Beth Foster-Chao

Beth is a Portfolio & Investment Manager at the Autodesk Foundation. In this role, she deploys the full spectrum of capital, from grants to impact investments, to support a global portfolio of organizations using technology for positive social and environmental impact. Prior to joining Autodesk Foundation, Beth worked in East Africa as the Investment Manager for EWB Ventures, the impact investing arm of Engineers Without Borders Canada, supporting startups in the areas of financial inclusion, agriculture innovation, affordable housing, and education technology. Beth first became interested in social entrepreneurship during her time as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Rwanda where she developed income-generating initiatives alongside cassava farmers and coordinated national Gender and Development programs. She co-authored Scaling the Social Enterprise (forthcoming), Grameen America: The Pivotal Role of Technology in Scaling, and contributed to Socio-Tech Innovation: Harnessing Technology for Social Good. Beth received an MBA from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and a BA in Political Science from Middlebury College.

  • A group of a few dozen South African artisan apprentices participating in a BluLever Education training exercise , all holding hands to form a large circle on a grassy field on a sunny day, with a facilitator in the center. Background: young trees and shrubs on a sloped, rocky hillside.

    FY24 progress on Access & Inclusion at the Autodesk Foundation

    The Autodesk Foundation is pleased to highlight progress made in FY24 towards embedding the principles of access and inclusion across our work.

    Access & Inclusion

  • Announcing the Autodesk Foundation’s Inclusive Climate Innovation Initiative

    The Autodesk Foundation is excited to launch its Inclusive Climate Innovation Initiative (ICII) to bolster the inclusive innovation environment in climate technology through philanthropy.

    Funding
  • A woman Safisana employee standing in front of a Safisana sign at the Ashaiman recycling plant, smiling and looking at the camera, holding a white hard hat in her blue-gloved left hand.

    Our investment in Safisana

    The Autodesk Foundation welcomes Safisana—a nonprofit committed to improving climate resilience and solving waste, sanitation, and energy-related issues in rapidly growing economies throughout the African continent—to its Health and Resilience portfolio.

    Funding
  • Three individuals—an older man, a middle-aged man, and a teenager—standing in a farm field surrounded by tall green crops on a sunny day. All three are smiling and looking at a mobile phone, held by the middle-aged man, which appears to interacting with a sensor or other mechanism for monitoring the crop.

    Our investment in Wavemaker Impact

    The Autodesk Foundation welcomes Wavemaker Impact—a climate venture builder fund that invests in Southeast Asian entrepreneurs and startups to rapidly decarbonize the planet—to its Health and Resilience portfolio.

    Funding
  • Autodesk Foundation logo. White with black background.

    Two years later, the Autodesk Foundation’s DEI strategy shepherds a more diverse portfolio of industry-leading innovators

    In 2021, the Autodesk Foundation formalized a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) strategy to ensure that the leaders across its portfolio were more representative of the populations they serve. One year later, here’s what we learned and the progress we've made.

    Access & Inclusion
  • Students standing over and tinkering with robotics and hydraulics machines while learning at St. Philips College.

    Our investment in FAME USA

    The Autodesk Foundation welcomes FAME USA—a network of employer-led chapters training the next generation of advanced manufacturing technicians—to its Work and Prosperity portfolio.

    Funding
  • JARC trainee wearing welding PPE (mask, gloves, etc.), welding as part of JARC advanced manufacturing training program.

    Our investment in JARC Rhode Island

    The Autodesk Foundation welcomes JARC Rhode Island—a workforce development nonprofit on a mission to close the manufacturing talent gap—to its Work & Prosperity portfolio.

    Funding
  • Okra solar's mesh grid system, arial view

    Our investment in Okra Solar

    Two billion people worldwide lack access to reliable energy In the energy access sector, the scaleup of mini-grids and solar home systems (SHS) is critical if we are to meet the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal 7—access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all—by 2030. Only half of the 800 million people without…

    Funding
  • Workers pose at Coalfield Development factory

    Our investment in Coalfield Development

    The Autodesk Foundation has made an investment in Coalfield Development, a West Virginia nonprofit focused on facilitating employment and economic transition through workforce development programs and social enterprise incubation and investment in the region. 

    Funding

  • Our investment in Revolution Workshop

    The Autodesk Foundation welcomes Revolution Workshop to its Work & Prosperity portfolio. Revolution Workshop is a nonprofit based in Chicago, Illinois, that builds skills, hope, and resilience by providing construction job training to Chicago's underserved communities.

    Funding