John Esterle, The Whitman Institute

John is the executive director and a trustee of The Whitman Institute, an independent foundation located in San Francisco. TWI promotes open-mindedness, cross-perspective dialogue, and engaged communication in order to improve the process and quality of public and private decision-making. TWI’s vision is to broaden the public conversation about the importance of critical and collaborative thinking and to link that deepened awareness to effect individual and social change. John has been with TWI for 19 years.

Prior to joining TWI, John directed Crime and the News Media, a pilot project that featured a series of dialogues between journalists and proponents of alternatives to incarceration. He received his B.A. in Liberal Arts from the Hutchins School of Interdisciplinary Studies at Sonoma State University and his M.A. in Broadcast Communication Arts from San Francisco State University.

John is president of the board of Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE). TWI is also a member of Grantmakers for Effective Organizations and Northern California Grantmakers and John is an active participant in both associations.