Commons Governance Work Group

Pilar Stella Ingargiola, MPH, is the CEO & Founder of OneGiving (www.onegiving.com), a global organization that empowers, inspires and connects people in giving to create change on the planet. Pilar is an author, speaker and social entrepreneur who has been working towards social change and making a difference on the planet through every endeavor she has embarked on over the past 15 years. Pilar has worked locally, nationally and internationally on leveraging resources and enhancing efficiencies for and developing effective partnerships and collaborations. Pilar works with policymakers, foundations, nonprofits, media, business, universities, community and consumer organizations, and community and youth to create social change, affect policy and transform giving. Pilar works with media to promote giving and acts of service; with philanthropists and foundations to transform giving, leverage resources and affect policy; with corporations and investors in socially responsible giving and investing; with community and partners to build bridges and collaboration; and young people and others to affect social change.  Pilar is a founding partner of the LA Peace Collaborative (www.lapeace.org); participated in the Memorial Marshall Fellowship of the German Marshall Fund (www.gmfus.org); co-founded the Center for Systems Integration (www.csi-policy.org) in Denver, Colorado, a for-profit think tank working across sectors and systems for social justice and policy change; and co-founded with Colorado State Senate President Peter Groff and a collaborative of community partners to create the Colorado Multi-Ethnic/Cultural Consortium (www.cmecc.org), a nonprofit committed to creating a voice in policy for communities of color. A graduate of Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health in International & Global Policy and Maternal and Child Health, Pilar has been committed to social justice, health, education, multi-cultural, human and civil rights issues throughout her career.  Pilar speaks about multicultural, peace, human rights, social justice and other policy issues; socially responsible giving and investing, and other topics to inspire action for change and making a difference on the planet. Pilar also does workshops with women, young people and other audiences about writing, speaking our truth, living fully, sharing our gifts, and giving back to ourselves and others.  Pilar has published in national and international journals as well as policy briefs and reports for legislative task forces and commissions. Recently, Pilar’s writing has taken her outside of the realm of the “wonky” world of political and social action as two of her personal books: Seeking Serenity, (www.seekingserenitybook.com) a kid’s book on peace with 10 Nobel Peace Laureates including The Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu, and BEing the Present: 101 Ways to Inspire Living and Giving – (www.beingthepresent.com) just released in November 2008. Pilar was raised bi-culturally and grew to love and appreciate diverse cultures, languages, and people. She has traveled throughout her life and has come to recognize that despite our differences we are more similar and connected than we realize. While she is a natural extrovert, Pilar finds time to regenerate by reading, writing, traveling, taking photographs, practicing Kundalini yoga, meditating and playing in the water.

Pilar lives in Venice Beach, California.