Amy Saxton joined Irvine in 2017 and serves as Vice President of Program Development. Amy is responsible for developing new program opportunities and relationships with public, private, nonprofit, and labor organizations. Amy brings 15 years of experience leading and advising nonprofit and philanthropic organizations to maximize their impact.

Prior to joining Irvine, Amy spent more than six years as CEO with Summer Search, a national youth development nonprofit supporting students from low-income backgrounds to become leaders who give back. Under her leadership Summer Search was named – for four years – as one of the Nonprofit Times “Best Nonprofits to Work For.”

From 2004 to 2011 Amy was a manager at the Bridgespan Group, where she advised foundations and youth-serving nonprofits and led firmwide efforts to diversify staff and create an inclusive culture. Earlier in her career, Amy was a Summer Associate with the Broad Foundation and a director at a nonprofit focused on workforce development.

Amy has spoken and written about maximizing social impact, including publications in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, The Huffington Post, and The Seattle Times.

Amy grew up in Los Angeles and has lived in the Bay Area since 1999. As the daughter of an immigrant (who was first in the family to complete college), Amy is passionate about equity for low-income and people of color. She holds an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business, a master’s in education from the Stanford Graduate School of Education, and a bachelor’s in English from Harvard.