Camellia Pham is the Director Special Initiatives. Previously, Camellia was a program officer in the Heising-Simons Foundation’s Science Program, where she created the 51 Pegasi b Fellowship Program in planetary astronomy, led the design and launch of the www.1400degrees.org platform, and managed research and technology portfolios focused in astronomy, astrophysics, physics, and climate science.

Prior to joining the Foundation in 2014, Camellia was a program manager at the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, where she managed a portfolio focused on re-designing and re-engineering health care systems. In addition, she worked on major initiatives within the Science program, such as a $300 million commitment for research at Caltech, a $200 million commitment to build the Thirty Meter Telescope, and other projects in astronomy, seismology, and physics. Currently, Camellia serves on the board of directors for the San Francisco Education Fund and the San Carlos Community Foundation based in Silicon Valley. She is also a senior advisor for Caerus Financial Advisors, LLC. Camellia graduated from the University of California at Berkeley and also completed Stanford University’s strategy and project management program.