Shelley Hoss, a longtime leader in the Orange County philanthropic sector, has received this year’s Extraordinarius award, the UC Irvine Alumni Association’s highest honor. The widespread impact of her 40-year career reflects her tireless dedication to “growing the good” in the region and beyond.

Shelley is committed to improving the quality of life for all residents of Orange County. As CEO of the Orange County Community Foundation (OCCF) since 2000, she has consistently provided the strategic thinking and leadership necessary to create meaningful impact and foster lasting change. She works with both philanthropists and charities to achieve shared goals. Donors and the community are the “two sides of our heart,” she often says.

OCCF serves as a home and an anchor for local philanthropists, keeping them informed and engaged in their giving. Under Shelley’s leadership, the foundation’s charitable assets have grown from $42 million to nearly $800 million. Today, OCCF stands as one of the most active grantmakers among U.S. community foundations, having awarded more than $1 billion since its founding.

As the leader of one of the largest and fastest-growing community foundations in the nation, Shelley is uniquely positioned to serve the region’s ambitious approach to philanthropy. Her background and expertise align well with Orange County’s innovative and risk-taking philanthropists, who focus on developing practical solutions to real-world problems. Under Shelley’s leadership, OCCF’s grant and scholarship awards have increased from $5 million to over $100 million annually.

A proud Anteater and Phi Beta Kappa scholar, Shelley credits her joint master’s degree in business and public administration from UC Irvine with helping her develop the expertise and skills to make a meaningful impact across the region, while also living a life of purpose personally and professionally. She credits the program with exposing her to best practices in both for-profit and nonprofit management. She applied leadership lessons learned in her own life and work and continued to share these lessons as a guest lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and UC Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business.

Shelley’s contributions to the region consistently benefit UC Irvine. In partnership with the Samueli Foundation, Charitable Ventures, and the UC Irvine School of Social Ecology, OCCF supported a comprehensive study of more than 600 nonprofit leaders as part of the 2025 Orange County Nonprofit Needs Assessment to identify challenges and opportunities within the sector. This led to a more than $1420 million investment by the Samueli Foundation in leadership development, infrastructure and financial sustainability for local charities.

Shelley serves as an extraordinary example of how to live a purposeful life and make a lasting impact on the community.