California Community Foundation
In 2008, John was appointed EVP/COO for the California Community Foundation (CCF), the 50th largest foundation in the nation.

John helped lead three successful start-ups in the education and entertainment industries. Previously, John headed the CK12 Foundation, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles, OnlineLearning.net, and served as Vice Chancellor of UCLA.

John has been involved in education, social justice, mentoring, and community service his entire working life. He started out working in maximum security institutions as a counselor for juvenile felons. He led the nation’s largest student run community service program. John has held leadership positions at a wide variety of regional, national, and international non-profit organizations in the arts, education, and philanthropy. John serves on the boards of the Japanese American National Museum JANM, HubLA and Walden University.

John has given hundreds of workshops and presentations for Fortune 500 corporations, universities, professional associations, non-profits, and community organizations all over the world. John writes a popular blog at www.johnkobara.com.

In 2010, John was awarded a Crystal Eagle for distinguished service by Coro of Southern California. He received the 2007 City of Angels award from LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. He earned degrees from UCLA, USC, and Occidental College.