OC500 2025: LINDSEY SPINDLE

LINDSEY SPINDLE 

PRESIDENT 

SAMUELI FAMILY PHILANTHROPIES 

WHY: Philanthropic executive for a decade. Appointed in 2022 to oversee Henry and Susan Samueli’s philanthropic ambitions. Presides over the Samueli Foundation and Anaheim Ducks Foundation; she is also a senior strategy advisor for H&S Ventures, a Corona del Mar firm founded by Henry and Susan in 1999 to oversee the Samueli Foundation’s investments.  

IN THE NEWS: The Samueli Foundation awarded $6.2M in grants this year through its newly launched Build OC Fund. Eight OC nonprofits received gifts for projects such as new construction, major renovations and land purchases—areas that organizations often struggle to fund, Spindle says. The foundation also gifted $11M through its Breakaway Fund, which supported 138 nonprofits. Both initiatives stem from a needs assessment the foundation conducted this year to identify the gaps in funding for local nonprofits.  

NOTABLE: First-ever chief communications and brand officer of Share Our Strength, a national nonprofit focused on ending childhood hunger in America through its groundbreaking No Kid Hungry campaign. 

QUOTABLE: “We looked for proposals where we knew our funding would make the difference. It would close that last mile gap between them hanging in limbo and being able to complete the project.”