Dana K. Bezerra is the president of Heron. Bezerra began her career in agriculture in California. Her family owned a dairy farm in the San Joaquin Valley where she bore witness to the bankruptcy of a local creamery the formation of an independent milk producers’ cooperative and the provision of a local tax abatement package to a multinational food company. Those experiences left Bezerra with a lasting impression about the importance of social cohesion within a community — and the complicated relationship between communities and capital markets. Bezerra proceeded to work at Merrill Lynch in the Private Banking & Investment Group where she specialized in Philanthropy and Nonprofit Management. For the next decade, Bezerra managed client money where she earned an appreciation for the nuances of intergenerational wealth and learned to navigate complex financial transactions and markets. In 2006 Bezerra joined Heron. As a program officer Bezerra engaged with nonprofit and community leaders who were operationalizing Over the next 10 years, Bezerra played a key role in rotating Heron’s entire portfolio (including debt-equity and grants) to better reflect Heron’s mission. Bezerra became responsible for sourcing deals identifying and developing relationships across a spectrum of investors, syndicating capital when possible, and cultivating opportunities to deploy the full range of Heron’s philanthropic and market-rate toolkit.
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Centers and Practice Areas
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Asia Center
Extends the reach and impact of the Milken Institute to the Asia-Pacific region
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Center for Financial Markets
Conducts research and constructs programs designed to facilitate smooth and efficient operation of financial markets
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Center for the Future of Aging
Advances healthy longevity and financial security for all through high-impact policies, research, convenings, and multisector partnerships.
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Center for Public Health
Develops research, programs, and initiatives designed to envision and activate sustainable solutions leading to better health for individuals and communities worldwide.
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Center for Regional Economics and California Center
Analyzes the dynamics that drive job creation and promote industry expansion
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Center for Strategic Philanthropy
Empowers philanthropists to effectively address some of the world's most urgent problems
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FasterCures
Clears roadblocks that prevent medical breakthroughs from reaching patients sooner
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Financial Innovations Labs
Addressing society's greatest challenges through a financial lens
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Global Market Development
Working with government partners in emerging and developing economies to build strong, domestic financial markets.
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Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream
Anyone with a dream should have the opportunity to make it come true—through determination and an economic system that works for all
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Research Department
Addressing global policy issues on Health Economics, International Finance, and Regional Economics
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