Blog: Advice from the Field: Q&A with Dorothy Fleisher, Sr. Program Director, W. M. Keck Foundation (Retired)

As you transition to this next phase of your career and life in retirement, what accomplishments and bright spots stand out to you in what you were able to help achieve in LA County?

When I retired from the Keck Foundation earlier this year, they put together a poster that listed all of the organizations that I helped fund. I’m proud that since I began my tenure in 1999, our team – with the help of peer reviewers – analyzed 1,600 applications, made 550 grants, and invested more than $207M to support the nonprofit sector in LA.

I’m also grateful that as part of that support, the foundation was able to pivot and respond to two major crises affecting LA County – the pandemic and the 2025 wildfires. We provided critical emergency funding, including for children and families, as well as unrestricted grants for organizations on the front lines.

More broadly, I was able to facilitate a lot of aligned funding with the Partnership for programs supporting young children – such as for the early childhood center at Educare in Long Beach and the pilot for child care bridge funding. I was also able to garner early support for the development of the Children’s Data Network and produce a film with Jacqueline McCroskey about Vivian Weinstein, who was a staunch champion of young children and families in LA and mentored many people in our field while showing us what was possible.

You have been a friend and supporter of the LA Partnership since the beginning. Why do you believe our work is as important now as it was more than 20 years ago?

It’s in the name. The Partnership is an invaluable resource highlighting the importance of early childhood and increasing investments that will change systems to better support families – from increasing access to resources for unhoused families to promoting Black maternal health. The education sessions the Partnership also organizes help funders understand the biggest and most relevant issues facing young children in LA County, and provide a foundation for aligned funding to increase our collective impact.

You have a reputation for always asking the necessary questions at the necessary times to the necessary people to strengthen our collective work and philanthropy across LA County. Can you share more about your philosophy around curiosity, collaboration, and having an improvement mindset?

A lot of my questions are just to make sure I understand what people are saying and how they’re thinking about various issues. Understanding is at the heart of collaboration. We need to share information to help figure out how to leverage and build on everyone’s unique strengths and roles.

What advice do you have for all of us continuing the work to shape thriving families and communities in LA County?

Sometimes we can get discouraged by the enormity of the work, but saving one life is saving one life. We can make a difference. It’s not about being grandiose, but being focused. That’s what the Partnership is really all about.