George Zeno

George Zeno is the Associate Vice President for Advancement at Pacific Lutheran University (PLU) and is a senior leader in philanthropy with 27 years experience in building philanthropic movements for community impact, locally and globally. He leads the development of PLU’s collective impact strategy focused on accelerating generational change in public systems for diversity, justice and sustainability. George is also the principal of New Creole where he authors learning and development curricula for employee, professional, and constituent affinity groups, leads equity and inclusion change management in philanthropy and social impact for business executives and education leaders, and navigates the startup journey for social entrepreneurs of color. A career developed through a hybrid approach of business development, philanthropy, and community development, George’s fundraising and management career spans from launching higher education’s first equity and justice center for philanthropy, leading all strategic planning, fundraising, marketing, and public-private-partnerships benefiting students from low-income, tribal, refugee, migrant, undocumented, LGBTQIA+, veterans, and historically marginalized and minoritized communities at the University of Washington and UC Berkeley to running the global philanthropy team for PATH, one of the world’s leading NGO’s in innovation, research, and development for global health. His teams have raised over $600 million for local and global sustainability development programs focused on building inclusive economies, accessing education for all, and equity in health and wellbeing.