Sally Carlson
Managing Partner
Sally’s career spans nearly 30 years, and is steeped in nonprofit Board leadership and philanthropic investment management. Her experience in finance, real estate and institutional investment management on behalf of foundations, endowments, and public pension funds was earned at companies such as Wells Fargo, Deloitte & Touche, and Jones Lang LaSalle, Sally also gained in-depth experience in capital raising and client relations. In the world of recruitment, from Heidrick & Struggles to founding her own firm, Terra Search Partners and now, Carlson Beck, her track record includes C-level searches in community development and affordable housing, community foundations, and health and human services. Sally graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley, with a minor in political science, specializing in Soviet studies.
Community Commitment: Trustee of Deep Springs College, Board member of Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy, Board Chair of Network of Nonprofit Search Consultants, a North American professional membership association ensuring best practices in executive search. Former Board Chair of Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation and CompassPoint Nonprofit Services; former Board member of the Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California, Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at UCSF, and the Rockwood Leadership Institute.
Personal Passions: Adventure travel and mountaineering (Africa, Russia, and the Cascades), art and design (favorite museum is Guggenheim, Bilbao), and experiencing other cultures with her children, Daanika, Justin, and Madeleine, and her fiancé, Karl.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead