Dr. Emily Young and Chris Sichel to Join Prebys Foundation

I am very pleased to welcome San Diego’s own Dr. Emily Young and Chris Sichel, who will join us in leadership roles at the Conrad Prebys Foundation. I am so gratified that such well-respected leaders in San Diego with substantial knowledge of philanthropy and extensive networks in the community have chosen to join us at the Conrad Prebys Foundation.

Emily and Chris will share the title of VP of Programs, with Emily leading on our arts and health grantmaking and related impact efforts, and Chris leading on youth and workforce issues across our platform, and the two of them sharing responsibility for general program management, medical research, and our leadership development and nonprofit capacity building efforts.

Emily comes to the foundation after serving as executive director of The Nonprofit Institute in the School of Leadership and Education Sciences at USD. Previously, she served as vice president of community impact at the San Diego Foundation. Chris joins us from the Rancho Santa Fe Community Foundation, where he is president and CEO. Prior to that, he spent 16 years as President & CEO of Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Chris and Emily have known each other for years and are highly collaborative. I am particularly grateful to them for being willing to be part of this shared management structure since they both have such extensive experience as leaders of their organizations. It is a testament to their commitment to community impact that they are making this shift in their careers at this moment.