2021 Corporate Philanthropy Institute

Steve has a long history with NCG including stints on various committees as well as the NCG and Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers boards. Over the last several years he’s been a consultant on special projects, corporate philanthropy and social responsibility and briefings. As Vice President of Strategic Initiatives, he’s focused on programs, initiatives and projects that address the issues affecting our region from displacement and gentrification to income inequality to the arts, climate change and disaster resiliency. 

In addition to his consulting practice, Steve has been the Director for Foundation and Corporate Giving at Gap Inc., a program officer at the Marin Community Foundation, and served in Mayoral administrations in both San Francisco and Oakland. When he’s not working you can often find him at Amoeba Music, traveling abroad, binge watching an amazing series, exploring the Bay Area or at some wine bar.

Kendra is an experienced project leader in FSG’s San Francisco office who leverages her deep expertise in education to design and facilitate collaborative learning and strategic planning processes. At FSG, Kendra has led a number of engagements with clients seeking to deepen their commitment to racial equity and justice, including a large national bank, a family foundation, and The Cleveland Foundation. Kendra works with clients to deepen their understanding of how systemic racism has shaped their field/industry and develop strategies for equitable systems change. Kendra’s passion for education and racial justice has been at the center of her career. Prior to joining FSG, she spent eight years as an English and History teacher at a diverse public school where she co-founded an innovative interdisciplinary program emphasizing project-based learning and 21st-century skills. Kendra has a Master in Education (MA) from Stanford University and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the Yale School of Management.

Lynelle is a business executive, investor and board member with 20+ years of corporate experience helping large and small companies capitalize on market opportunities related to ESG, sustainability, social impact and climate change.  She is passionate about transforming business risk into stakeholder value for investors, customers, employees and society.  
 
As Vice President of Sustainability at Autodesk, Lynelle is on a mission to embed sustainability into the technology platform that is used by architecture, engineering, construction and manufacturing companies to design and make products, buildings, highways and even cities.. Under her leadership, Autodesk consistently ranks as a global sustainability leader and is now the 4th most sustainable company in the world according to Barron’s. 

Lynelle is the founding CEO of the Autodesk Foundation, the first of its kind to invest in system entrepreneurs and innovators who are using design and engineering to tackle the twin challenges of climate change and rising inequality. She is on a mission to unlock philanthropic capital to support a portfolio of companies accelerating the transition to a sustainable and resilient economy this decade.   

Lynelle also leads Autodesk’s Global Crisis Management Team and is tasked with preparing the company and the workforce to thrive in the turbulent decade ahead.  Previously Lynelle was in a similar leadership role at Hewlett Packard designing and building their sustainability strategy and team.   

A cultural anthropologist by training, Lynelle has lived and worked in frontier markets of Africa, India and other parts of Asia with several nonprofit organizations.  She has served on a number of boards working at the intersection of climate, health, education and business.  She has an MBA from UC Berkeley, an MS from University of Michigan and a BA from Middlebury College.   

She is a business strategist, systems thinker and cautious optimist. She believes in humanity and believes business can and will accelerate the transition to a sustainable economy this decade.

As executive vice president, community action, policy and strategy, Gina is responsible for leading Silicon Valley Community Foundation’s impact team to ensure Silicon Valley is a place where all people can lead financially secure, safe and fulfilling lives. As a member of the Executive Leadership team, Gina helps ensure that the principles of equity are applied to all the initiatives SVCF pursues in fulfillment of its mission. 

Prior to her appointment as EVP, Gina served as senior vice president for public policy and special advisor to the CEO, driving SVCF’s public policy agenda at the regional, state and national levels. SVCF’s California lobbying work is centered around affordable housing, education, immigration, economic security, equity and justice. With Gina’s leadership, SVCF became a leading voice in Washington, D.C., on topics that advance the philanthropic sector. 

Gina was pivotal in the passage of the California Mathematics Placement Act of 2015, signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown in October 2015, and sponsored by Silicon Valley Community Foundation. She serves as a member of the Council on Foundations’ Policy Committee, the League of California Community Foundations’ Policy Committee and Chair of its Housing Committee.  Previously, Gina was SVCF’s director of grantmaking. She also led SVCF’s education grantmaking strategy, as well as the Silicon Valley Common Core Initiative. 

Prior to joining SVCF, Gina was director of innovation at the Silicon Valley Education Foundation. Before moving to the United States, she held several positions related to urban economic development and regulatory economics in the federal and state public sector in Mexico. She holds a Bachelor of Science in economics from ITAM in Mexico City, a Master of Science in economics from the University of London and a Master of Arts in international policy studies from Stanford University. She is an American Leadership Forum Fellow. She resides in Palo Alto with her husband and has two wonderful children. 

Becky Ferguson is COO of the Salesforce Foundation & Vice President of Philanthropy at Salesforce. In this role she oversees grant-making operations, sets grants management strategy, builds alignment and partnerships, and enables ongoing learning and improvement. Becky has more than 15 years of experience scaling social good initiatives globally, including nine years at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in roles making and managing large international grant portfolios and leading strategy, planning and management activities. Her professional experience also includes positions in grassroots community organizations, the Dutch Planned Parenthood affiliate, and UNESCO’s Education Sector across settings in the US, the Netherlands, France, Spain, Ethiopia, and India. She holds a Master of Public Health from the University of North Carolina and a Master of Business Administration in Sustainable Systems from Presidio Graduate School.

AISHA FUKUSHIMA is a Performance Lecturer, Justice Strategist, Singer/Songwriter, and RAPtivist (rap activist). Fukushima founded RAPtivism (Rap Activism), a hip hop project spanning 20 countries and four continents, amplifying universal efforts for freedom and justice. She is a multilingual, multiracial African American Japanese woman who has done lectures and performances everywhere from the United States to France, Morocco, Japan, Germany, England, South Africa, Senegal, India, Denmark and beyond. Fukushima’s ‘RAPtivism’ work has been featured on Oprah Magazine, TEDx, KQED Public Television, The Seattle Times, TV 2M Morocco, The Bangalore Mirror, HYPE, South Africa’s #1 Hip Hop Magazine, and Tour highlights include performing for audiences of over 20,000 people in Nepal, speaking with the President of Estonia about the power of music to create change, and sharing stages with the likes of Bernie Sanders, Emory Douglas (Black Panthers), KRS-One, Herbie Hancock, Christian McBride, The Isley Brothers, and M1 (Dead Prez). As a public speaker, Aisha combines the art of performance and lecture. In my keynotes she links themes such as hip hop, global citizenship, empowerment, feminism and cultural activism through storytelling as well as live musical performance.

As a public speaker, Fukushima combines the art of performance and lecture. In her speeches she links themes such as hip hop, global citizenship, empowerment, feminism and cultural activism with live musical performance. She was the first non-Native person to deliver a keynote address at Montana’s 2012 Schools of Promise Conference for Indigenous youth and has presented at such diverse venues as Stanford University, Yale Law School, Duke University, the National Conference On Race and Ethnicity (NCORE), People of Color in Independent Schools (POCIS) conferences, UMass Amherst, TEDxSitka, TEDxBend, TEDxWhitman, TEDxUWCCR, Rock The School Bells, Osaka University, among others.

Tara Lynn Gray was appointed by Governor Newsom to Director of the California Office of the Small Business Advocate on March 19, 2021. Prior to her appointment, she was Chief Executive Officer of the Fresno Metro Black Chamber of Commerce and Chamber Foundation (FMBCF), where she engaged, educated, and empowered small businesses in California’s Central Valley.   

As California’s Small Business Advocate, Gray sits on the Small Business Advisory Council which provides input on policies and practices that impact small business participation in the state procurement and contracting process and is led by the California Department of General Services (DGS).   

Gray has leveraged the green economy to advance equity, developed an employment & training program in green jobs for young adults 18-24 years old, and managed a network of organizations working to advance electric vehicle ownership. As part of the region’s DRIVE Investment Plan, Gray was instrumental in developing the local initiative Betting Big on Small Businesses Owned by Women and People of Color which aims to provide economic mobility for entrepreneurs in disinvested neighborhoods, closing opportunity gaps, and providing culturally competent entrepreneur education & technical assistance.   

Gray has been an Advisor for Solano and Alameda County Small Business Development Centers, served as a non-profit Program Manager and Director of Operations as well as run her own consulting business. Past and present boards and commissions include Central Valley New Market Tax Credit Fund, CA Black Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Caltrans Small Business Council, State of CA Employment Development Department Small Business Employer Advisory Committee (EDD SBEAC), CA Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, Hospital Supplier Diversity Commission, and Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP).   

Gray’s education includes a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management from St. Mary’s College, Moraga, CA; a Master of Arts in Christian Studies from Grand Canyon University, Phoenix, AZ; a Management Development for Entrepreneurs Certificate, UCLA Anderson School of Management; and various Information Technology certifications. 

Jamila Henderson, Senior Associate, works on the equitable economy team, focusing on the National Equity Atlas and the use of data to advance equity and inclusion. Prior to joining PolicyLink, Jamila worked as a senior policy analyst at the John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities at Stanford University where she analyzed educational data for students facing barriers to high school graduation. Prior to this, she worked as a data analyst at the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, a regional planning agency in Metro Boston. She holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Spelman College and a master’s degree in city and regional planning from the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University. Outside of work you can find her at a community festival or event in Oakland or at home having a salsa dance party with her husband and daughter. 

Nick Johnson serves as Senior Vice President for State Fiscal Policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a Washington, D.C-based research and policy institute.  He directs the Center’s State Fiscal Policy division, which works to advance equity, accountability, and economic opportunity through stronger state budget and tax policies. 

Over his more than 20-year career as a researcher at the Center, Johnson has written extensively on a range of state fiscal policy issues. He also serves as an advisor to the members of the State Priorities Partnership, a network of independent state-level policy organizations. 

In 2004 Johnson was awarded an Ian Axford Fellowship in Public Policy and served as an advisor to the New Zealand Treasury and the New Zealand Ministry of Social Development, conducting analysis of that country’s programs of tax relief and cash assistance for low-income families. 

In 2014 Johnson was named to the Nonprofit Times Power & Influence Top 50. In 2010 State Tax Notes magazine named Johnson to its “All Decade State Tax Team.” 

Johnson holds a graduate degree from Duke University's Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy and an undergraduate degree from Yale University.  He came to the Center in 1996 from the staff of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry. 

Abbie Langston, Senior Associate, leads the development of the National Equity Atlas as part of the research partnership between PolicyLink and the USC Equity Research Institute. With the Atlas team, she conducts signature research to make the case for racial economic equity, partners with leaders and community organizations across the country to create tailored analyses that advance local campaigns and offers training and technical assistance to democratize access to equity data. She serves on the Industry & Inclusion Advisory Board for The Century Foundation and the Urban Manufacturing Alliance and is especially interested in large-scale systems change to create an equitable future of work. Abbie joined PolicyLink as a 2015-2017 Mellon/ACLS Public Fellow. She holds a Ph.D. from the Graduate Program in Literature at Duke University, where she specialized in American studies and critical race and ethnic studies. 

Jennifer Loving has spent her career spearheading efforts to better serve the needs of homeless individuals and families in Silicon Valley. Jennifer has developed and collaborated on numerous innovative models including the County’s first Housing First program for homeless families and the Housing 1000 Campaign, which brought more than 1,000 chronically homeless men and women home. She has also overseen the development and implementation of the 2015 Community Plan to End Homelessness and the production of Home Not Found, the most comprehensive cost of homelessness study completed in the United States. Jennifer is a senior fellow with American Leadership Forum and is on the board of SV@Home. In 2016, Jennifer was appointed to the Board of Commissioners for the Housing Authority of the County of Santa Clara and appointed by the California State Senate to serve as a member of the State of California Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council. Jennifer holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in counseling psychology from California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo, and is a graduate of the Harvard Business School’s Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management program. 

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Dwayne S. Marsh assumed the position of President and CEO of Northern California Grantmakers on September 9, 2020. He brings 27 years of experience in the public, nonprofit, and philanthropic sectors with a career commitment to advancing racial and economic equity.

Dwayne recently completed a four-year turn as co-Director of the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) and Vice President of Institutional and Sectoral Change at Race Forward Race Forward. During his tenure, the membership network of local, regional, and state entities committed to advancing racial equity through the policies, practices, and public investments grew from just over 20 to nearly 200 participating jurisdictions.

Prior to GARE, Marsh spent six years as a senior advisor in the Office of Economic Resilience (OER) at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. There, he helped advance sustainable planning and development through interagency partnerships, departmental transformation, and funding initiatives managed through OER. He was OER’s principal coordinator for a $250 million grant program and led the development of capacity building resources that reinforced the work of pioneering grantees in 48 states and the District of Columbia. Under his leadership, OER prioritized equity as a foundational principal for its planning and investment initiatives.

Marsh brings to the movement his expertise and considerable experience in coalition building for regional equity and leadership development for policy change. He provides technical assistance and capacity building knowledge to equitable development initiatives that address continuing disparities in affordable housing, transportation investment, and environmental justice. Before HUD, Marsh spent a decade at PolicyLink, the national organization committed to economic and social equity. Before PolicyLink, he directed the FAITHS Initiative for eight years at The San Francisco Foundation, building a nationally renowned community development and capacity building program that continues to this day. His career has been defined by supporting communities traditionally marginalized from full participation in our economy and society to build power and leverage lasting systems transformation.

A renowned expert on the American economy, HEATHER MCGHEE is one of the most brilliant and influential thinkers exploring inequality today. Both her viral TED talk and her instant New York Times bestseller The Sum of Us reveal the devastating true cost of racism—not just for people of color, but for everyone. Deeply stirring, intelligent, and compassionate, McGhee’s talks offer us an actionable roadmap during one of the most critical—and most troubled—periods in history. 

What if, in the middle of your live TV appearance, someone called in and asked for advice in overcoming racial prejudice? For public policy expert Heather C. McGhee, the response was natural: she helped. Not long after the appearance went viral (it’s now been viewed over 8 million times), Starbucks founder Howard Schultz asked her to advise the company as it designed an anti-bias training for 175,000 employees—this, in the wake of an unjust arrest of two Black men in one of their Philadelphia stores. The viral exchange also inspired McGhee to kick off a cross-country journey throughout America, where she explored what we lose when we buy into the “zero-sum” paradigm—the idea that progress for some, comes at the expense of others. Her deeply personal experiences come together in her new book The Sum Of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together. In it, she illuminates how racism is at the root of some of our most vexing public problems, from collapsing infrastructure to rising student debt. 

As the former president of the inequality-focused think tank Demos, McGhee has drafted legislation, testified before Congress, and become a regular contributor on shows like Meet the Press and Real Time with Bill Maher. She also led Demos’ own racial equity organizational transformation, resulting in a doubling of the organization’s racial diversity and growth across all measures of organizational impact. McGhee’s riveting talks communicate this with passion and seriousness, “challenging the paradigm of racial competition in this country.” Racism doesn’t just hurt us on a personal level. It divides and alienates companies and their employees, employees and their clients, clients and brands. The trickledown, explains McGhee, is far-reaching. Her talks address this with clear takeaways, like how to make the process mission-critical, how to get buy-in from your teams, and how to do it all with joy.

McGhee holds a B.A. in American Studies from Yale University and a J.D. from the University of California at Berkeley School of Law. She is the Chair of the Board of Color of Change, the country's largest online racial justice organization, and serves on multiple other boards of trustees, including the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and Demos. For the latest updates on Heather's writing, speeches, and media appearances, visit www.heathermcghee.com. 

An Oakland native, Brandon Nicholson is founding Executive Director of The Hidden Genius Project.  He has dedicated his life to promoting equity in the public realm, particularly in the education space.  In his previous stint as a senior evaluator and consultant, Brandon conducted research, evaluation, and consulted on a range of projects related to intersections of education policy and workforce and economic development.  It was there that he began to recognize the potential for technology to bolster the domestic and global economy as underrepresented populations gain more equitable access to growth sectors.  Brandon has conducted substantial research in the areas of education and youth development, with a particular focus on issues of equity and access in K-12 education for underserved populations.  He has considerable experience investigating linkages among race, class, and youth development.

Kaci is the Founder and President of Social Good Solutions (SGS), a boutique consulting practice she launched in 2014 after nearly 18 years of working in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors. Always with an eye toward human and community development, SGS works with philanthropic institutions, nonprofit organizations, and public entities to co-create, operationalize and manage strategic initiatives from concept to implementation, using a racial justice and community-centered framework to guide the work.

Prior to consulting, Kaci held entry-to-executive-level roles within the nonprofit sector, leading capacity building, education advocacy and social justice initiatives where she facilitated networks of organizations and served over 1,000 civil society leaders and public officials worldwide. In addition to managing multi-million-dollar grant-making portfolios in the United States and abroad, Kaci has created programs recognized as breakthrough contributions in her field: the School Boards and Community Engagement Initiative (2011), B.L.A.C.C. (Building Leaders and Cultivating Change), a grassroots social activism fund (2014), and the Black Equity Initiative/Black Equity Collective (2017/2021). She was named a California Community Foundation Unsung Hero of Los Angeles for her work with the BLACC Fund (2016); named to the first 40 under 40 class by the Empowerment Congress (2016); honored with the Wally Marks Change-Maker of the Year award by Liberty Hill Foundation (2017); chosen as a LA CAN Freedom Now award recipient (2019) and was selected into the 2019 inaugural class of The Aspen Institute Civil Society Fellowship.

She has served as the Chief Strategist of the Black Equity Initiative since its inception in 2017, a racial justice philanthropic initiative she designed, and now serves as the Founder and Chief Architect of the Black Equity Collective, launching in 2021 under her leadership.

Kaci sits on the board of Social Justice Partners—Los Angeles, Tides Advocacy, and is a state commissioner in the Department of Consumer Affairs. She is a certified mediator, a graduate of Pepperdine and holds an MBA in Organizational Management & Leadership from the University of LaVerne.

As the Regional Vice President for External and Community Affairs at Kaiser Permanente in Northern California, Yvette is accountable for the organization’s $1.2 billion Community Benefit portfolio, Community Relations Program, Regional Government Relations, and Community Health strategy.  

In this capacity, Yvette' leads Kaiser Permanente’s efforts to tackle the pressing issues facing our community’s most vulnerable residents: reducing mental health stigma, addressing affordable housing and homelessness, building economic security for all, eliminating health disparities, and creating safer and more equitable communities.   

Yvette represents Kaiser Permanente on several boards and commissions. Governor Jerry Brown appointed her to the California Volunteers Commission in 2014, where she was re-appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom and is currently the Commission’s Vice Chair. Yvette is also a member of the Board of Directors of the San Francisco Foundation, one of the country’s largest community foundations, and Stephen and Ayesha Curry’s Eat Learn Play Foundation. Prior to joining Kaiser Permanente, Yvette spent many years working for the California State Legislature. 

Yvette is a catalyst for creating meaningful and lasting change in the community. Her fearless leadership, ability to meet critical needs, commitment to equity, and kind heart have improved conditions in our communities and helped more people live healthy and thrive. 

In her 14th year, LadyRyan is a Bay area favorite — inspiring a sense of safety, joy, and belonging as a spiritual conductor and dedicated professional. Her music and voice have been riding the wave of partygoers from coast to coast.

In 2011, LadyRyan co-founded SOULOVELY, creating space for QTBIPOC community and packing in hundreds of people at one of the best seasonal outdoor monthly parties nine years strong.

A deep range of knowledge of multiple genres of music balanced with the right touch of nostalgia makes her ability to conduct high vibrations a sure shot! 

Randal Seriguchi, Jr. competes with the school to prison pipeline. As the Executive Director of UEA, he is supporting the early leg of a parallel pipeline to success for the remaining African American boys in the city. Through Saturday school programming, STEM experiences, in-school mentorship, and strong community engagement, UEA is a reliable partner in the elementary school space. He is a leading advocate for recruiting more men of color into the classroom. Prior to moving to San Francisco, Randy spent 5 years working to lift up social justice through education in D.C. and California. He is an active member of the New York State Bar Association, holds a Juris Doctor degree from the American University Washington College of Law, and received his Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Michigan.

As Senior Manager of CECP’s Data Insights team, André translates a rich repository of quantitative data collected from nearly 300 leading companies into actionable insights. These findings are used year-round by CECP’s community of corporate giving professionals to inform their strategy-setting and decision-making. André analyses data and co-authors trends releases such as the Giving in Numbers annual report. André also provides fast-track consulting, data solutions to support companies in making the business case for their work, valuation expertise on CECP’s surveys, and manages information partnerships with academic institutions and journalists. He is also a researcher and presenter on DEI metrics, measurement and scorecard development for corporations, and leads the research for Investing in Society report covering breadth of reported corporate DEI metrics. 

Nicole Taylor is the president and CEO of Silicon Valley Community Foundation–the country's largest community foundation with nearly $2 billion in annual grantmaking and a deep commitment to solving its region’s toughest challenges through advocacy, research, policy and grantmaking. Nicole brings together a rich background in Bay Area philanthropy, nonprofit and higher education administration and fundraising with extensive experience in both the private and public sectors. Since taking the helm of SVCF in late 2018, Nicole has led the organization to renew its focus on the many challenges facing residents of San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. She has championed efforts to increase local giving from SVCF donors and offer donors new avenues for working with the community foundation so they can be effective philanthropists.

Nicole received both her M.A. in Education and A.B. in Human Biology from Stanford University, and she began her career as an educator in Oakland public schools. She served on the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco for six years and is currently a board member for Common Sense Media and co-chair of Joint Venture Silicon Valley’s Board of Directors.

Carrie Varoquiers is the Chief Philanthropy Officer at Workday, where she leads the company's philanthropic grantmaking and impact partnerships. She launched Opportunity Onramps, the company’s flagship workforce development movement focused on closing the opportunity gap and creating economic mobility.   

Prior to joining Workday, Ms. Varoquiers served as President of the McKesson Foundation and Vice President of Corporate Citizenship at McKesson Corporation.  While there, Carrie developed the McKesson Foundation's "Mobilizing for Health" grant initiative, which encourages the use of mobile technologies in chronic care, and launched and led the environmental sustainability function. 

Carrie received her BA from U.C. Berkeley, her MBA from Golden Gate University, and her MPH from Johns Hopkins University.   She serves on the board of JVS in San Francisco and leads a philanthropic consultancy, Cool Planet Food, focused on cooling the planet through food system change. 

Martin Whittaker is the founding CEO of JUST Capital and is responsible for the overall leadership of the organization. He is also co-founder and Board member of the CREO Syndicate, a family office investment network; a Board member of the Carbon Disclosure Project U.S.; and a member of the Forbes Finance Council and Forbes Contributor. He was recently named to the 2020 NACD Directorship 100 – the annual list of the most influential people in the boardroom and on corporate governance – and to Business Insider’s 2020 List of 100 People Transforming Business. 

Previously, Martin was a founding partner and investment committee member at Sonen Capital, an impact investing firm, where he led private equity, real asset, and direct investing activities. Martin has also served as Director of MissionPoint Capital Partners, a family office-led private equity firm; Senior Vice President at Swiss Re, where he was part of the Environmental and Commodity Markets team; and Managing Director at Innovest Strategic Value Advisors, Inc., a pioneering sustainable investment advisory and research firm. 

Martin received his Ph.D. from University of Edinburgh, an MBA from the University of London, an M.Sc. from McGill University and a B.Sc. from University of St. Andrews. 

Martin has also served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto, provided expert testimony on environmental markets to the U.S. Senate, guest lectured at multiple business schools, consulted to major corporations on sustainability- and impact-related matters, and been an invited speaker, published writer, and contributor via television, print, social media, and conferences throughout his career.