When Evelyn D. Haas, along with her husband Walter, established the Fund in 1953, she not only helped create a family foundation, but also opened a new chapter in a lifetime of community service. She is Co-Chair and Trustee of the Fund’s Board of Directors.

Evelyn Haas brings a half-century of experience to the Haas, Jr. Fund. She has provided leadership and philanthropic support to numerous Bay Area cultural, educational and health institutions. Mrs. Haas played an early and important role in strengthening the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art . She has been a trustee of SFMOMA since 1972, serving as the museum board's executive vice president, president, CEO and currently as chairman emeritus. She has been instrumental in increasing the museum’s membership, and she, along with her husband, Walter, figured prominently in SFMOMA’s successful capital campaign in the early 1990s to build a new, world-acclaimed museum. Mrs. Haas’ civic leadership has been characterized by her devotion to making art accessible to everyone.

Mrs. Haas is a leading advocate for the San Francisco Chronicle’s Season of Sharing Fund. Her involvement in the annual fundraising campaign began in 1986, when her late husband, Walter, approached the Chronicle to launch the special fund to benefit Bay Area individuals and families who need emergency financial assistance. After her husband’s death in 1995, she became even more active in the campaign and is one of its most vocal, steadfast proponents, writing personal letters each year to hundreds of friends and colleagues urging them to help their Bay Area neighbors in crisis.

Evelyn D. Haas is a Life Governor of the Symphony after having served over 40 years as a volunteer and trustee. Additionally, Mrs. Haas is now a board member of the California Pacific Medical Center Foundation and also served on the board of what was formerly known as San Francisco Children's Hospital. Evelyn Haas also served as a trustee of the War Memorial Board since 1978 at the appointment of six San Francisco mayors.

Improving the quality of life for all families in San Francisco began as a very personal mission for Evelyn Haas, and she and Walter Haas, Jr. prepared carefully for passing responsibility for the Haas, Jr. Fund to their children. “We are looking ahead to the future,” Mrs. Haas has said about the Fund’s mission, “dedicated to finding ways the Fund can continually grow to serve the ever-changing needs of this diverse community. It is only by embracing the differences among us that we will ever live the promise of equal opportunity.”