Ex-Apple Executive Spearheads Technology Philanthropy Push

The Wall Street Journal profiles former Apple executive James Higa, who since leaving the computer giant in 2012 has become a leading figure in efforts to engage the Silicon Valley elite in tackling the region’s socioeconomic problems.

A longtime aide to Steve Jobs who helped shape iTunes, Mr. Higa now devotes much of his time to addressing San Francisco’s widening income gap and tapping his tech-sector connections to pursue collaborations between businesses and nonprofits. His Philanthropic Ventures Foundation makes about $12-million a year in small grants to local causes.

“We try to aspire to change the world, but if we can’t even change our backyards, how can we aspire to change the world?” he tells the Journal in an interview from his office at the Invention Hub, a San Francisco site he co-founded that aims to incubate social enterprises and create jobs for the city’s underprivileged.