Paul Towne

Vice President, Executive Search

Paul has devoted his career to advancing social good, splitting his time between raising funds for some of the world’s most impactful organizations and championing technology that promotes charitable giving and organizational effectiveness.

Paul most recently served as Sr. Director of Institutional Partnerships for Resilia, a social impact startup that partners with foundations to support capacity building, storytelling, and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. He was instrumental in establishing Resilia’s presence in the western region of the US, securing partnerships with innovative funders (including Silicon Valley Community Foundation) to strengthen grassroots and BIPOC-led nonprofit organizations. 

He held similar sales and business development roles with United Way Worldwide, CyberGrants, and IBM. At United Way and CyberGrants, he helped promote SaaS platforms for workplace giving and volunteering. He led software, hardware, and services sales for nonprofit organizations at IBM.

Paul has represented organizations across the charitable sector, including higher education, volunteerism, international development, disaster relief, and youth development. He served as Associate Director of Alumni Relations at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School and Director of Corporate Partnerships for Points of Light, the world’s largest network of organizations committed to inspiring, equipping, and mobilizing community volunteers. At Points of Light, he launched a first-of-its-kind partnership with Google to support free/low-cost technology adoption and a global volunteerism partnership with Visa. 

Paul has led technology sector engagement for international NGOs, including CARE and UNICEF USA, helping leverage corporate financial and technical resources to improve outcomes in financial inclusion, education, public health, disaster relief, and livelihoods. He launched first-time partnerships with Amazon, Apple, and Facebook, raising critical disaster relief funds and piloting “data for good” initiatives. At American Red Cross, he led the nation’s top-performing regional corporate fundraising team, securing more than $10M in corporate support.

Paul has lived in the Bay Area for more than ten years. He resides in Santa Cruz with his husband, Dan, and their two Boston Terriers, Oscar and Jackson. He serves on the alumni board of Emory University’s Goizueta Business School. 

Education

Master of Business Administration – Emory University’s Goizueta Business School

Master of Arts, Clinical Psychology (all but thesis) – Loyola University Maryland

Bachelor of Arts, Psychology – Nazareth College