Vera deVera (she/her)

Board Member

Vera is a program director at the Weingart Foundation where she manages the John W. Mack Movement Building program, capacity building partnerships and grantmaking in Ventura County.

She brings more than 20 years of experience in philanthropy and nonprofit board service, combined with previous experience in government and public policy. Vera is also a former board trustee of the Durfee Foundation and has served as a coach and supporter of SJPLA’s programs over the years. She is a member of the California Community Foundation’s Legacy Society, a longtime member of the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Islander Giving Circle and co-founder of a staff giving circle, with her legacy gift and both giving circles focused on supporting BIPOC-founded and led grassroots organizations with relatively small budgets who may not yet have qualified for or received large foundation grants.

As a first-generation college graduate, she earned a B.A. in Political Science and an M.A. in Urban Planning from UCLA, and a J.D. from Southwestern University College of Law. A native Southern Californian, Vera’s commitment to social justice stems from her experience growing up as a daughter of immigrant parents from the Philippines and living in working class neighborhoods in Long Beach, Oxnard and Carson.  She wants to pay forward the time, energy, wisdom and support others extended to her to help her family and others better their lives.

Her sources of joy and renewal include spending time in Oxnard at the beach with family and friends, participating in community-based arts and culture events, watching films made by BIPOC filmmakers, and cheering and jeering during a good soccer match.