Founder's Story — Sophie Alpert

Sophie Alpert Sophie is passionate about helping the underserved and has been involved in the non-profit sector most of her life. She was the Development Director for Para Los Ninos, a non-profit day care center in Skid Row, before founding Piece by Piece, a social enterprise arts organization in 2007. In addition to her ongoing leadership of Piece by Piece, Sophie is involved with organizations helping to raise awareness and seek solutions for individuals experiencing homelessness.

Sophie is on the Regional Council of DignityMoves which works to end homelessness by building interim supportive housing as a rapid, cost-effective scalable solution. She is also on the board of the SAM Initiative, a women’s giving circle, which helps fund and support exceptional innovative programs in Los Angeles that promote social change.

Sophie is also a child advocate for refugee minors through the Young Center, and has been a volunteer with Beth Tzedek, an organization that provides free legal services to help undocumented immigrant families.

Sophie has been recognized numerous times for her philanthropic work in the community: In 2009, The Los Angeles Business Journal honored her as a “Woman Making a Difference.” She was a recipient of the 2012 Women in Philanthropy Business award from Comerica Bank’s Best of LA Women’s Business and has received commendations from the City of Los Angeles and The Links in Palos Verdes. The California Community Foundation honored Sophie as an Unsung Hero in 2013. She was also awarded the Jewish Vocational Service’s Women’s Leadership Empowerment Award in 2019. She was a featured speaker at the Global Social Enterprise Summit at UCLA in 2019. Sophie was also a panelist for The 2022 National Social Enterprise Alliance and the 2022 keynote speaker for California Leadership and a panelist

Sophie has been married for 40 years and is the proud mother of four married children and grandmother to ten.