CLAUDIA KELLER

With over two decades of experience in a senior non-profit and private sector leadership capacity, Claudia Bonilla Keller joined Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County as Chief Mission Officer in February 2020. In December of 2021, she was named CEO. In this role, Keller spearheads fundraising, outreach to donors, community partners, volunteers and the public to ensure Second Harvest’s mission to end hunger is heard and acted upon. Her areas of responsibility include fund development, public relations, government relations, volunteer programming, marketing, and communication among others.

Prior to working for Second Harvest, Keller served as Chief Program Officer for the LA Promise Fund, leading programs and services in its network schools and public schools across Los Angeles County. Prior to that role, she led LA Promise Fund’s communications and fundraising initiatives as Chief Development Officer. Her time at LA Promise Fund also included serving as the agency’s Health Director, managing all school health and wellness projects and programs.

Before joining LA Promise Fund, Keller was Senior Vice President and Executive Director of the American Heart Association in Los Angeles and, in 2007, was named Executive Director of the Year. Under Keller’s guidance, the Los Angeles office thrived in the Association’s hallmark Childhood Obesity platform, Teaching Gardens, implementing more school gardens and related school programs than anywhere else in the country.

Keller also spent over 18 years in the fashion industry in advertising, public relations and marketing, as well as shaping corporate social responsibility, as well as cause and philanthropic initiatives for iconic Orange County brands such as St. John Knits and Vans. St. John Knits was the first brand to sign on and host a fashion show for Harvesters, a dedicated group of women committed to raising funds and awareness for Second Harvest.

Keller holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from UC Irvine and a master’s degree in Public Administration with a concentration in urban management from Cal State Fullerton. She serves as a Planning Commissioner in for the City of Placentia, where she resides. She also serves on the Dean’s Leadership Society at UC Irvine and the Public Administration Advisory Board at Cal State Fullerton. She earned her Master Gardener certification from UC Cooperative Extension in 2019.

As the bilingual daughter of immigrants from Colombia and El Salvador, Keller grew up in Torrance, CA, before moving to Orange County in 1983 to attend UC Irvine. Jackson, Keller’s son, is a teacher in Placentia. Keller’s personal interests include gardening, travel, playing soccer and languages.