Speakers

Funding Forward 2016

Speakers

Kim Abbott

M. Adams

Kristi Andrasik

Rini Banerjee

Xochitl Bervera

Karina Claudio Betancourt

Autumn Brown

Miabi Chatterji

B Cole

Steven Cole-Shcwartz

Ryan Li Dahlstrom

Heidi Dorow

Patricia Eng

Gabriel Foster

Samanta Franklin

Naomi Goldberg

Sharita Gruberg

Stephanie Guilloud

Sarah Gunther

Efrain Gutierrez

Tyrone Hanley

Phyllis Steven Harris

Paulina Helm-Hernandez

Dr. Alice Y. Hom

Mary Hooks

Surina Khan

Cietta Kiandoli

Andy Marra

Ben Francisco Maulbeck

Monica Meyer

Evelin E. Montes

Paul D. Moore

Michael Murray

Anthony Newby

Isa Noyola

Trina Olson

Zachary Packineau

Amarilis Pagan-Jimenez

Jerry Peterson

Gautam Raghavan

Barbara Satin

Terry Stone

Maria Elena Torre

Tania Unzueta

Luis F. Vivaldi

Tracy Weitz

Alfonso Wenker

Kristina Wertz

Marilynn Winn

Xay Yang

Rye Young

Kim Abbott will lead the executive order project for the MHRN. Kim is the Co-Director for the Montana Human Rights Network. She began her social justice work in Montana as an AmeriCorps VISTA for the Montana Legal Services Association. She later organized on economic justice issues for Working for Equality and Economic Liberation (WEEL). Kim moved to the Network in November of 2005. Kim has been involved in using the human rights framework to organize around multiple issues with an intersectional, movement building approach. She has led the Network’s LGBT work since 2008- designing local ordinance campaigns and legislative advocacy campaigns as Organizing Director, Program Director, and now Co-Director. She grew up 10 miles west of Cleveland, OH where she learned to root for the long-shot (Dennis Kucinich, Cleveland Browns) and value resilience. Kim lives in Helena.

M. Adams is a community organizer and co-executive director of Freedom Inc., working with low to no income Black and Hmong wimmin, queer folks and youth in Dane County, WI. Adams’ dad has been incarcerated most of her life and she comes from a community that has been the extreme targets of police violence. Adams is a proud dad to a 3 year old who is a primary motivator for her work. As a queer Black person, Adams has developed and advocated for a strong intersectional approach. Adams is a leading figure in the Take Back the Land Movement, she presented before the United Nations for the Convention on Eliminating Racial Discrimination, the co-Author of Forward from Ferguson and a work in progress on Black community control over the police, and author to intersectionality theory in Why Killing Unarmed Black folks is a Queer issue. Most recently, Adams can be seen in person, on TV or in the newspapers giving presentations, testifying, and energizing crowds at protests as a co-founder of the Young, Gifted and Black Coalition.

Kristi Andrasik LISW-S, (Pronouns: she/her) is a Program Officer with the Cleveland Foundation. Kristi draws upon her extensive experience in social service delivery and nonprofit management to review grant proposals across a broad range of program areas and help nonprofits assess their goals. Since joining the Foundation in 2012, Kristi has worked closely with the LGBT community to mobilize resources and strengthen community infrastructures to prepare for the 2014 Gay Games and improve the well-being of Greater Cleveland’s LGBT residents. Kristi is a Licensed Independent Social Worker- Supervisor in the state of Ohio, an Advisory Council member for Cleveland’s Young Nonprofit Professionals Network, and serves on the Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Committee for Philanthropy Ohio. In 2015, Kristi became the inaugural recipient of the Michael G. Shinn Award for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Philanthropy.

Rini Banerjee is the Executive Director of Foundation for a Just Society. Before joining FJS in 2012, she was a senior program officer at the Overbrook Foundation, where she oversaw domestic and international grants portfolios in human rights, youth development, reproductive rights, human trafficking, and progressive movement building. Previously, Rini held positions at the New York Women’s Foundation, UNICEF, UNDP, and several community-based organizations working in the social justice field. Earlier in her career, Rini worked in finance and marketing for the Investment Division of Citibank/Citicorp and the Samuel Goldwyn Company. She holds a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Finance from New York University’s Stern School of Business.

Xochitl Bervera is a queer Chicana/Latina organizer, lawyer, movement builder, and teacher/trainer. She is the Director of the Racial Justice Action Center, a vibrant, multiracial organizing and training institute working to build the grassroots leadership and power of communities of color, and low income communities in order to fight for – and win – political and social transformation in Georgia and the South. She has over 15 years of experience in grassroots organizing, media, and policy advocacy, and training and technical assistance, mostly focused on ending criminalization in Black and Latino communities. She is passionate about uniting communities of color to resist mass incarceration and deportations and envision a future where families and communities are supported and able to thrive. Xochitl is also studying to be a Somatics teacher, learning to develop the leadership capacities of individuals and groups and building an understanding of transformation from the inside out.

Karina Claudio Betancourt, Program Officer, Open Society Foundations, works with the Open Places Initiative, a placed-based initiative in three sites: Buffalo, Puerto Rico, and San Diego. She is a community organizer with management, advocacy, policy analysis, fundraising and grant writing experience. She has worked to empower low wage workers, immigrants, LGBTQ individuals and individuals living in the intersection of these identities. Karina most recently hails from the New York City Council, as the Senior Director of the Community Engagement Division for Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito. She implemented of a citywide Participatory Budgeting project and several LGBTQ rights policies. From 2008 to 2014, she worked at at Make the Road New York, where she oversaw its LGBTQ Justice Project and supervised immigration, housing, civic engagement and leadership development programs. Karina grew up in Puerto Rico, earning a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Puerto Rico. She moved to NYC in 2007, where she attended NYU and received a M.A. in Performance Studies.

Autumn Brown is an activist and artist with over 10 years of non-profit professional experience, and expertise in facilitation and organizational development. Autumn just finished up her time as Interim Executive Director for RECLAIM!, a Twin Cities-based nonprofit working to increase access to mental health support for queer and trans youth. Previously, Autumn was the Executive Director for the Central Minnesota Sustainability Project, an environmental justice grassroots nonprofit. Autumn moved to Minnesota in 2010 from New York City, where she co-founded the Rock Dove Collective, a project that connected healing practitioners working to increase health access through mutual aid exchange. She has served on the boards of the Center for Story-Based Strategy, the Common Fire Foundation, and the Fertility Awareness Center. She is the newest member of the Anti-Oppression Resource and Training Alliance (AORTA), a worker-owned cooperative of consultants and facilitators devoted to strengthening movements for social justice and a solidarity economy. You can learn more about her facilitation and writing at www.iambrown.org.

Miabi Chatterji is the Program Officer for the LGBTQ Racial Justice Fund, a collaboration between five funders that supports multi-issue campaign work in the U.S. South. She also helps support the Funding Queerly Giving Circle, housed at the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice. Funding Queerly supports grassroots organizing around the country and is comprised of young donors who raise funds in their communities. Miabi was previously Director of Grants for the West at the Resist Foundation, and has her PhD in American Studies from New York University, where she studied & taught on the impacts of corporate-led globalization on migration and labor. She has participated in the workplace justice movement, in youth political education, and in queer and trans movement circles. Her work, whether as an activist, grantmaker, or geek, is founded in a commitment to anti-oppression and self-determination. And sandwiches.

Cole holds an MSc from the London School of Economics and has worked across the US and internationally on issues of leadership development, gender, and economic justice. In 2000 she worked in the White House directing leadership programming for the Harry S. Truman Foundation. In 2010 Cole launched the Brown Boi Project, a gender justice organization that is building the largest leadership development pipeline for LGBTQ leaders of color in the country. Cole is a graduate of Mills College, an Echoing Green Fellow, Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar, and recipient of the Spirit of Dolores Huerta Award. As an activist and author, Cole introduced the term masculine of center, which challenges historical understandings of queer female/trans masculinity and its intersections with race. She also edited Freeing Ourselves, the LGBT health guide; which is now being used to forward understanding of health needs for LGBT people of color.

Steven Cole-Schwartz is the director of the Partnership Funds. The Funds are paired 501c(4) and 501c(3) funding collaboratives that works with grantmakers and state leaders to build independent political power in order to win change in the lives of individuals, families and communities. The Funds include the Ford, Joyce, Minneapolis, Solidago, Stoneman Family, and W.K. Kellogg Foundations as well as the Service Employees International Union, the UU Veatch Program at Shelter Rock and Wellspring Advisors. Steven’s first advocacy experience was leading an LGBTQ-student group on a Jesuit campus; that led to campaign work opposing marriage-discrimination ballot measures. From 2005-2011 he helped build the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center and worked at the Tides Foundation. Most recently, he led a consulting practice that fostered philanthropic alliances and grant programs, managed projects, and advised funders. He is on the Bus Federation Civic Fund board and the Funders Committee for Civic Participation steering committee. Steven lives in Washington, DC with a dog named Gary and a husband named Michael.

Ryan Li Dahlstrom, grew up in Minneapolis, MN and currently calls Los Angeles, CA home. He’s worked at the intersections of LGBTQ, youth, anti-violence, and racial justice movements for over a decade. After many years of fundraising, programmatic and leadership development for a variety of local and national social justice organizations, including the Movement Building Director of GIFT (Grassroots Institute for Fundraising Training) in Oakland, CA and Executive Director of TYSN (Trans Youth Support Network) in Minneapolis, MN, he’s now working as a nonprofit and philanthropic consultant. Currently he’s consulting with the Funders for LGBTQ Issues to advance the goals of the Trans Funding Working Group. Ryan Li is on the board of the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice and volunteers with the Black Lives Matter-LA Allies Group and Gender Justice LA. His everyday work is guided by a belief in the power and resilience of queer and trans people of color communities.
Heidi Dorow is a senior program officer at Wellspring Advisors in the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) Program. Before joining Wellspring she was a consultant specializing on human rights issues in the United States with groups such as the Ford Foundation, the US Human Rights Network, the Sex Worker Project of the Urban Justice Center, the Center for Economic and Social Rights, the Women’s Institute for Leadership Development, and the International Network for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. She was the director of the Human Rights Project of the Urban Justice Center for four years and has also worked for the Coalition for the Homeless and the AFL-CIO. While at the Urban Justice Center, she coordinated several human rights campaigns and reports, all of which combated New York City’s restrictions on welfare and food stamps for the poor. She is a graduate of Hampshire College and was a Revson Fellow at Columbia University from 1999-2000.

Patricia Eng is the Vice President of Programs at the New York Women’s Foundation. She has decades of experience in the philanthropic sector, first as Program Officer at the Ms. Foundation for Women where she launched the Foundation’s grantmaking strategy on gender based violence and then as Vice President of Programs overseeing the Foundation’s overall programmatic work. Pat also served as Program Director at Bolder Giving where she managed the team working to launch Give OUT Day, the first nationally coordinated online fundraising initiative in support of the LGBTQ community. Pat graduated from Princeton University and Hunter College School of Social Work with a concentration in community organizing. Pat has been honored with a President’s Volunteer Action Award, Gloria Steinem Woman of Vision Award, and a Charles H. Revson Fellowship on the Future of the City of New York at Columbia University. She is featured as an early groundbreaker in the Makers.com website, the largest video collection of women’s stories.

Gabriel Foster is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Trans Justice Funding Project. Prior to making his way to the Eastern Time Zone, he worked in Seattle, WA with the Northwest Network of bisexual, trans, lesbian, and gay survivors of abuse to create their youth programming. From age fifteen to twenty-six, he went from a program constituent to program staff in the American Friends Service Committee’s GLBTQ Youth Program. He has worked at SPARK Reproductive Justice Now with LGBTQ youth of color and allies in Atlanta, GA; the Leeway Foundation, supporting women and trans people creating art and social change in Philadelphia, PA; and provided outreach for the Jonathan Lax Fund at the Bread and Roses Foundation in Philadelphia, PA. Gabriel is a former staff member of the Sylvia Rivera Law Project and current board member for Funders for LGBT Issues. Currently, he’s an ABFE Connecting Leaders Fellow. He invites anyone to talk to him about dreaming big and pug memes.

Samantha Franklin is the Program Officer at Johnson Family Foundation. Prior to working for JFF, she was a Project Manager at Jobs for the Future (Boston) and a Junior Capacity Building Specialist at the Harm Reduction Coalition (NYC). She serves on the board of the Brown Boi Project, and she has participated in various collaborative efforts with philanthropic groups that include Funders for LGBTQ Issues, New York Women’s Foundation, Queer Youth Fund, North Star Fund, and the Grants Managers Network.

Naomi Goldberg Based in Chicago, Naomi leads MAP’s in-depth policy analyses. Prior to joining MAP, Naomi was a public policy fellow at the Williams Institute, where her research focused on adoption and foster care, domestic partner benefits, and the issues affecting older LGBT Americans. Naomi received a Master of Public Policy from the University of Michigan and graduated from Mount Holyoke College.

Sharita Gruberg is a Senior Policy Analyst for the LGBT Research and Communications Project at American Progress. She comes to American Progress with extensive experience working in immigration advocacy, law, and policy, as well as experience providing direct service to immigration detainees, refugees, and asylum seekers. Sharita earned her J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center, where she was a public interest law scholar and the writing program director for the Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law and Policy, and she also received the Refugees and Humanitarian Emergencies Certificate from the Institute for the Study of International Migration.

Stephanie Guilloud is the Co-Director of Project South: Institute for the Elimination of Poverty & Genocide. She is originally from Houston, Texas with family roots in Alabama. Stephanie is an organizer with 19 years of experience and leadership in global justice work and community organizing. At Project South, Stephanie works closely with Southeast regional organizing projects, the Southern Movement Assembly, publication development, and the Building A Movement (BAM) Institutes.

Sarah Gunther is the Director of Programs at the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice, where she oversees grantmaking, capacity building and philanthropic advocacy programs to support LGBTQI activism for racial, economic and gender justice globally. She joined Astraea in 2013 after serving as the Director of Africa Programs at American Jewish World Service (AJWS), where she oversaw grantmaking to grassroots organizations pursuing sexual rights, natural resource rights, and civil and political rights in Africa. Sarah also played a key role in developing AJWS’s global sexual rights strategies with a focus on LGBTQI rights, trans justice, and sex worker rights. Prior to joining AJWS, Sarah managed livelihoods programs in East and West Africa at Trickle Up and worked in Uganda with grassroots activist groups. She holds a B.A. in feminist, gender, and sexuality studies and African American studies from Wesleyan University and is pursuing a M.A. in human rights studies from Columbia University.

Efrain Gutierrez is a senior consultant at FSG where he helps clients use evaluation as a tool for learning and strategic refinement. He also develops conference sessions, blogs posts, and webinars that increase evaluators’ cultural competency when working with the Latino and the LGBTQ communities. Efrain holds a B.A. in International Business and Management from la Universidad Panamericana in Guadalajara, Mexico and an MPA from the University of Washington. Efrain has a passion and interest for social change and is Co-Chair of the LGBT Topical Interest Group at the American Evaluation Association.

Tyrone Hanley serves as Policy Counsel at the National Center for Lesbian Rights. In this role, he supports NCLR’s federal policy initiatives, with a focus on criminal justice reform, economic justice, and HIV/AIDS . Prior to attending the University of the District of Columbia’s David A. Clarke School of Law, Tyrone worked as the HIV Prevention Manager at SMYAL, a DC-area LGBTQ youth organization. He has also served as the Gender Public Advocacy Center’s Youth Program Coordinator and as an Americorps/National AIDS Fund volunteer at HIPS, a DC-based harm reduction organization for sex workers and drug users.

Phyllis Seven Harris has been a dynamic force in the local nonprofit community for the past 20 years. Beginning with almost a decade of service ending as Director of Advocacy and Education at the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center and culminating in her current role as the Executive Director of Cleveland’s Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Center, the Cleveland native has played pivotal roles in a variety of organizations throughout the region. Ms. Harris directed a major capital campaign for the Cleveland Sight Center, served as VP of Programs for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Cleveland and spearheaded youth initiatives at Planned Parenthood of Northeast Ohio. Ms. Harris is the recipient of the 2015 HRC Leadership Award presented at the HRC Cleveland Annual Gala and was appointed by Mayor Frank Jackson to serve on Cleveland’s Community Police Commission Selection Panel. Ms. Harris holds a master’s degree in nonprofit management from Case Western Reserve University and a Bachelor of Arts from Baldwin Wallace College.

Paulina Helm-Hernandez, Co-Director, Southerners on New Ground, is a queer femme cha-cha girl, artist, trainer, political organizer, strategist & trouble-maker-at-large from Veracrúz, Mexico. This Chicana grew up in rural North Carolina, and is growing roots in Atlanta. She has been the Co-Director of SONG for 9 years, having joined the staff after coordinating the Southern regional youth activism program at the Highlander Research & Education Center. Paulina has a background in farm worker and immigrant / refugee rights organizing, cultural work, youth organizing, anti-violence work, and liberation work that centers people most affected by violence, poverty, war and racism. Paulina is also a founding member of the national First Nations / Two Spirit Collective, an queer & trans indigenous movement-building cadre, and has served on the boards of YouthAction, Student Action with Farmworkers and The Third Wave Foundation. Paulina currently sits on the Vision and Strategies Council of Kindred Southern Healing Justice Collective, and is always exploring ways to deepen political unity with people willing to fight and organize for collective liberation.

Dr. Alice Y. Hom is a community builder invested in bridging diverse and overlapping communities to raise resources, to nurture leaders, and to build the capacity of organizations for social change. Until recently, she served as the Director of the Queer Justice Fund at Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy (AAPIP). Currently, Alice is consulting with individuals and organizations in the non-profit, philanthropic, humanities, and film/media sectors. Governor Jerry Brown appointed her to the board of California Humanities in 2012 and she joined the board of Borealis Philanthropy in 2015. She also serves on the Advisory Board for API Equality Northern California and the Advisory Council for Conscious Style Guide. Alice is the co-editor of an award-winning anthology, Q & A: Queer in Asian America and has published articles in various journals and anthologies. Alice fancies funky socks and enjoys good food with friends and family.

Mary Hooks, Co-Director, Southerners on New Ground, joined the SONG team as a Alabama field organizer 2011. Mary holds a MBA with a focus in HR Management. Though Mary is relatively new to organizing, her personal story prepared her. The chapters of her life begin with poverty, being parentless, and shy. The story unfolds to rebellious teenager who converts to a devoted Christian in Pentecostal church, comes out as a lesbian and left without the support of her foster or church family and stricken with tons of Christian guilt. The climax occurs when, in undergrad at a Lutheran college, Mary redefines herself and discovers a radical desire to catalyze change in the world. Since then Mary has relocated to the hot shades of Atlanta, GA, and has found her niche in organizing with SONG, throwing dope parties and singing with the Juicebox Jubilees, a queer choir, created to provide a safe space for folks to gather their voices together, sip a little wine, and sing songs that uplift, inspire, and liberate.

Surina Khan is CEO of the Women’s Foundation of California. For more than two decades, Surina has been a leader in the philanthropic and non-profit social justice sector starting with local community-based publishing in New England and then shifting to national and global work on an array of social justice issues including women’s rights, LGBT rights, human rights and more. Before being appointed CEO in 2014, Surina served as a Director in the Democracy Rights and Justice Program at the Ford Foundation where she shaped more than $30 million in annual grantmaking around the world to expand rights for women, LGBT people, people living with HIV/AIDS, and in the area of strengthening democratic participation and governance. She currently serves on the Boards of Alliance for Justice, Funders for LGBTQ Issues, and OutRight Action International (formerly the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission). Her writing and research have been published widely in print and online publications.

Cietta Kiandoli, a trusted civic engagement strategist for over 15 years, is Director of the Black Civic Engagement Fund responsible for directing all strategy and growth. Kiandoli got her start working on Capitol Hill for the Congressional Black Caucus, then continued on to work with labor unions, political campaigns, and state-based community organizations. Her work has ranged from campaign finance reform to building multi-state civic engagement programs. In 2004, she helped run America’s Families United (AFU), the first multi-organizational voter registration program for the 501c3 sector. Over 20 organizations registered over 1 million voters with a focus on communities of color. Most recently, as the National Program Director at State Voices, she helped build the non-partisan civic engagement network from 15 state tables to 20, with reach in all 50 states. Kiandoli is a Boston College graduate and is originally from the DC metropolitan area.

Andy Marra is the communications manager for the Arcus Foundation, a private grantmaking institution dedicated to the idea that people can live in harmony with one another and the natural world. Prior to Arcus, she was the public relations manager for GLSEN, a national organization working to ensure safer school environments for LGBT students in K-12 education. Previously, she was co-director of Nodutdol for Korean Community Development, and senior media strategist for GLAAD. Andy’s work and commentary have been found on programs ranging from NPR’s “Tell Me More,” The Rachel Maddow Show, and Access Hollywood, as well as outlets including the Associated Press, Jezebel, The Guardian,The New York Times, People, Politico, Reuters, and The Wall Street Journal, among others. Andy has been honored by the White House for her contributions to the LGBT community, profiled in The Advocate’s “Forty Under 40,” and listed as one of The Huffington Post’s “Most Compelling LGBT People.”

Ben Francisco Maulbeck, President of Funders for LGBTQ Issues, has more than a decade of experience as a leader for LGBT rights, racial equity and social change. He has an exceptional track record of building the capacity of nonprofit organizations and leaders, raising money for underserved communities and developing and implementing innovative grantmaking initiatives.

From 2007 through 2012, Maulbeck worked at Hispanics in Philanthropy (“HIP”) in positions of increasing responsibility, most recently serving as Vice President. During his time at HIP, he played a leadership role in launching several new programs and initiatives, including a national Latino aging initiative and a funding collaborative to strengthen education nonprofits in Puerto Rico. He also oversaw the continued success of the Funders’ Collaborative for Strong Latino Communities, a multimillion-dollar initiative to build the capacity of Latino-led nonprofits, and spearheaded a roundtable of more than 50 philanthropic leaders on LGBT Latino movement-building.

Prior to his service at HIP, Maulbeck served as the director of programs for the William Way LGBT Community Center and as a program associate at The Philadelphia Foundation. He also has significant experience providing independent consulting services to nonprofits and funders, specializing in grantmaking, fundraising, and organizational development. His consulting clients have included Philanthropy New York, the Attic LGBTQ Youth Center, Spiral Q Puppet Theater, the Philadelphia Department of Public Health and the Genocide Intervention Network.

Maulbeck earned a bachelor of arts at Swarthmore College and a master of public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. His volunteer service has included the leadership of the boards of the Gay & Lesbian Latino AIDS Education Initiative (“GALAEI”) and the Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Project (“CHAMP”), steering both organizations through periods of executive transition.

Monica Meyer, Executive Director, OutFront Minnesota, coordinates political strategy and grassroots organizing; conducts seminars about politics; builds coalitions with allied organizations; conducts research and provides materials for lawmakers, community members, and others; and travels the state to meet and work with local activists. Under Monica’s leadership, OutFront Minnesota and Project 515 co-founded Minnesotans United for All Families, the electoral campaign which defeated the proposed amendment to limit the freedom to marry in 2012 and the legislative campaign, which won marriage equality seven months later. Monica and Project 515’s Ann Kaner-Roth received the 2014 Women of the Year Award from the Women’s Consortium, the 2013 Community Hero Award from Family Equality Council, and were honored by Equality Federation. In 2013, OutFront Minnesota received the Community Organization Award from the Bisexuality Organizing Project. Monica received her master’s in public policy from the Humphrey Institute at the University of Minnesota, and her undergraduate degree from Hamline University. Monica is a board member with TakeAction Minnesota and the Equality Federation.

Evelin E. Montes serves as a senior advisor on capacity building initiatives for the Liberty Hill Foundation. Prior to this role, Evelin served as deputy director of training (2010-2013) and director of grantmaking & capacity building initiatives (2013-2015). During her tenure, Evelin provided strategic direction for the programs department’s competitive grantmaking initiatives, as well as strengthened the community organizing skills of social justice organizations through the Wally Marks Leadership Institute, Liberty Hill’s innovative leadership development program for grantees. Evelin is an executive and organizational development coach; her 15-year community organizing background is rooted in the MacArthur Park/Westlake area, a gateway community for immigrants. Evelin is alumni of The Funders’ Network PLACES Fellows (Professionals Learning About Community, Equity, and Smart Growth). Evelin is a proud daughter of immigrants from El Salvador and lives in the Mid-City community of Los Angeles with her regal beagle and her precocious cat.

Paul D. Moore is the Program Officer for the Los Angeles-based David Bohnett Foundation, where he has worked for over a decade. Moore is additionally charged with handling select special assignments related to Mr. Bohnett’s venture capital firm, Baroda Ventures. Every aspect of the Foundation’s grant-making process comes under Moore’s purview. Among Moore’s chief responsibilities is supervising the Foundation’s David Bohnett CyberCenters program, which currently numbers over 60 centers nationwide. The CyberCenters offer free Internet access and technology support to the LGBT community, and provide educational and job-search resources for seniors and youth. A native of Orange County, California, Paul Moore holds a B.S. in Finance, cum laude, from California State University, Northridge and earned an M.B.A. from the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business, where he was a Society and Business Fellow. Paul serves on the Board of Directors as Treasurer of CenterLink, the national association of LGBT Community Centers, and a board member of the Friends of Runyon Canyon.

Michael Murray is a Senior Consultant in FSG’s San Francisco office, where he advises foundation, non-profit, government, and corporate clients on their strategies for creating social change. His projects have included developing corporate social responsibility strategies in Latin American and Asia, conducting research on social entrepreneurship, and establishing cross-sector collaborations in US communities. He is passionate about issues affecting the LGBTQ community and is a co-founder of FSG’s LGBTQ staff affinity group. Michael holds a B.A. in Economics and Latin American Studies from Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Anthony Newby is the Executive Director of Neighborhoods Organizing for Change (NOC). Anthony began his organizing career in disaster relief, having helped to create an innovative social media platform to deliver aid in the wake of a tornado that devastated North Minneapolis in 2011. He then worked to leverage the local Occupy movement into what became Occupy Homes MN, a dynamic housing justice based movement model. He has since worked to grow NOC into an intersectional movement hub and one of most compelling black and people of color lead community-organizing organizations in the nation.

Isa Noyola is a translatina activist, a national leader in LGBT immigrant rights movement, and the director of programs at Transgender Law Center, a national organization that changes law, policy, and attitudes so that all people can live safely, authentically, and free from discrimination regardless of their gender identity or expression. She works extensively for the release of transgender women from ICE detention and an end to all deportations. She is a part of the #Not1more campaign team and sits on the advisory boards of TAJA coalition, El/La para Translatinas , Familia:Trans, Queer Liberation movement, and Queer Undocumented Immigrant Project. Last year she organized the first ever national trans anti-violence convening that brought together over 100 activists, mostly trans women of color, to address the epidemic of violence trans communities are facing. Isa believes that a stronger and more vibrant transgender community is possible when we abolish oppressive systems that criminalize all of our communities especially trans and queer communities of color.

Trina Olson stepped into her role as Executive Director at PFund Foundation in December of 2014. With over a decade spent working on progressive ballot measure and legislative campaigns, Trina brings a wealth of fundraising, messaging and management expertise. A seasoned strategist, leader, activist and organizer, just prior to PFund Trina served as the Interim Executive Director for Immigration Equality. There Trina was part of lobbying efforts with the White House, ICE and Congress as well as charged with supporting the team of attorneys providing free legal services to low-income LGBTQ asylum seekers, detainees and binational couples. Trina has advocated for trans-inclusive non-discrimination, marriage equality, adoption policy and health care access at The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Equality California, Family Equality Council and Washington Citizen Action.

Zachary Packineau‘s professional background spans many sectors but has a core theme in social justice advocacy to improve our region. An alumnus of the Midwest Academy of Organizing for Social Change, the Social Justice Training Institute, and Camp Wellstone, he has worked on two incredibly successful campaigns to defeat two restrictive ballot measures, each by a 2-to-1 margin, in North Dakota. When he’s not in yoga class working on his asanas, Zach fills his time working as an Education and Outreach Specialist for Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota (PPMNS) and serving on a number of state and regional boards and committees where he brings his organizing, advocacy, and management expertise.

Amarilis Pagan-Jimenez (born 1968) is a lawyer, writer, feminist and human rights activist. She is co-founder and Executive Director of Proyecto Matria, an organization that has been an important advocate for women’s and LGBTT’s human rights in the Island. As part of her work with Matria she has been in charge of the evaluation of the implementation of the domestic violence law in the Island and during the last year she collaborated with Puerto Rico’s Department of Justice to train prosecutors on the island in the handling of cases whose victims or witnesses are part of LGBT communities. She is spokeperson of CABE (Comité Amplio para la Búqueda de Equidad) a multi-sectorial group created to promote the recognition of LGBTT human and civil rights in Puerto Rico. Amárilis is a columnist for two digital magazines: 80 Grados and Revista Digital Cruce and a main newspaper, El Nuevo Día.

Jerry Peterson, Executive Director of Ruth Ellis Center, has more than 30 years of experience in the non-profit sector and expertise in executive leadership as well as developing public and private community collaborations to address vital issues for LGBTQ youth. Previously, Peterson was the facilitator for the LGBTQ Youth Advocacy Collaborative, a collaboration of six non-profit agencies working to reduce mental health disparities in California by reducing rejecting behaviors and increasing accepting behaviors toward LGBTQ young people in families, schools, service providers and faith groups. Peterson also spent 14 years with the United Way of Allen County in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he served as its president and CEO for four years. Peterson has also worked as an evaluation consultant for NeighborWorks America, a national affordable housing organization, and in various leadership roles with several churches across the nation. He has a master’s degree in theology from Bethany Theological Seminary and a BA in social work from Elizabethtown College.

As Vice President of Policy, Gautam Raghavan drives the Gill Foundation’s federal and state level executive branch and agency efforts to ensure a level playing field for all LGBT Americans. From 2011 to 2014, Gautam served as President Barack Obama’s liaison to the LGBT community as well as the Asian American & Pacific Islander community, and from 2009 to 2011, as Deputy White House Liaison for the U.S. Department of Defense and Outreach Lead for the Pentagon’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Working Group. Previously, Gautam worked for the Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee. Gautam currently lives in Washington, D.C. with his husband Andrew.

Barbara Satin, a trans activist, focuses her energy on trans inclusion and affirmation, aging issues for LGBTQ seniors and working with faith communities around providing welcome to LGBTQ persons. She was heavily involved in the development of Spirit on Lake LGBTQ senior housing in Minneapolis. Barbara serves as the Assistant Faith Work Director for the National LGBTQ Task Force. She was recently invited to be one of four LGBTQ participants in the White House Conference on Aging. Barbara has been a PFund grant recipient, served as PFund’s Interim Executive Director and now proudly serves as a PFund Foundation board member.

Terry Stone is the CEO of CenterLink: The Community of LGBT Centers. Founded in 1994, CenterLink works with nonprofits to improve their organizational health by providing trainings, resources and coaching. He has held the position of CEO since 2006 and spends much of his time working with organizations on board governance, fundraising, capacity building, leadership development, and strategic planning. Terry is a BoardSource Certified Governance Trainer. Bringing over 25 years of nonprofit experience with the LGBT, HIV/AIDS, and aging communities, he previously served as the Executive Director of the National Adult Day Services Association, The Center of Orange County and the Northwest AIDS Foundation. Throughout his career, Terry has served on a number of boards and commissions at the national, state and local levels including Broward House, AIDS Action Council, the Leadership Council of Aging Organizations, Men Alive, and YMCA. He lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Maria Elena Torre, Ph.D., is on the faculty of Critical Social Psychology at The Graduate Center at the City University of New York where she is also the Director and co-founder of The Public Science Project, dedicated to using social science for the public good. Her research focuses on how democratic methodologies, radical inclusion, and notions of solidarity impact scientific inquiry. She is a co-author of Echoes of Brown: Youth Documenting and Performing the Legacy of Brown v. Board of Education and Changing Minds: The Impact of College on a Maximum Security Prison. Dr. Torre received the APA Division 35 Emerging Scientist Award, The Michelle Alexander Early Career Award, and the Spencer Fellowship in Social Justice & Social Development in Educational Studies. She is on the national board of the National Latino/a Education Research and Policy Project, What Kids Can Do, and was recently appointed to the New York City Mayor’s Taskforce on School Climate and Discipline.

Tania Unzueta is the Policy and Legal Director for Mijente and an organizer with the Not1More campaign. She is a nationally known leader in the LGBT and immigrant rights movements. She first began organizing around immigrant rights when after traveling to Mexico to get an international student visa after living in the U.S., she was denied entry. Her parents organized, she was able to return, and became an advocate for the DREAM Act. She founded the Immigrant Youth Justice League (IYJL), the organization that went to make the “Coming out of the shadows” tactic a national strategy for undocumented immigrants, which received the Freedom From Fear Award from the Four Freedoms Fund. She is known for her work using direct action and civil disobedience to fight against deportations and harsh immigration enforcement practices and policy. She also has a masters degree from UIC in Latin American and Latino Studies. She lives in Chicago.

Luis F. Vivaldi came to Foundation for a Just Society directly from Albania, where he was a Peace Corps volunteer working on youth development and LGBTI rights. Prior to that, he spent five years with the Community Foundation for the National Capital Region in Washington, DC, supporting education reform and workforce development in social justice organizations. He also played an integral role in Putting Race on the Table, a speaker and donor education series. Luis holds a Bachelor of History and International Studies from Baylor University and a Master of International Development from the University of Pittsburgh. He claims both Puerto Rico and Texas as home, and when asked if there is a relation between himself and the famous composer, he replies, “Definitely maybe.�
Tracy Weitz, PhD, MPA, is the Director of Domestic Programs at the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation. The Foundation focuses on reducing unintended pregnancy and securing access to safe abortion. Dr. Weitz founded and directed the Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH) program at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health. Under her leadership, ANSIRH’s ensured that reproductive health care and policy were grounded in evidence. Based on her research, in 2013 the California passed a law allowing nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives and physician assistants to perform of abortions Dr. Weitz has a master’s degree in public administration with an emphasis in health care from Missouri Southern University and a doctoral degree in medical sociology from UCSF. Dr. Weitz has received numerous awards for her work, served on the board of the ACLU of Northern California, the Society of Family Planning, the National Women’s History Project, and current chairs the board of directors for Breast Cancer Action.

Alfonso Wenker is a nerd about all things philanthropy, facilitation and movement building. In addition to his consulting practice, he is director of program strategy and racial equity at the Minnesota Council on Foundations. He serves as lead trainer for the Council’s professional development programs and consults with grantmakers interested in advancing equity. Previously, he worked at the Bush Foundation developing leadership development programs and creating a regional intermediary strategy. Alfonso led grassroots, online and event fundraising for the historic Minnesotans United for All Families “Vote No” campaign and was the first fulltime program director for PFund Foundation, the Upper Midwest’s LGBT community fund from 2007 – 2011. Alfonso was a co-chair of the 2011 Creating Change conference, the recipient of the 2014 Minnesota Council of Nonprofits Catalytic Leader Award, and is a Humphrey Policy Fellow. He loves political conversations on patios and trying to make Mexican food as well as his mom. He is a proud millennial with a carefully curated social media presence.

Kristina Wertz joined Funders for LGBTQ Issues as Director of Engagement in 2013. Kristina oversees the organization’s programmatic efforts to increase the scale and impact of funding for LGBTQ communities through convenings and collective action. Kristina has a deep commitment to social justice with over a decade of experience advocating for LGBTQ communities as an attorney and policy advocate. Her track record includes litigating a number of groundbreaking transgender rights cases and expanding legislative protections for transgender and gender nonconforming people. Most recently, as Director of Policy and Programs and Legal Director at the Transgender Law Center, Kristina lead multidisciplinary litigation, advocacy, and movement building programs. In 2011, Kristina was named on the National LGBT Bar Association’s inaugural list of “Top Lawyers Under 40.” She is a graduate of NYU and Brooklyn Law School. A proud San Francisco native, Kristina is adjusting to country life in upstate New York with her partner and new baby.

Marilynn Winn is Co-Founder and Lead Organizer of Women on the Rise, a grassroots organization led by formerly incarcerated women working for healthy families, justice for all women, and a reduction of the number of women under correctional control in the state of Georgia. Ms. Winn served as Co-Chair of Board of Directors of 9to5 Atlanta and Lead Organizer with 9 to 5 Atlanta Working Women. She led efforts to initiate the Georgia movement to “Ban the Box” where her community organizing led to the removal of questions about felony information on employment applications numerous Georgia counties. After delivering over 130,000 signed petitions to the White House, President Obama issued an Executive Order to ban the box on federal applications. She has been recognized for her community activism and has received awards in recognition of her plight: the Lilly Ledbetter Award from 9to5 Atlanta Working Women; a letter of recognition from former President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Roselynn Carter; and the Inspire Award from First Step Staffing.

Xay Yang is a Masters of Social Work graduate student at the University of Minnesota. She identifies as a queer Hmong woman and has spent the last 9 years organizing in the LGBTQ community. Xay helped to build the only LGBTQ Caregiver Initiative in the State of Minnesota which received the distinguished Community Award at the Age and Odyssey Award Recognition. Additionally, Xay co-founded the Upper Midwest Queer Indigenous People or Color Regional Conference (with Jason!) and is the founder of Hmong Queerchives (pronounced like “archives”): collecting Hmong LGBTQ archives, stories and experiences as well as the co-organizer of the Txuj Ci Showcase, highlighting queer/trans Hmong and ally artists. Currently, she serves on the Leadership Team at Shades of Yellow (SOY) and is a DSWAP fellow at the Family Partnership providing direct therapy.

Rye Young is the Executive Director of Third Wave Fund which supports and strengthens youth-led gender justice activism focusing on efforts that advance the political power, well-being, and self-determination of communities of color and low-income communities. He serves on the Board of Directors of the New York Abortion Access Fund and Funders for LGBTQ Issues, and serves on the advisory board of A is For. Rye is passionate about expanding opportunities for communities who are most affected by oppression yet remain marginalized in our movements and in philanthropy.