual grantmaking portfolio. He has consulted with grantmaker affinity groups on a research publication, an online grantmaker survey, and a strategic planning document.

Since joining TCC in June 2008, Cardona has focused on philanthropy projects for clients including the Challenge Fund for Journalism, a collaboration of the Ford, Knight, McCormick and Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundations; The Wallace Foundation; and the United Way of New York City. His work has included governance review, coaching, project management, and proposal review.

Cardona earned his Ph.D. in political science from UC Berkeley, with subfields in comparative politics, Latin America, and research methods. His dissertation studied the institutional design of security forces and its impact on regime stability in Latin America, with a focus on Colombia. The recipient of fellowships from the National Science Foundation, Fulbright/IIE, and the Ford-Mellon Minority Research Scholars Program, Cardona has presented his research at national and international conferences, and participated in a four-country survey research project on interest regimes and participation in Latin America.

Throughout his career, Cardona has been active in making philanthropy accessible to underserved communities. As a board member of the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network from 1999-2003, he developed and implemented a board giving plan. His work with philanthropy affinity groups has focused on diverse communities, with clients including Disability Funders Network, Women & Philanthropy, and the Joint Affinity Groups. Most recently, Cardona has been involved in founding the NYC Venture Philanthropy Fund, a giving circle composed of young corporate and nonprofit professionals who support social entrepreneurs in the five boroughs of New York City. Cardona chairs VPF's Advisory Council, which connects the giving circle to broader networks and provides advice on strategy and planning.

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