Orange County Business Journal
By: Kim Stemper
Shelley Hoss: 25 Years on OC Nonprofit Frontlines
Champions Community Need with Vision, Heart
IRVINE—During Career Day in her second-grade classroom, seven-year-old Shelley Hoss scanned a list of future jobs for girls. It was 1970, and the choices were limited – teacher, secretary, nurse.
That night at dinner, her father Norm Westmore asked his daughter what she wanted to do when she grew up. Hoss answered, “Secretary.”
Her father didn’t miss a beat, saying “Secretary is a fine thing to be, but have you ever thought about being the president of the company?”
“It was like someone had just opened a door I didn’t know existed,” she recalled. She walked through the door and never looked back.
Shelley Hoss
Photo courtesy of Laurel Hungerford Photography
This year, Hoss is celebrating her 25th year of leading the Orange County Community Foundation (OCCF).
Early Years
Hoss says her father, a Pacific Bell executive, championed women and diverse communities while her mother, Claire, a teacher and “force of nature,” explored early self-help, yoga and meditation.
Her parents encouraged her and her sister to speak up, hosting Sunday evening “family meetings” with agendas and rotating chairs, even for the girls.
“I gained confidence at a young age because I always felt my voice mattered,” she told the Business Journal.
At age 10, the family relocated from Southern California to New Jersey where she fell in love with New York City.
Industrious by nature, she landed small jobs, even serving hors d’oeuvres at neighbors’ parties to save for a horse. “I never did get a horse, but I saved $100, which I thought was pretty great!”
She returned to California in the eighth grade and eventually attended University of California, Riverside. Hoss joined a group of students who gave campus tours, eventually becoming its president.
“I just figured it out on the job,” she said. The group operated out of the Chancellor’s Office, giving her an early look at high-level leadership. Advisor Ruth Conley reinforced her confidence: “How do you learn to do things except by doing them?”
Planning to earn a Master of Public Administration, Hoss first sought experience. An internship at a hospital led a female executive to advise: “Get your MPA but also your MBA, for credibility as a woman.”
Turning Point
After graduating in 1985, Hoss volunteered at a camp for abused children in foster care. “I saw the transformative power of reflecting a child’s value back to them,” she said.
Back home, she enrolled in UC Irvine’s combined MBA/MPA program (MBPA). A fellow student suggested she research the new Orangewood Children’s Home. Hoss, not fully aware of local government structures, simply cold-called Thomas “General” Riley, the chairman of the Orange County Board of Supervisors. To her surprise, he met with her for over an hour and invited her to the facility’s dedication.
“I tell young people all the time—lean in to not having a clue. It’s unbelievable where it will get you,” she said.
That meeting led her to meet Bill Steiner, Orangewood’s founding executive director and her lifelong mentor. After interning there, she joined full-time in 1986, eventually becoming second-in-command before leaving in 1996 to lead Girls Inc. Four years later came her biggest challenge: OCCF, which helps guide donations to worthy causes.
A New Chapter
Founded in 1989 by Judy Swayne to create a permanent home for local philanthropy, OCCF grew to a respectable $42 million in assets and 145 funds in its first decade. When Swayne stepped down in 2000, the board approached Hoss, then leading Girls Inc. Initially she declined until her fiancé, Alan,
weighed in. He asked, “Have you ever completely failed at anything you’ve tried, ever?”
Shelley Hoss with her family in 2010
That gave her the confidence to accept. She started in May 2000. Twenty-five years in, Hoss speaks at national conferences, mentors emerging leaders and champions causes reflecting the county’s diverse needs.
Kate Duchenne, OCCF board finance chair and incoming vice chair, calls her “one of the most inspirational leaders I’ve ever known. She has a huge heart and cares about the issues impacting the community. Her heart and brain operate together.”
Former OCCF board chair Keith Swayne, husband of founder Judy Swayne, adds: “Shelley can set forth a vision that everyone can buy into, and the skills to get there. She’s really skilled at connecting with people from all walks of life. Her energy is contagious.”
Steadfast
Over the last two-and-a-half decades, Hoss has guided OCCF’s growth. As of July 2025, OCCF manages nearly $800 million in charitable assets with over 650 funds, ranking in the top 1 percent nationally for grant activity. Since 1989, it has facilitated more than $1.1 billion in grants and scholarships; in FY 2025 alone, it awarded over $100 million.
Shelley Hoss, far left, attends a mural brush ceremony in Little Saigon. Tam Nġuyen, second from left, co-owns Advance Beauty College in Garden Grove and serves on the OCCF board
Along the way, Hoss has met severe challenges from the 2008 recession to COVID-19. The pandemic forced an overnight shift to remote work for her 30-person staff but also gave newly hired EVP and COO Tammy Tumbling “the most comprehensive onboarding” possible. With Tumbling’s promotion to president in 2024, Hoss now focuses on outward-facing CEO responsibilities.
Current concerns include federal budget cuts threatening nonprofits.
Reflecting on her career, Hoss circles back to her father’s dinner-table question decades ago. For her, running an organization isn’t about power or prestige but shaping something meaningful.
“We need to be thoughtful, very strategic, long-horizon… and also really present and accessible to those on the front lines,” she said. “Courage, confidence, and resilience. We can actually be agents of support for our
nonprofit leaders.”
