Leela Bilmes Goldstein

Leela Bilmes Goldstein is Executive Director of Women’s Fund of Hawai‘i, a grant making foundation dedicated to supporting women and girls statewide. She is responsible for everything from donor and grantee relations and outreach; fund- and friend-raising; events; operations; and communications. Leela also serves as a Trustee for Abilities Unlimited Hawai‘i and on the Board of Directors of Hawai‘i Friends for Restorative Justice.

Leela was born in Bangkok, Thailand and grew up in Honolulu. She received three degrees from UC Berkeley, the most recent of which was a PhD in Linguistics. Prior to Women’s Fund of Hawai‘i, she worked in stewardship at Punahou School. Besides Hawai‘i and California, Leela has also attended university and worked in Thailand and France and is fluent in the languages of both countries.

In addition to snowboarding and outrigger canoe paddling, Leela spends as much time as possible with her husband, two daughters, and golden retriever, Moose. She was honored to be named one of PBN’s 2018 Women Who Mean Business for her non-profit work and is passionate about social justice. Recent unforgettable experiences include participating in the 2017 Women’s March in Washington, D.C., bringing civil rights activist Susan Burton to O‘ahu, interviewing feminist author Roxane Gay onstage at the Hawai‘i Theatre, seeing the Na Pali Coast for the first time, and receiving a message of support for Women’s Fund of Hawai‘i from Ms. Oprah Winfrey.