Lindsey Spindle

President, Samueli Family Philanthropies

Lindsey Spindle serves as President of the Samueli Family Philanthropies and Chief Operating Officer of H&S Ventures which oversees all the Samueli Family’s for-profit and not-for-profit activities. The philanthropic entities operating under the oversight of H&S Ventures include the Samueli Foundation, the Anaheim Ducks Foundation, the San Diego Gulls Foundation, the Irvine Ice Foundation, and The Rinks Foundation.

Spindle was President of The Jeff Skoll Group, where she connected and advised Mr. Skoll’s entrepreneurial portfolio of philanthropic and commercial organizations that include the impact entertainment company Participant, Capricorn Investment Group, and the Skoll Foundation. The Skoll Foundation’s mission is centered on social entrepreneurship and innovation, with a focus on five main, interrelated areas: climate change, inclusive economies, protection of democracy, pandemics prevention and health systems strengthening, and racial justice. Participant has produced more than 100 feature and documentary films that collectively have earned 85 Academy Award® nominations and 21 wins and have highlighted some of the most pressing issues of our time.

The common thread in Spindle’s career is her dedication to shaping organizations and campaigns that improve people’s lives, particularly women and children. She was the first-ever Chief Communications and Brand Officer of Share Our Strength, a national nonprofit focused on ending childhood hunger in America through its groundbreaking No Kid Hungry campaign. Under her leadership, The No Kid Hungry campaign won PR Week’s prestigious Non-Profit Campaign of the Year in 2015, increased participation in federal meal programs by several million children year over year, and helped elevate childhood hunger to being a top 10 issue the public identified as “solvable.”

Before focusing on domestic hunger eradication, Spindle spent nearly 20 years in health care communications, policy, and government relations working for some of the nation’s most respected commercial and non-profit organizations. These include Georgetown University, Brookings, Avalere Health, and Porter Novelli. Throughout her career, Spindle has shaped major national campaigns such as the groundbreaking ‘truth’ campaign that curbed youth smoking by 30% in one year; increased patient safety through reduced medical errors; and secured bipartisan Congressional funding for improving health care safety and quality.

Spindle was a member of the pioneer class of girls to attend the Lawrenceville School outside of Princeton, New Jersey, and is a graduate of the University of Michigan. She’s a fourth generation native Washingtonian turned California transplant along with her husband David and two children, Piper (currently at the United States Naval Academy) and Archer. Lindsey currently serves on the Boards of Directors for the Skoll Foundation, World Central Kitchen, and advises the Shoah Foundation. In her spare time, Lindsey is a professional hockey fanatic, book-a-week reader, adventurous eater, and reformed distance runner turned hiker.