Packard Foundation

Making Way for Much-Needed Housing in the Monterey Bay Region • The David and Lucile Packard Foundation Stable, affordable housing helps families put down roots in their communities. It also supports a strong local economy across Monterey, Santa Cruz, and San Benito counties. To help California families find high-quality homes they can afford, the Packard Foundation is supporting the Monterey Bay Economic Partnership (MBEP) with a $450,000 grant to expand housing options … Continued

We’re partnering with Monterey Bay Economic Partnership as they work to expand housing options, reduce barriers that slow development, and help move thousands of affordable homes through local approvals so families can put down roots in the communities they call home.

➡️ https://ow.ly/BcCx50YcrRu

To help families across Monterey, Santa Cruz, and San Benito counties find high-quality homes they can afford, we are supporting the Monterey Bay Economic Partnership with a grant to expand housing options and remove barriers that slow development of new homes.

Learn more: https://ow.ly/imKS50Y7LV6

Our President & CEO Nancy Lindborg reflects on recent events in Minnesota and why protecting civic space matters.

➡️ Read her full reflections: https://www.packard.org/insights/perspective/why-democracy-depends-on-all-of-us/

The dreaded strep throat test could soon be a thing of past thanks to Packard Fellow Ashleigh Theberge and her team at University of Washington. 🍭

Stay connected with us! Our newsletter brings you closer to the leaders, communities, and bold ideas creating enduring solutions for people and nature. Delivered straight to your inbox, it’s a window into the change we can make—together.

💌 Sign up today: https://www.packard.org/stay-connected/

Children and Families Program Officer Katie Harkin reflects on what we’re learning from parents and why listening to families and collaborating across child care, health services, and community programs is essential to creating care that works in real life.
➡️ Learn more: https://ow.ly/295L50XWh1z

As we start off 2026, we’re inspired by the leaders and organizations around the world who are committed to advancing a future where people and nature thrive.

Together we can create a just and equitable world where both people and nature flourish 🌟

As we close out the year, we’re grateful for our community who comes together to build a more just and equitable world where people and nature flourish.

From all of us at the Packard Foundation, we wish you a holiday season and New Year filled with light and peace. 💛

Can we say goodbye to the dreaded strep throat swab? Packard Fellow Ashleigh Theberge and her team at the University of Washington are developing an alternative that includes a lollipop designed with tiny channels that collect saliva for at-home testing.

Learn more: https://ow.ly/tZko50XIASI

Thank you for everything you bring to our shared vision. 💛

Packard Fellow and Johns Hopkins University scientist Dr. Jasmina Wiemann is working to understand how living organisms respond to planetary change by developing innovative ways to read molecular “memories” preserved in ancient organisms—helping fill some of the blank pages in the history of life.

How a Simple Candy Could Transform At-Home Testing • The David and Lucile Packard Foundation For a scratchy throat, feeling unwell is bad enough. The dreaded strep throat swab that follows is no fun either, especially for kids. Dr. Ashleigh Theberge’s lab at the University of Washington has invented a gentler alternative: a strawberry flavored lollipop with tiny spiral channels that siphon off saliva for testing. The idea is that … Continued

2019 Packard Fellow Ashleigh Theberge and her team at the University of Washington are creating gentler, at-home diagnostic tools — from a saliva-collecting lollipop to painless mail-in blood kits that make testing more accessible for families everywhere.

➡️ Learn more: https://ow.ly/Oquu50XAW7b

Children and Families Program Officer Katie Harkin shares what we learned from listening to parents about the kinds of support that truly make a difference in their daily lives.

➡️ https://ow.ly/1zSr50XApY1

We’re thankful for the leaders, organizations, and communities who work every day to create a more just and equitable world — and for our dedicated staff who partner with them to make meaningful change possible.

Together, we’re building a future where people and nature can thrive. 🧡

We are thrilled to welcome Christopher Burnett and Sarah Stephens to our Board of Trustees!
➡️ Learn more about them: https://ow.ly/W26I50XpFt6

Thirty years into global climate talks, progress is possible—but only with long-term commitment. Our President and CEO Nancy Lindborg reflects on what it will take to turn climate commitments into lasting progress.

➡️ https://ow.ly/aFE150XnsHb

Packard Foundation Announces 20 Science & Engineering Fellows For 2025 The David and Lucile Packard Foundation has named the 2025 Packard Fellows for Science & Engineering. Fellows each receive $875,000 over five years for their research.

We believe science is a public good that strengthens our society—and we're excited to see that vision reflected in Forbes’ feature on our 2025 #PackardFellows for Science and Engineering.

Check out the full article to learn more.  ⬇️
https://ow.ly/NMIa50XgCFf

ICYMI: We announced our 2025 #PackardFellows for Science and Engineering last week! This year’s class features 20 innovative early-career scientists and engineers, who will each receive $875,000 over five years to pursue their research.

Meet the 2025 Packard Fellows ⬇ 
www.packard.org/2025fellows

Congratulations to @jameststroud.bsky.social on being named a 2025 #PackardFellow by @packardfdn.bsky.social.

Stroud will receive $875,000 over 5 years to fund his pioneering research in evolutionary biology — studying 1,000 backpack-wearing lizards in South Florida.

Read more: bit.ly/3KNrVU5

I’m ✨ super excited and grateful ✨to announce that I'm part of the 2025 class of #PackardFellows (www.packard.org/2025fellows). The @packardfdn.bsky.social and this fellowship will allow me to explore exciting research directions towards culturally responsible and safe AI 🌍🌈

We are so excited to have you in the Fellows community, Maarten!

We are so excited to have you in the Fellows community!

I’m thrilled to be a part of the 2025 class of #PackardFellows and I look forward to all the exciting & actionable discoveries at the interface of evolutionary biology, ecology, the geosciences, and chemistry that this award enables!
@jhuartssciences.bsky.social

www.packard.org/2025fellows

@maartensap.bsky.social , @skinnider.bsky.social , @jameststroud.bsky.social , @jwiemann.bsky.social, @umich.edu, @nuchemistry.bsky.social, @texasscience.bsky.social, @mitcee.bsky.social, @mit.edu, @cmu.edu, @uwmadison.bsky.social

We’re thrilled to announce the 2025 class of Packard Fellows for Science and Engineering — 20 innovative early-career scientists who will each receive $875,000 over five years to pursue their research.

Meet the 2025 Packard Fellows ⬇
www.packard.org/2025fellows

Mark your calendars! 📆 #PackardFellows

The 2025 PackardFellows Meeting at the Monterey Bay Aquarium showcased Fellows driving scientific breakthroughs, forging cross-disciplinary collaborations, and celebrating the science that shapes our world every day. 🐳 🔭

Look out for the newest class of Packard Fellows on October 15!

For more than six decades, our values have grounded our commitment to working alongside leaders and organizations to create enduring solutions for just societies and a healthy, resilient natural world.

➡️ Learn more about our approach: https://www.packard.org/approach/

A Collaborative Approach to Stop Homelessness Before It Starts • The David and Lucile Packard Foundation For many families, having a home isn’t just about having a safe place to sleep. A stable home provides stability, builds community, and sets them up for the future. But too often, families in our comm...

Since 2020, ‪@sccgov.bsky.social‬’s prevention efforts—including the Homelessness Prevention System—have helped 33,000 people stay in their homes, with more than 90% remaining housed two years later.

Learn more about Destination: Home's collaborative approach: www.packard.org/insights/gra...