Elizabeth (Liz) Simons is a philanthropic leader with an extensive record of engagement in education, nonprofit governance, criminal justice reform, and journalism. She is the co-founder and chair of the Heising-Simons Foundation, which she established with her husband, Mark Heising, in 2007. The Foundation is dedicated to advancing sustainable solutions in climate and clean energy, enabling groundbreaking scientific research, enhancing early childhood education and care, and supporting human rights in the United States. 

Throughout her career, Liz has championed efforts to create a more just and equitable society. Her professional journey spans philanthropy, nonprofit leadership, education -including of our youngest children, and justice reform. Before establishing the foundation, Liz began her career as an educator, teaching in Spanish-bilingual and English as a Second Language (ESL) classrooms in under-resourced schools. She later founded Stretch to Kindergarten, an innovative early childhood program designed to support young learners during the critical transition into formal schooling.  

She is now a Governor Newsom appointee to California’s Early Childhood Policy Council, a board member of Math for America, which supports excellence in STEM teaching, and a board member of the Learning Policy Institute, which conducts and communicates research to improve education policy and practice.  

She serves as Chair of the Board of The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization focused on raising awareness about the criminal justice system in the United States. Liz is also a founding pledger of One for Justice, a philanthropic initiative focused on criminal justice reform, and a founding advisory board member of Smart Justice California, which is dedicated to promoting public safety, human dignity, and healthy communities.  

With her husband Mark, she is a signatory to The Giving Pledge.  

She earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of California, Berkeley, and her master’s degree in education from Stanford University.