Fred Blackwell is the CEO of The San Francisco Foundation (TSFF). Blackwell, an Oakland native, is a nationally recognized community leader with a longstanding career in the Bay Area. Prior to joining the Foundation, he served as interim city administrator for the City of Oakland where he previously served as the assistant city administrator. He was the executive director of the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency and director of the Mayor’s Office of Community Development in San Francisco; served as the director of the Making Connections Initiative for the Annie E. Casey Foundation in the Lower San Antonio neighborhood of Oakland; was a multicultural fellow in neighborhood and community development at TSFF; and subsequently managed a multi-year comprehensive community initiative for TSFF in West Oakland. Blackwell currently serves on the board of the San Francisco Bay Area Super Bowl 50 Legacy Fund, UC Berkeley’s College of Environment Dean’s Advisory Council, and as an advisor for Google Impact Challenge: Bay Area. He previously served on the boards of California Redevelopment Association, Urban Habitat Program, LeaderSpring, SPUR and Leadership Excellence. He holds a master’s degree in city planning from UC Berkeley and a bachelor’s degree in urban studies from Morehouse College.
