Jena Hayashi

Jena Hayashi joins Hack the Hood as the Director of Development, bringing over 12 years of experience in fundraising, donor communications, and philanthropic partnerships to the role. Jena has spent much of her professional career working with youth-serving organizations, helping to raise millions of dollars for social impact initiatives in public education, public media, workforce development, and more. Most recently, she was the Senior Manager of Strategic Partnerships and Communications at the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD), where she was responsible for cultivating and managing a portfolio of high-impact investments for the district's strategic priorities and equity goals. As a certified Salesforce System Administrator, she also led the team’s donor database management and development operations.

Jena specializes in writing highly competitive grant proposals for private and public funding opportunities, creating visually compelling donor communications to demonstrate impact, and implementing a robust stewardship program aimed at building authentic and long-lasting donor relationships. She looks forward to joining Hack the Hood’s leadership team and helping the organization to meet its ambitious growth goals.

Born and raised in the Bay Area, Jena received her Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from Stanford University, her Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of San Francisco, and a Certificate in Professional Fundraising from Boston University. Outside of work, she enjoys playing basketball, golfing, snowboarding, traveling, going to concerts, and hiking with her wife and fur baby.