Managing Director and Chief of StaffWaverley Street Foundation
Lande Ajose is an accomplished public policy leader who has worked relentlessly to improve lives in her home state of California. She has now taken that purpose global in her leadership role at Waverley Street Foundation as its founding Managing Director, where she has been instrumental in shaping the foundation's strategic approach.
Lande previously served as vice president, Walter and Esther Hewlett Chair in Understanding California’s Future, and senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California, shaping the Institute’s work on issues facing the state. A nationally recognized higher education expert, California Governor Gavin Newsom appointed her as a senior policy advisor in his administration, where she helped to advance several signature initiatives. Currently a member of the board executive committee at both Occidental College and KQED, she co-hosts the podcast Sparking Equity. She holds a PhD in urban and regional studies from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.