Board of Governors

Efrain Escobedo is a leading executive and dynamic strategist dedicated to increasing the civic engagement of historically underserved and marginalized communities and transforming systems through more human-centered approaches. For nearly two decades, he has worked within the philanthropic, government, and nonprofit sectors to advance his professional mission. This cross-sectoral experience – paired with Efrain’s commitment to empowering local communities – allows him to bring partners together and make a meaningful impact in his work across California.

Efrain previously served as Vice President of Public Policy and Civic Engagement at The California Community Foundation (CCF), one of the state’s leading philanthropies with more than $1.8 billion in assets. Efrain manages senior staff, develops cross-sector partnerships, has helped revamp several multimillion-dollar grantmaking portfolios, and leads the design and implementation of innovative public-private partnerships with Los Angeles County and the State of California. Efrain has played a key role in CCF’s impactful philanthropy, which disbursed more than $100 million in grants and administered multiple public-private partnerships with the County and State.

Efrain’s work is informed by his deep-rooted experience crafting effective human-centered engagement strategies in government. For nearly seven years, Efrain worked at the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, first as an Executive Liaison, managing the Department’s Multilingual Services and Community Outreach teams, and then as the Division Manager of Governmental & Legislative Affairs. As Division Manager, Efrain led three divisions – Public Information Office, Legislative Affairs, and Community Outreach – where he spearheaded historic projects like the Voting Systems Assessment Project, which modernized the County’s voting systems through an innovative community-centered process and public-private partnership.

Efrain additionally draws on his experience in the nonprofit sector, as he worked at the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund for half a decade, first as Director of Voter Engagement and then as Senior Director of Civic Engagement. Efrain led a national $2.5 million voter education initiative across seven states and played a key leadership role in the historic Ya Es Hora campaign, which helped to naturalize more than one million immigrants in the U.S. and contributed to historic Latino voter turnout in 2008.

Efrain holds leadership positions on committees across the philanthropic, government, and nonprofit sectors. He is Chair of the Board of Directors for Hispanics in Philanthropy, past member of the Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees Board of Directors, a Member of the Board of Directors for Mi Familia Vota Education Fund, a Member of the Policy Advisory Committee for Southern California Grantmakers, and Speaker Appointee of the CA Census Complete Count Committee in 2020.

Efrain earned his bachelor’s degree in American Studies and Ethnicity from the University of Southern California and his Master of Business Administration from the University of La Verne. He is a graduate of the Los Angeles County Executive Leadership Program, a partnership with USC Sol Price School of Public Policy.