Honorary Degrees
Roberta “Bertie” Elliott
Roberta “Bertie” Elliott has consistently donated to CSUMB beginning in 1998 with our first president, Peter Smith. Both personally and through her foundation, the Berkshire Foundation, she has supported science, the library, Women’s Leadership Council scholarships and the arts. Her lifetime giving to CSUMB is over $7.5 million.
Elliott is a community philanthropist with a demonstrated commitment to education, the arts and healthcare. Her 2017 gift of $105 million to Montage Health and the Community Hospital of Monterey County, or CHOMP, launched a family behavioral health program to serve the needs of community families. The donation was the largest in CHOMP history, and the 18th largest in the nation made by an individual in 2017.
Elliott said the fact that the county had no hospital beds for children requiring mental health evaluations was a motivator, along with the opportunity to transform the way mental health care — both prevention and treatment — is delivered to youth. She named the 24-bed inpatient center, which has an outpatient treatment wing, Ohana, the Hawaiian word for family.
Elliott was born in Omaha, Nebraska. She graduated from Northwestern University in 1954 with a degree in history and Phil Beta Kappa honors. In 1963, she and her then-husband moved to Carmel, California, to raise their family. She was an early investor in Berkshire Hathaway, founded by her brother, legendary investor Warren Buffett. She and her three daughters established the Berkshire Foundation in 1996 and have supported many organizations and institutions through it.
She served on the board of trustees of Montage Health/CHOMP from 1997-2003, led the campaign to build the hospital’s Comprehensive Cancer Center, and provided support for numerous other projects, including the Family Birth Center and Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit.
She has also served on the boards of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Monterey County Symphony Association, Carmel Bach Festival, and Community Foundation for Monterey County. She is also a former president of the Junior League of Monterey County.