Kathryn Nelson

Board Vice Chair

With nearly 30 years of experience in philanthropy, Kathy recently retired from the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation where she was the Senior Vice President of Philanthropy. Prior to joining HCF, Kathy was Vice President for Advancement at Punahou School, where she was a primary architect of the successful Kuʻu Punahou Campaign which ended in June 2019 and exceeded its $175 million goal. In addition to Punahou, she has used her philanthropic experience to benefit the University of Hawaiʻi Foundation, working there nearly 15 years with her final role as Vice President of Development responsible for fundraising across the state. She was also vice president and managing director at Grenzebach Glier and Associates, an international philanthropic management consulting firm.

As a community volunteer, she has served MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) on both the Hawaiʻi board and the national board. She currently serves on the East West Center Foundation Board where she is chair of the development committee. She and her husband Jon raised their sons Sean and Ian in Hawaiʻi. Sean now lives with his family in Florence, Italy, and Ian and his family live in Princeville.