About Us Our Leadership

Pangea Foundation was founded on the principle that we would be a company focused on leveraging the power of technology, not to make a profit, but to serve those who are underserved by traditional organizations. We are committed to going beyond simply responsive service to a proactive, personal and full-service approach we call Client-Intimate Service™—focused entirely on your success. Pangea Foundation’s leaders embody the strengths that ensure we deliver on our promise.

Estean H. Lenyoun, III—Chairman of the Board
Estean Lenyoun was named Chairman of the Board in 2007. He became involved with Pangea Foundation in 2003, serving as an advisor to the leadership team. Now as Chairman of the Board, he helps guide the organization’s strategic vision.

In December of 2006, Lenyoun was named Director of Urban Redevelopment at San Diego based Sudberry Properties, Inc., a real estate and asset management firm specializing in quality shopping center projects and mixed-use urban communities. Sudberry Properties is one of the leading retail and urban community developers in Southern California.

Estean Lenyoun is also the President and CEO of Impact Urban America, a nonprofit organization he co-founded with long-time friend and former NFL All-Pro defensive lineman, Rosey Grier. Impact Urban America is a nationally acclaimed organization focused on urban redevelopment and advancing hope and opportunity for people living in urban communities.

Lenyoun is a recipient of the White House’s Point of Light award. He has also been honored with certificates of recognition from three San Diego City Mayors, two California Governors, and even the President of the United States, for his outstanding contributions to urban revitalization.

An alumnus of California State University, Long Beach, Estean Lenyoun started his career with IBM. He later went on to a successful career in commercial real estate and asset management. With over 30 years of experience in urban redevelopment, he is recognized nationally as a social entrepreneur with a deep passion for taking practical action to serve the needs of people living in the margins of society.

Kraig D. Kuipers—President and Chief Executive Officer
Kraig Kuipers has been involved with Pangea Foundation since 2003, serving as an advisor to the leadership team, as well as a financial backer of the San Diego based technology nonprofit. In 2005, he was elected to Pangea Foundation’s Board of Directors where he helped to define and focus the company’s strategic vision. Since 2006, Kuipers has served as President and CEO of Pangea Foundation.

A 15 year stint in marketing and business development left Kuipers with a single-minded focus: a desire for doing consistently outstanding work that produces measurable results for clients. Kuipers came to Pangea Foundation from ITW, a Fortune 200 company, where he served in a variety of sales and marketing positions throughout North America. Today Kuipers focuses his time and energy setting the strategic direction for Pangea Foundation as it employs the unique power of the SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) delivery model to democratize nonprofit access to enterprise software and Business Intelligence.

After joining Pangea Foundation, Kuipers recognized that Nonprofit Visual Intelligence™ was at the very essence of Pangea Foundation’s value proposition. Today, Pangea Foundation equips more than 1,500 nonprofits across America with the capacity building software and advanced data visualization technologies they need to easily measure their impact and effortlessly report it to evidence-based funders demanding increased results accountability and a better Social Return on Investment (SROI).

Kraig Kuipers graduated with honors from Michigan State University where he holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Marketing. He also received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Advertising from Michigan State University.

Kristin M. Kuipers—Treasurer
Kristin Kuipers started Pangea Foundation in 1996, after she decided to leave her job on Wall Street to start the nonprofit organization. Kuipers then focused her time and energy helping America’s nonprofits leverage the power of technology to serve people in need. Throughout Pangea Foundation’s first decade, she set the direction for the organization as it carved out a leadership position in the development of specialized information systems for nonprofits. Now, as the Director of Programs, she directs the design and implementation efforts of Pangea Foundation’s nationally acclaimed Web applications. Kuipers also serves as Pangea Foundation’s Treasurer, where she overseas the company’s financial strategy to continuously advance Pangea Foundation’s growing operating model.

During her tenure, Kristin Kuipers has seen the company grow from one client to more than 1,500 nonprofit clients serving people in the areas of education, housing, employment, and health and human services. With an extensive background in public policy, she has forged collaborative partnerships among nonprofit and government leaders that have been instrumental in helping Pangea Foundation address some of the most pressing needs in America’s communities.

On September 21, 2000, Kuipers led the company to the national stage, when President Clinton publicly announced Pangea Foundation as the first recipient of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Technology Opportunities Program’s (TOP) Fiscal Year 2000 grants. The grant was part of a nationwide initiative to bridge the digital divide and bring robust Web applications to America’s community organizations. In 2002 Pangea Foundation was honored once again by the executive branch of government—this time at the state level—receiving California’s prestigious Governor’s Award for Technology and Innovation under her leadership.

In addition to these awards, Kuipers guided Pangea Foundation to receive grants from the U.S. Department of Education as well as the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy. She has been instrumental in bringing Pangea Foundation’s intuitive, secure, and easy-to-use Web applications to more than 700 affordable and public housing facilities across America. These facilities rely on Pangea Foundation’s Web applications to generate their HUD required performance reports.

Kristin Kuipers holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a Master’s degree in Public Policy from Georgetown University.

Edith Y. Yang - Secretary
As part of Pangea Foundation's first AmeriCorps VISTA cohort in 2002, Edith Yang played a pivotal role in designing the beta version of Pangea Foundation's outcomes measurement platform for Resident Services, now used in public and affordable housing facilities nationwide. In 2006, she was elected to Pangea Foundation's Board of Directors. Today Edith serves as the Secretary of the Board of Directors, a position she has held since 2007.

Edith is currently a Social Science Research Analyst at SRI International's Washington, DC office and brings her statistics and program evaluation expertise to the Policy Division's Center for Technology in Learning. Her research encompasses evaluations of educational technology programs administered by the U.S. Department of Education, national education initiatives funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and math and science education programs sponsored by the National Science Foundation.

Living in the Washington, DC metropolitan region since 2003, Edith has worked closely with urban youth and low-income families in DC neighborhoods. In 2007, she combined her academic and community-based experiences to launch WorkUp, a nonprofit organization in Washington, DC that empowers low-income young adults to live financially stable and productive lives.

Edith holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics and Math from Duke University and a Master's degree in Public Policy from Georgetown University.

Preston Chipps - Director
Preston Chipps first became involved with Pangea Foundation in 1998. As President and CEO of Hands-On Technical Training & Placement, Inc., he initiated a strategic partnership with Pangea Foundation to provide technical training to at-risk youth and youth with disabilities. Together with Pangea Foundation, Hands-On Technical Training and Placement provided technical training to over 500 youth. In 2005, Chipps was elected to Pangea Foundation’s Board of Directors.

With more than 30 years of professional experience in workforce development, Chipps is a National Certified Counselor, a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor, and a California Registered Professional Counselor.

Chipps currently serves as a Career Counselor at San Diego State University, a position he has held since 2004. He also serves as an Instructor in the College of Business Administration at San Diego State University, where he has taught since 2005.

Preston Chipps holds a Master of Science degree in Counseling from San Diego State University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Steve Gardner - Director
Serving Microsoft in a variety of Business Development roles since 1990, Steve Gardner has been a dedicated advocate for Pangea Foundation since 1999. He was elected to Pangea Foundation’s Board of Directors in 2006.

Gardner is widely credited for leading the efforts that have resulted in Microsoft’s consistent support of Pangea Foundation’s mission, both through its generous software contributions and its cash donations. With Microsoft’s assistance, Pangea Foundation is able to equip nonprofits and community organizations with intuitive Web applications that help to meet some of the most pressing needs in America’s communities.

Today as a member of the Board of Directors, Gardner continues to play a pivotal role in linking Pangea Foundation with both the people and the advanced technologies that help the organization deliver value to nonprofits.

Steve Gardner is a graduate of San Diego State University where he holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business.