Skoll Foundation

Peter Hero is Vice President for Development and Institute Relations at the California Institute of Technology and is the former president and CEO of Community Foundation Silicon Valley. During his 17-year tenure, Community Foundation Silicon Valley grew from a small foundation with less than $10 million in assets and only three staff to a regional center for philanthropy with $1.2 billion in assets and more than 600 philanthropic funds under its umbrella, including 12 supporting foundations and 35 corporate-advised funds.

With extensive experience in international community foundation development, Peter has been working since 1996 in Central and Eastern Europe to build a network of community foundations in the region. In recognition of this work, Czech Republic President Vaclav Havel appointed him to the 2002 NATO Summit Council of Advisers in Prague. Peter is a frequent guest lecturer at Stanford Graduate School of Business and his writing on community development and philanthropy has been published in the United States and Europe. His latest book, Local Mission, Global Vision: Community Foundations in the 21st Century was published in 2007 by the Foundation Center in New York and has been translated into five languages.

Prior to joining the Community Foundation Silicon Valley, Peter was president of the Maine College of Art, a four-year college of art and design and the largest cultural organization in northern New England, and, earlier, he headed the Arts Commission for the state of Oregon. Peter holds a master of business administration degree from Stanford Graduate School of Business, a master of arts degree in art history from Williams College and an honorary doctor of laws degree from the Maine College of Art.