Susan Mayer Hirsch is a visionary leader in the philanthropic and non-profit communities. Over the past three decades, her work has transformed the opportunities available to children and families, particularly those in greatest need and in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her consulting services range from structuring foundations to strategic philanthropic advising through incubation of innovative non-profit entities, such as the City Fields Foundation. Susan's clients have leveraged their giving to generate major social impact in the areas of education, parks and social justice.

Susan founded Hirsch & Associates in 1999, and since then she has broadened the firm's expertise to encompass foundation counseling, donation management and facilitating collaborations between non-profits and local government.

Susan is a founding board member of The Bay Citizen and the San Francisco School Alliance. She also serves as a member of the Council on Foundations Philanthropic Advisors Network, the Family Foundation Network and the National Network of Consultants to Grantmakers.

Prior to launching Hirsch & Associates, Susan was the founding executive director at the Mimi and Peter Haas Fund. Previously, she was the executive director of Strive for Five, and she started her career as the manager of public affairs for McKesson Corporation. Susan holds her B.A. in International Economics.

Susan has served on a wide range of community and non-profit boards throughout her career. Her prior board service includes: San Francisco Day School, Jewish Family and Children's Services, California Common Cause, San Francisco Education Fund, Trauma Center at San Francisco General Hospital, UCSF Langley Porter, Breakthrough Collaborative National Board, Northern California Grantmakers, Nollenberger Capital Partners Inc., Mayor Newsom's Children's Policy Council and Open Space Task Force.

Send Susan an email: susan@hirschassoc.com

Mary Kuehn

Mary Kuehn is Senior Associate, Donor Services at Hirsch & Associates, LLC. For the past 20 years, Mary has managed client relations in both the private and public sectors. With expertise in communications, marketing and research, she skillfully defines both problems and solutions and is consistently recognized for her creativity and attention to detail. Mary always has her clients' best interests at heart and particularly enjoys the family-issue side of philanthropy.

Mary's other skills include mentoring new philanthropists, providing charitable research and analysis, and managing the grantmaking process. She has a solid knowledge base of the numerous charitable organizations in the Bay Area and Seattle and is an active member of Northern California Grantmakers.

Prior to working at Hirsch & Associates, Mary spent several years managing educational marketing for Massey University, New Zealand, and helped launch the Saturn advertising campaign at Hal Riney & Partners in San Francisco. Mary also served as a sales representative at "Advertising Age" in Chicago and "California Magazine" in San Francisco, developing effective advertising plans based on client need.

Email: mary@hirschassoc.com

Justa Mui

Justa Mui is Associate at Hirsch & Associates, LLC where she works as a grants administrator and administrative manager. With a background in administrative and program management, Justa is skilled in organizing and problem-solving and has great attention to detail. Justa has always been passionate about helping others and finding ways to better the communities we live in. After spending some time in the marketing and advertising industry she found that her skills and interests were better served in the world of philanthropy.

Prior to joining Hirsch & Associates, Justa was Program Coordinator at Opera Piccola (“Small Works”), a nonprofit educational theater company. As the program coordinator, Justa managed an arts education program that focuses on literacy and youth development through the visual and performing arts. She also served as Corporate Affairs Associate at the Partnership for New York City, a nonprofit organization working to promote the economy of the five boroughs of New York City.

Justa graduated from San Francisco State University with a bachelor’s of science in business administration.

Email: justa@hirschassoc.com

Claudia Sandoval

Claudia Sandoval is Senior Associate, Programs at Hirsch & Associates, LLC where she develops and manages the programmatic interests of our clients. Claudia has dedicated her career to improving the educational opportunities for youth. Prior to joining Hirsch & Associates, she worked as the Director of City and School Partnerships for the City of San Francisco. Her charge was to create a model partnership, where City resources strengthen and support the educational mission of San Francisco Unified School District.

Formerly she served as Special Assistant to Superintendent Rudolph F. Crew, Miami-Dade County Public Schools. In Miami, Claudia worked on the Wellness Initiative, 2004-2007 District Strategic Plan, Management Employees Evaluation and Incentive Pay, and Knowledge Management. Prior to M-DCPS, Claudia worked for a variety of educational nonprofits in New York and California, gaining experience at both the policy and program levels. She served as Youth Services Division Director for Catholic Charities in San Jose, CA. At Catholic Charities, Claudia directed the start-up of CORAL San Jose, a program which seeks to improve academic achievement in an after-school program. The Youth Services Division provided intervention, prevention, and enrichment programs daily for approximately 800 school-aged youth. Claudia also served as a Policy Consultant for the California School Board Association, where she led the state-mandated audit of the Oakland Unified School District.

Claudia is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, earning a Bachelor of Arts in History and a Bachelor of Arts in Ethnic Studies. She holds a Masters of Education from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education. Claudia is also a graduate of Coro Eastern Center Fellows Program.

Email: claudia@hirschassoc.com

Sorrenta Stuart

Sorrenta Stuart is Grants Administrator at Hirsch & Associates, LLC where she acts as a liaison between our donors and over 300 grantee organizations. Working with the GIFTS database, Sorrenta’s role is to provide foundation management and to ensure the grant process is efficient and timely for the donor and for the grantee – from approval to payment. Sorrenta is great with the grantees and strives to give colleagues, donors and grantees her best effort.

Her work continually reminds her of how philanthropic endeavors can change the course of many organizations and individual’s life stories. Sorrenta particularly enjoys working with non-profits focusing on health-care and social services. She has a strong knowledgebase of the various charitable organizations in San Francisco and strives to remain abreast of new grantmaking theories and laws.

Prior to working at Hirsch & Associates, Sorrenta counseled employees of the City and County of San Francisco through the city’s Employee Assistance Program. Sorrenta focused on mediation/conflict resolution sessions, workplace violence prevention and Critical Incident Debriefing following a traumatic incident.

When Sorrenta is not at Hirsch & Associates, she can be found at her private practice psychotherapy offices in San Francisco and Daly City. Sorrenta received her Master’s degree at the University of San Francisco in 2005 in Counseling Psychology. She also has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Law & Society from the University of California at Davis. Sorrenta is an active member of California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists.

Email: sorrenta@hirschassoc.com

Consultants

Hirsch & Associates collaborates with a talented group of carefully selected independent consultants when needed to help our clients meet their charitable goals.