CO-FOUNDER
Eric Cárdenas is LOACOM’s Chief Executive Officer and co-founder. After spending years working in both the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors, Eric joined long-time friend and confidant David Fortson as part of the LOA team in 2011, becoming Chief Operations Officer and partner to LoaTree, Inc. Together, Eric and Dave co-founded LOACOM in 2012, where he continued to serve as COO until 2021.
Eric’s areas of interest and special focus include food and agriculture, philanthropy for social change, campaigns/movement-building, and strategic planning and facilitation. He is currently President of the Board for the Fund for Santa Barbara, Secretary for the Johnson Ohana Foundation, and has worked or volunteered with the Ag Innovations Network, Orfalea Foundations, Environmental Defense Center, and Roots of Change, among others. Eric is currently most passionate about addressing the climate crisis through an intersectional approach that leverages business, racial justice and equity, philanthropy, strategic communications, and organizing.
A graduate of UC Santa Barbara with degrees in Political Science and Environmental Studies, Eric now lives in Goleta, CA and his wife Michelle and their two young children, Río and Brisa. When not chasing kids, changing diapers, or learning the ways of parenting, they can be found at the beach, listening to music, or chasing each other around local parks.