Dana Bourland

Co-Founder and President, Soils and Vessels

Dana Bourland is the co-founder and president of Soils and Vessels, through which she directs philanthropic capital to move land out of extractive systems and into the stewardship of communities working for repair and regeneration. Previously, Dana served as Senior Vice President for the Environment Program at The JPB Foundation, where she built and scaled a $1B+ portfolio advancing climate justice, clean energy, and community power, including $100M in rapid-response funding during the COVID pandemic. Earlier, as Vice President for Green Initiatives at Enterprise Community Partners, she launched the $555M Green Communities program and co-created the first national green building standard for affordable housing now adopted in 29 states and encompassing more than 187,000 homes. Under her leadership, the program exceeded its five-year goal in under four years, catalyzing a national movement to green all affordable housing in the U.S.

A potter, Ironman finisher, and a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, her Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio residency sparked the writing of her book, Gray to Green: A Call to Action on the Housing and Climate Crises, published by Island Press. Named one of Fast Company’s Most Influential Women Activists in Technology, Dana is a widely respected thought leader and public speaker.