Peter Tavernise

Peter Tavernise is the lead for Climate Impact and Regeneration, including the $100M Climate Impact initiative of the Cisco Foundation, and is also Director of Cisco Sustainability Team and the Public Benefit Investment team. He provides subject matter expertise and industry knowledge and contacts to the business and to building ecosystem of partnerships to assist Cisco in fulfilling its sustainability and regeneration goals, Net-Zero Commitment, Circular Economy/Supply Chain, and related efforts to align Cisco with our vision of an inclusive, regenerative future for ourselves, our customers, and for the world. Peter was the Executive Director for the Cisco Foundation from 2010-2021. He brings ~30 years of non-profit fundraising, private family foundation, and corporate funding experience to meeting the core mission and strategy of Cisco Public Benefit Investment. Cisco Corporate Affairs and the Cisco Foundation provide cash, products, and people to support direct service nonprofit organizations with scalable, replicable, and sustainable solutions that use Internet and network technology to benefit underserved individuals and communities globally. Peter is a member of the board of the Giraffe Heroes Project. He is a past Trustee of the Cisco South Africa Education Trust. He has advised GreatNonprofits.org, and has served as a member of the American Red Cross Corporate Advisory Council, and the Contributions Council of The Conference Board. Peter is a previous Cisco Community Leadership Fellow at Public Allies North Carolina, and is a past board member of Teachers Without Borders, YouthNoise.org, and the Affordable Housing Trust of Santa Clara County. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Davidson College and a Masters in Humanities from Duke University. He is a William C. Friday Wildacres Leadership Fellow.