Alexandria Cooley

With more than 22 years of experience in nonprofit management, grantmaking, and youth development, Alexandria Cooley serves as the Managing Director of Grants Administration at East Bay Community Foundation.

Alexandria previously served as Chief Program Officer at Fresh Lifelines for Youth (FLY), a Bay Area nonprofit focused on youth justice and development. She also spent a decade at AmeriCorps, a federal grantmaking agency, where she held multiple leadership roles, most recently as Deputy Regional Administrator for the Southeast Region. In this capacity, Alexandria led the management of more than $80 million in grant awards and project development across a six-state region. She played a key role in guiding the agency through a significant organizational transformation, including redesigning grantmaking processes and leading the hiring and training of 20 new staff members. Earlier in her career, Alexandria held leadership roles across youth development and K–12 education organizations.

Alexandria is a 2021 Council on Foundations Career Pathways Fellow and a 2003 Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) Fellow. She holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Connecticut College, a master’s degree in nonprofit management from The New School for Social Research, and a certificate in federal grants management. Her work is grounded in a long-standing commitment to advancing equity, strengthening nonprofit systems, and supporting community-driven solutions to poverty.