Mark Ruffo

As Chief Advancement Officer at the California Academy of Sciences, Mark Ruffo works closely with the Academy Board of Trustees and a team of development professionals to build relationships and raise philanthropic gifts that support the Academy's scientific research, environmental literacy programs, conservation initiatives, and museum experiences. An accomplished fundraiser with more than 20 years of experience who has been instrumental in raising more than $200 million, Ruffo joined the Academy in December 2024.

Before joining the Academy, Ruffo served as the chief of outreach, development, and communications at Landesa, where he transformed the international nonprofit’s funding base from a concentrated local network to a diversified global donor group and increased annual revenue by more than 50%. He also served in a number of additional leadership roles, including on Landesa’s Red Flag and Global DEI committees and as a reviewer for the MacArthur Foundation’s 100&Change Competition and the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program.

Before Landesa, Ruffo worked at Malaria No More and Seattle Children’s Hospital and Research Institute. During his time at Malaria No More, Ruffo launched a major giving program that increased donors by nearly 100%. Ruffo started at Seattle Children’s Hospital and Research Institute as the marketing manager responsible for building a unique brand for the newly launched Research Institute, and for developing messaging and collateral in support of fundraising, marketing, and communications. He took a brief detour to co-found the institute’s Science Outreach Education Program and the Science Adventure Lab, a mobile teaching lab that served more than 8,000 rural students in its first four years. He then went on to become director of development for major gifts and corporate and foundation relations for the hospital and research institute, leading a team responsible for securing more than $20 million annually in private grants for the hospital and research institute.

Ruffo serves on the boards of the SF LGBT Center and the Golden Gate Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. A dynamic, visionary leader in the development field, Mark also has a science background. He conducted postdoctoral research at MIT and holds a PhD in physiology and biophysics, as well as an MBA, both from the University of Washington, and a bachelor's degree from Georgetown University.