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About


About

The Honnold Foundation is building a brighter, more equitable world for all of us.

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About


About

The Honnold Foundation is building a brighter, more equitable world for all of us.

About Description


About Description


We believe that small,
deliberate steps can help us
achieve audacious goals

The Honnold Foundation envisions a world where marginalized communities lead the transition to renewable energy, with the resources they need to adapt and thrive. We believe in solar as a proven, environmentally sound solution to global energy poverty, and we award grants to community organizations whose projects are innovative, equity-focused, and have the potential to shift the narrative on what’s possible for energy access worldwide.

HF’s mission and values are rooted in the true spirit of partnership, and our trust-based funding approach is intentionally designed to center the voices, expertise, and leadership of the communities we serve.

 

History


History


 
In climbing, you build a relationship, and then you trust your partner with your life. Why should philanthropy be any different?
— Alex Honnold
 

Where We’ve Come From

The Honnold Foundation was founded by professional rock climber Alex Honnold in 2012. At the time, Alex was living in his car (a Ford Econoline van, retrofitted with a bed and storage), climbing all over the United States and, increasingly, the world. After expeditions to Chad and Borneo, he returned home and spent hours hunched over his laptop, researching carbon offsets, environmental activism, energy access, and charitable giving.

In the end, Alex decided to focus his giving on solar energy because it’s so tangible, and so universally effective. Solar energy can bring light to a single family on the Navajo Nation, or transform the resilience and sustainability of an entire city at utility scale. The Honnold Foundation does most of our work somewhere in between— supporting community scale projects that increase climate resilience, bolster social and economic equity, reduce environmental impact, and improve peoples’ lives.

We’ve come a long way from our humble beginnings in Alex Honnold’s van, but the Honnold Foundation’s values remain the same— we believe that small, deliberate steps can help us achieve audacious goals, and we’re here to build a brighter and more equitable world for everyone.

Team


Team


Meet The Team


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Alex Honnold, Founder

Alex is a professional rock climber, best known for his ropeless ascents of some of the world's biggest rock walls.

As a matter of principle and practicality, Alex lives as simply as possible. The Honnold Foundation is an extension of that ethic.

Brian Williams, Operation and Finance Manager

Brian has spent most of his career helping nonprofits achieve their missions through operational efficiencies, financial oversight, and people-first organizational management. He joined the Honnold Foundation in December of 2022, better aligning his personal and professional values of supporting future focused sustainability while making a real impact in real lives immediately.

Based in Tucson, AZ, Brian spends his free time exploring the Southwest – camping on public land and riding his gravel bike – stopping frequently to take photos of it all.

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Cynthia Arellano, Project Manager

Cynthia studied Civil Engineering at Rutgers University, where she managed the construction of pedestrian footbridges in Bolivia to help increase connectivity in rural communities. After graduating, she worked as a field engineer in the construction industry. She joined the Honnold Foundation to follow her passion in working towards the empowerment of communities to create long-term, sustainable change.

When she's not on site in Puerto Rico, Cynthia is floating around California and Utah where she feeds her love of climbing and surfing.

 
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Emily Teitsworth, Executive Director

Emily is a passionate advocate for equity and environmental justice, and brings two decades of experience growing and evolving organizations in the nonprofit and philanthropic fields to the Honnold Foundation. She has worked in Central America, Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and the U.S., with a focus on sustainability, gender and racial equity, public health, and community development. Emily holds a Master’s Degree in Sustainable International Development from the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University, and graduated from Wesleyan University with a B.A. in Philosophy and Psychology. Prior to joining the Honnold Foundation, Emily was the Executive Director of GirlVentures, and a co-founder of Rise Up and Project Aruna. Her writing has been featured in Stanford Social Innovation Review, the Guardian, and the Huffington Post.

Outside of work, Emily is happiest in and around the water, whether it's her community pool in Oakland, a glacial lake, or the Pacific Ocean. She loves exploring the outdoors with her family, writing poetry in rare quiet moments, and is on a quest to find Northern California’s best vegetarian tacos.

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Kate Trujillo, Deputy Director

Kate has worked broadly in community development and public health since 2011. Her work spans from strengthening Tribal Court Systems on Native American reservations to running medical triage clinics in rural Honduras and developing clean drinking water systems in Nepal. She joined the Honnold Foundation in September 2019 with the belief that equitable access to the things we need to live a healthy life is a right and not a privilege.

Kate is a member of the Laguna Pueblo and received her master’s degree in Public Health from the University of Michigan. In her spare time, you can find Kate running around the forests of the Pacific Northwest, enjoying a home-cooked meal with friends and family, or searching for the next great read.

Milana Ortega, Operations Coordinator

Milana is a University of New Mexico graduate, where she studied Political Science and Criminology. Her previous work in community organizing, policy, and politics was focused at a local and national level and motivated by a passion for impactful change.

Milana loves any excuse to get outside in her free time, and on the rare occasion she isn’t exploring, she is probably perfecting her cheesecake recipe.

 
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Peter Walle, Development and Communications Manager

Peter has worked broadly across the nonprofit and development space since 2015. Informed by an early career working with grassroots nonprofits and community development initiatives in Detroit, Peter is passionate about empowering grassroots leaders with the resources they need to address inequity in their communities and beyond. A multidisciplinary storyteller, communications strategist, and development professional, most of Peter's work lies at the intersection of all three, ultimately co-creating authentic, human-centered stories to catalyze impact.

Outside of the office, Peter spends his time climbing, finding the best local jazz show, baking, meandering along mountain trails, and keeping an eye out for the next opportunity for an adventure.

 

Board Members


Board Members


Board of Directors

Armando Cordoves

Armando serves as legal counsel for the foundation on a pro-bono basis. Armando’s passion for the environment led him to HF, a place where he could leverage his legal skills to serve the earth’s wild places and empower its inhabitants, including in his native Caribbean. A self-described reluctant lawyer and wannabe dirtbag, when not practicing law, Armando spends his free time climbing throughout the Sierra Nevada. Most weekends, you can find Armando faffing about at his home crag, Yosemite National Park, or in his van alongside his two crag dogs, Clark and Medley.

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Brady Robinson

Brady Robinson is a climber, conservationist, and current Board Chair. Brady's career has included over a decade at Outward Bound, 11 years running Access Fund, the national organization that keeps climbing areas open and conserved, and engaging with businesses to protect wild places for their habitat and recreation values as executive director of The Conservation Alliance. He has also worked on land conservation and rewilding projects in Chile and Argentina with Tompkins Conservation and Freyja Foundation, where he is currently the Director of Philanthropy. Brady lives in Boulder, Colorado with his two children.

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Len Necefer

Dr. Len Necefer, Ph.D., is the CEO & Founder of NativesOutdoors – a native-owned athletic and creative collective. He holds a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering and a Doctorate in Engineering and Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon University. Previous to this role, Len has worked for the U.S. Department of Energy and, most recently, the University of Arizona. His work melds the intersection of sport, environmental advocacy, and indigenous peoples. His storytelling work melds the intersection of sport, environmental advocacy, and indigenous people and has been featured in the Alpinist, National Geographic, and over 50 film festivals globally. Len currently serves as the Vice Chairman of the Honnold Foundation Board.

 
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Maury Birdwell

In 2012, Maury and Alex created the Honnold Foundation while chatting in the car on the way home from a climbing trip. Their vision was simple: to improve lives and reduce environmental impact. Maury served as the Foundation's Executive Director from 2012 to 2018, and served as Chairman of the Board from 2018 to 2021. He currently serves as Board Emeritus. As a lawyer and climber based in Boulder, Colorado, Maury enjoys working with businesses, solving interesting problems, and going on climbing adventures all over the world.

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Peter Martin

Peter is the Director of Philanthropy at Tides. Before joining Tides, Peter was a philanthropic advisor to individuals and family foundations. In that role he helped establish new charitable entities and advised clients on their philanthropic plans, programmatic priorities, and grant-making portfolios. Previously, he served 15 years at the Sierra Club, including eight years as executive director of the Sierra Club Foundation.

Peter lives in Marin County, CA with his wife Emily and two sons. When not racing around to meetings, you’ll find Peter on the trails of Mt. Tam or in the Sierra Nevada seeking adventure and refuge from the daily grind.

Shaandiin Cedar

Originally from northern Arizona and the Navajo Nation, Shaandiin Cedar is the Honnold Foundation's Board Treasurer, and an investor at Powerhouse Ventures, a leading early-stage climate tech venture capital firm focused on backing founders building solutions for rapid decarbonization.

Shaandiin has worked with a range of clean energy stakeholders and communities—from helping to deploy renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in low-income housing to working with Fotune-1000 corporate sustainability teams. Shaandiin is a climate tech writer, climate justice advocate, and outdoorswoman dedicated to the equitable and timely transition to a clean economy.

 
 
 

Grant Advisory Committee


Grant Advisory Committee


 Technical Advisory Committee

Michiel Zuidweg, 2020-21
Former C.O.O and Director of Commercial Projects,
Puget Sound Solar


Jose Alfaro, Ph.D, 2020
Assistant Professor of Environmental Practice,
The University of Michigan

Dr. Tommy Jones, 2020

Deployment Specialist, U.S. Department of Energy

Sachiko Garber, 2020
Climate Policy Manager, The Nature Conservancy

Daniel Tittmann, 2021
Service Manager, Positive Energy Solar

Jeff Lauckhart, 2021
Lead Designer, Sunsense Solar Inc.

Juan Treto, 2021
Solar PV Designer, Positive Energy Solar

Scott Ely, 2021
President, Sunsense Solar Inc.

Toby Schmidt, 2021
Co-owner, Creative Energies Solar