24 Facts About Karla Jurvetson

Karla Jurvetson is an American physician, philanthropist, and major Democratic donor.

Karla Jurvetson has particularly focused on supporting candidates who are women, people of color, and from underrepresented communities, and she is a prominent activist in the movement to protect voting rights and American democracy.

Karla Jurvetson was born in New Haven, Connecticut and grew up in Palo Alto, California.

Karla Jurvetson's mother was a nurse, her father Jared Tinklenberg was a physician and medical school professor, and her grandfather was a Christian chaplain in the US Navy.

Karla Jurvetson earned a bachelor's degree in human biology with honors and distinction from Stanford University, a medical doctorate from the University of California School of Medicine, and completed her residency at Stanford Hospital.

In 1990, she married Steve Karla Jurvetson, who became a Silicon Valley early-stage investor in companies including SpaceX in 2000 and Tesla in 2006.

In 2017, to honor her father's 50-year career as a medical school professor, Karla Jurvetson helped fund the construction of the new Stanford Medical Center and endowed a professorship in her parents' names.

Karla Jurvetson served on the board of directors of Peninsula Open Space Trust from 2003 to 2006 and was a founding donor to Wildlife Conservation Network.

Karla Jurvetson has been a trustee on several other non-profit boards, including the San Francisco Ballet.

Karla Jurvetson was named by Gentry Magazine as one of the top philanthropists in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Karla Jurvetson served as a school board member for The Nueva School, which is located in the San Francisco Bay Area and was previously a pre-kindergarten through 8th grade school.

Karla Jurvetson has volunteered as a political organizer and a fundraiser for many Democratic candidates for more than 35 years.

In 2008 Karla Jurvetson volunteered in the swing state of Nevada for then-candidate Barack Obama, as well as making 46 contributions to Democrats totaling $128,700.

Karla Jurvetson put her psychiatric practice "on pause" to pursue political and policy goals, including expanded voting rights and preserving democracy.

Karla Jurvetson serves as Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of EMILY's List, which supports Democratic pro-choice women candidates and has more than five million members.

Karla Jurvetson's donation was in the form of Baidu shares, a Chinese internet company traded on the US stock exchange and was unusual outside of Silicon Valley since it was in the form of stock shares.

In November 2018, Karla Jurvetson was listed as one of five "surprising million dollar donors" to the US midterm elections.

In November 2019, Karla Jurvetson hosted a Democratic National Committee reception at her home with President Barack Obama.

Outside of the presidential race, Karla Jurvetson donated to more than 500 races across the country in 2020, ranging from congressional contests to state-level races.

Karla Jurvetson gave $3.9 million to Forward Majority Action, a PAC focused on winning state-level contests.

In 2021 and early 2022, Karla Jurvetson was a leader among major Democratic donors in urging President Biden, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Democratic Congressional leaders to pursue passage of comprehensive voting rights legislation, in response to laws passed in many states by Republican legislatures to severely limit or restrict ballot access and voting rights.

Karla Jurvetson was impressed with Crockett's stance on the issue of voting rights.

In 2023, Karla Jurvetson continued her focus on elections in swing and battleground states like Arizona and Wisconsin.

Karla Jurvetson was among the largest donors to the campaign to defeat Issue One in Ohio, placed on the August 2023 ballot by Republican legislators to make it harder for voters to amend the state constitution.