Trent Stamp
Few leaders in the country have seen the non-profit sector from as many vantage points as Trent Stamp has in his career. He started as a direct service provider working in one of America's most disadvantaged rural communities and has since moved to be a senior executive for one of America's largest and most influential charities, the founder and leader of his own national non-profit, a board member several times over, a nationally-recognized charity watchdog, a commentator and expert analyst on charity issues for network television news shows, a prolific writer and well-known blogger, and to his current position as the chief executive of one of Southern California's highest-profile and most-influential foundations.
Trent Stamp has been executive director of The Eisner Foundation since 2008. In that role, he is responsible for all aspects of the foundation's management, including strategy, execution, operations, evaluation, marketing, and the awarding of The Eisner Prize. Trent represents the organization externally to various community audiences, regularly publishes editorials and articles about issues affecting the non-profit sector, and is a frequent speaker and presenter at national conferences and seminars on philanthropic issues.
In addition to his Eisner Foundation duties, Trent currently provides leadership to the Southern California philanthropic community by being a member of the Board of Advisors for The Center on Philanthropy & Public Policy at USC and by serving on the Board of Directors of Southern California Grantmakers. He also works as a consultant to the Committee on the Arts at The Aspen Institute.
Prior to joining The Eisner Foundation, Trent was the founding President of Charity Navigator, from April 2001 through January 2008. Under his seven successful years of leadership, Charity Navigator grew to become the nation's largest and most-used evaluator of American charities and non-profits. While President of Charity Navigator, Trent regularly appeared as an expert analyst for many national television and radio shows, including The Today Show, 20/20, The O'Reilly Factor, and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. He authored "Trent Stamp's Take", a daily blog about the non-profit sector that was recognized in 2006 by the New York Times as one of “Ten Non-Profit Blogs That Get Attention" and that was syndicated nationally for print by Newstex. In 2004, he was selected by New Jersey Business Magazine as one of "40 Business Leaders Under 40" in the state and in 2007, he was honored by the New Jersey State Legislature with the Five Sectors Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to the betterment of the state. He was a member of the Editorial Board of Advisors and wrote a regular column called “Keeping It Real” for FundRaising Success Magazine.
Trent worked previously as vice-president, communications for Teach For America, as an analyst and manager for the Social Security Administration, and as a legislative aide for U.S. Representative Robert Matsui. He has served as a Teach For America teacher in rural North Carolina and as a Presidential Management Fellow. Trent received his Master's in Public Policy from Duke University and his B.A. in Law and Society from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Trent lives in Hermosa Beach, California with his wife and two children. In his spare time, he is a volunteer coach for five youth sports teams and serves on the Board of the Hermosa Beach Little League.
