Alison Upton López

Alison comes to Ktisis Capital with a background in family foundations and nonprofit management. At Ktisis, she serves as donor advisor working with individuals and families on a wide range of issues including environmental & racial justice. Alison also works on the internal Ktisis business development team engaging new clients and developing existing client relationships focusing on furthering progressive practices in the philanthropic space.

Prior to Ktisis she was the founding Executive Director for the Julian Grace Foundation, an entrepreneurial family foundation in Chicagoland, which funds a variety of organizations working on issues related to justice. She is passionate about developing brave, kind leaders in the philanthropic space who dream of a liberated future for all.

Prior to working in philanthropy, Alison spent the majority of her career in various leadership roles in nonprofits in Illinois and California. She started her career at the Chicago Community Trust, and has since been a Peace Corps Volunteer in El Salvador, Executive Director of Building Futures Now & I Have a Dream – East Palo Alto, and Development & Communications Director at NewRoot, among other roles. She also serves on the board of Chicago Center for Arts and Technology, Forefront (Illinois’ association of nonprofits and grantmakers) and the National Advisory Board of the Haas Center for Public Service at Stanford University.

Alison holds an M.A in Policy, Organization and Leadership Studies from the Stanford Graduate School of Education, as well as a B.A. in Psychology from Stanford University. She is also a trained leadership coach and a self-proclaimed organizational development nerd. She spends her free time reading, playing tennis, taking walks with her dog and raising two children (with a feminist, anti-racist philosophy) in the Chicago area.