Zahra Nealy is a philanthropy, public relations and communications professional with more than 15 years of experience advancing nonprofit, healthcare, and public affairs initiatives. She currently serves as Director of Philanthropy for California Hospital Medical Center Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Dignity Health–California Hospital Medical Center in downtown Los Angeles, part of CommonSpirit Health, one of the nation’s largest nonprofit health systems.

Throughout her career, Zahra has supported impactful organizations including Pasadena Humane, the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and Cedars-Sinai. She is a member of the 2023 Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP) 40 Under 40 class and received PR Daily’s 2017 Best Multichannel Campaign of the Year award for the “Wage Hope Together” campaign. She has presented for AFP Greater Los Angeles, the National Association for Cancer Development Officers, and CommonSpirit Health’s Philanthropy Education Summit.

Zahra holds an A.S. in Natural Sciences from Riverside City College, a B.A. in Anthropology from UCLA, and an M.A. in Strategic Public Relations from USC Annenberg.