Shawn Landres

Shawn Landres has built a multi-decade track record of leadership across the social good sectors – nonprofit, philanthropic, academic, and public alike. An award-winning civic leader who bridges multiple communities, his research and impact in social innovation and community development have earned attention in the U.S., Europe, and beyond. Since the early 2010s, Shawn has served on and led numerous local government commissions in Southern California, where much of his work has focused on nurturing public access to and trust in government and strengthening diverse and inclusive democratic civil society, including as the co-designer and volunteer lead for the Los Angeles Jewish Federation’s CIVruta initiative, which was awarded the Lippman Kanfer Prize for Applying Jewish Wisdom to Democracy and Civic Engagement. In early 2022, Shawn founded a multinational grassroots volunteer humanitarian network providing responsive case management for Ukrainians and Ukrainian refugees, and more recently to displaced Israelis as well.

A UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs Senior Fellow since 2016, Shawn currently is Chair Emeritus of the Los Angeles County Quality and Productivity Commission and a member and past chair of the City of Santa Monica Planning Commission. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Santa Monica Bay Area Human Relations Council and is a past board member of the Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California. The co-founder of Jumpstart Labs and co author of groundbreaking research on the Jewish innovation ecosystem as well as on religion and household charitable giving, Shawn holds degrees in religious studies and social anthropology from Columbia, Oxford, and UC Santa Barbara, where he earned a PhD. He and his family live in Santa Monica, California, while also maintaining strong ties in the Slovak Republic.