Jennifer Sokolove

Jen Sokolove is Director of Programs and Strategy at the Water Foundation, where she drives grantmaking to secure safe water for people, restore and sustain freshwater ecosystems, and build climate resilience. As a member of the senior management team, Jen helps implement the foundation’s overall mission and works closely with the CEO to engage new partners, develop campaign strategies, and grow field capacity. She has been working on sustainability issues for more than two decades. Prior to joining the Water Foundation, she led strategy and grantmaking at the Compton Foundation around movement-building and narrative in climate change, reproductive justice, and peace and security. She joined Compton initially to advance its environmental programs on fresh water, climate, and rural conservation in the western United States, as well as sustainable food systems and art for social change. Before Compton, Jen worked on a variety of community-led conservation projects in California, Montana, and the Pacific Northwest. She serves on the boards of the Story of Stuff, EcoAdapt, and the Biodiversity Funders Group, the steering committee for the Climate & Energy Funders Group, and the advisory board for the Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program at UC Santa Cruz. Jen received a PhD in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management from UC Berkeley.

Sub-specialties: Fresh water, Climate change, Rural sustainability, Sustainable food systems, Art and activism/art and social or environmental change.