Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen

Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen is a social entrepreneur, academic, author and philanthropic leader. She is the founder of multiple Silicon Valley organizations, including the Institute on Generosity (Founder/Chairman), Arrillaga Philanthropies (Founder/Chairman), Andreessen Philanthropies (Co-Founder/President), Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society (Founder/former Chairman), Silicon Valley Social Ventures Fund (Founder/former Chairman Emeritus) and Guild Theatre (Co-Founder). She is also currently in stealth mode, building a new operating foundation. Laura serves on the Board of Directors of the Presidio Trust as one of six presidential appointees and is Co-President of the Arrillaga Foundation. She teaches courses on philanthropy and women in leadership at Stanford Graduate School of Business and authored the New York Times bestselling book Giving 2.0: Transform Your Giving and Our World (Wiley, 2011).

Since 2000, Laura has created and taught Stanford Graduate School of Business’s (GSB) first courses on Strategic Philanthropy; Individual Philanthropy; Philanthropy, Inclusivity and Leadership; Philanthropy and Social Innovation; and Philanthropic Institutions and Justice. Laura has also developed and taught Women in Leadership: The Power of You to prepare students to navigate the challenges women leaders face in the workplace and to advance generosity and impact through her “meaningful leadership” model. In addition, Laura created and taught Stanford University’s first live massive open online course (MOOC) on strategic philanthropy on the Coursera platform, reaching more than 75,000 participants globally. She has also created courses at Stanford University on design thinking for impact, technology’s disruption of the social sector and strategic grantmaking.

In 2024, she founded the Institute on Generosity to inspire and grow generosity. Through its original, nonpartisan research and polling, practical tools, educational resources and world-class convenings, the Institute equips individuals of all backgrounds, beliefs and resource levels to give, live and lead in ways that matter more—transforming generosity from an occasional act into a lifelong practice that creates deeper meaning, greater impact and a more connected nation.

Laura is the Founder, former Chairman Emeritus (2008–2026) and former Executive Director (1998–2008) of Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund (SV2), a venture philanthropy fund of over 200 individuals who leverage their financial, intellectual and human capital to fund and scale innovative nonprofits. To date, SV2 has supported over 200 nonprofits and social enterprises in the Bay Area, providing more than $10 million in funding. Laura is the Founder and former Board Chairman (2006–2023) of Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society (PACS), a research center and publisher of the award-winning Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR). Laura is a former board member of the Robin Hood Education + Technology Fund and trustee of the National Gallery of Art, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, the Hoover Institution, Castilleja School, Menlo School, Eastside Preparatory School and San Francisco Art Institute. She is a contributing author to Frontiers in Social Innovation (Malhotra 2022) and has written for The Washington Post, Worth Magazine, T Magazine by The New York Times and SSIR.

Laura has been profiled in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, Forbes, The Chronicle of Philanthropy and Vogue. She has been featured on Charlie Rose, CNN with Erin Burnett, MSNBC and CNBC Power Lunch. In addition to receiving numerous California philanthropy awards, Laura was a 2005 Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute, received the 2005 President’s Volunteer Service Award from the Points of Light Foundation, was honored with the World Affairs Council’s Global Philanthropy Forum 2011 Global Citizen Award and was awarded the 2014 Commonwealth Club Distinguished Citizen Award.

Laura holds an MBA from the Stanford GSB, as well as an MA in Education and both a BA and MA in Art History, all from Stanford University. In total, Laura holds five degrees from Stanford including one conferred by Bing Nursery School, where she graduated with honors by consuming vast quantities of Play-Doh under the crafts table. In her illimitable free time, she is an active investor, real estate developer and mentor to countless past students. Laura finds immense joy in dancing (by herself or with others), perennial mistletoe, copious salt consumption, disco balls, combat boots and her all-black wardrobe. Laura lives with her trophy husband, technology entrepreneur and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, near Stanford University. Together, they are obsessed with reading, post-war American art, the golden age of streaming and laughing to the point of incapacitation. Inspired by their progeny, they are raising two rambunctious robot dogs (It and Thing) in a home bulging with innumerable books and boundless love. They keep many Christmas decorations up year-round and consider Winnie the Pooh an immediate family member.