BACKGROUND

Wendy Philleo is a nonprofit leader and social entrepreneur with over 25 years experience in the nonprofit and philanthropic fields in the areas of climate and sustainability, international development, communications, civic engagement and advocacy, food and agriculture, and women’s leadership and health.

Philleo most recently served as the first Executive Director of Generation180 (Gen180), a clean energy nonprofit that focuses on engaging Americans by shifting the climate narrative and helping Americans electrify their homes, cars, and communities. While at Gen180, Philleo helped buildout the first national effort to solarize the K12 sector (Solar Schools). Under her leadership, Gen180 developed an award-winning media and communications team which won 5 awards including two Anthem/Webbys and grew their audience from 10K to over 300K and earned media from 15 stories a year to over 500 a year, including in the New York Times, the Guardian, and CBS Morning News. While at Gen180, Philleo led creative strategies to reach more Americans with climate solutions, including creating a comedian-in-residence position to help inject humor into climate messaging, and developing the Climate Comedy Cohort fellowship in collaboration with American University to train comedians on climate and clean energy.

Philleo also served as the Executive Director at the national nonprofit the Center for a New American Dream (New Dream). While at New Dream, Philleo oversaw the Kids and Commercialism program to counter advertising and consumer culture aimed at children, and created the Collaborative Communities programs to help popularize ways to strengthen communities ties, build local economies, and reduce overconsumption. She also led the launch of the social venture, SoKind – an alternative gift registry to promote non-material, homemade and secondhand gifts as a practical and positive solution for more sustainable living.

Prior to joining New Dream, Philleo ran a philanthropy and nonprofit consulting business. She also worked as a consultant and program officer for the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, focusing on protecting freshwater, public lands, and wilderness in the West. She also consulted for the Population programs at both the Hewlett Foundation and the Packard Foundation on women’s reproductive health and rights. Prior to that, Philleo served as the first cross-cutting program officer at the Packard Foundation between the Conservation and Population programs. At Packard, Philleo designed and ran a $35 million global initiative on population, health, and environment and also managed an annual $12 million Special Opportunities fund for the Conservation program.

Philleo also served on the board of the Local Food Hub to improve small farm viability and increase community access to local food. Philleo has also worked for World Wildlife Fund, WorldWIDE Network (Women in Development and Environment), the State Department’s Office of Global Change, the Council on Environmental Quality, and the United Nations Environment Programme. She received her B.A. from the University of Colorado and her M.A. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. In her free time, Philleo is often found outdoors hiking and cycling.

CURRENT & PAST CLIENTS

David and Lucile Packard Foundation

William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF)

Westwind Foundation

Individual Philanthropists

Just Transition Fund

Presidential Precinct

North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE)