Lean Funders: Building Organizational Resilience in Nonprofit Partners

Nilofar Gardezi is a Program Officer and Grants Manager at the Dean & Margaret Lesher Foundation, which funds programs in Contra Costa County supporting arts & culture, education, and children and families. Nilofar is currently a member of the Council on Foundation's Career Pathways Program. She was also a Northern California Grantmaker's Rising Leader and a Mellon-ACLS Public Fellow. Nilofar holds a Ph.D. in English from University of California, Berkeley, and a B.A. in African American Studies from Yale College.

Rebeca joined the Y & H Soda Foundation in 2020 and is responsible for economic justice grants that address the root causes of economic inequity in the East Bay, especially for immigrants. As a cross-sector leader, Rebeca’s career has spanned the private, public, and social sectors. Rebeca was a Senior Vice President at Bank of the West where she directed the Bank’s philanthropic investments and corporate social responsibility initiatives. Rebeca also served as a Bank of the West Charitable Foundation Trustee, Secretary for the Bank’s Executive Management Committee, and Special Assistant to the Chairman. Rebeca worked in federal government as a Legislative Assistant on Capitol Hill and as a Judicial Law Clerk for the Department of Justice. Rebeca has also served the social sector as the New Americans Campaign Program Manager at the Immigrant Legal Resource Center and as a past Board Member of the Making Waves Foundation and Familias Unidas, both based in her hometown of Richmond, California. Rebeca holds a BA in Urban Studies from Stanford University, a MPP from Harvard Kennedy School, and a JD from Northwestern School of Law.

Dana joined the Rogers Family Foundation in July 2013. As the Deputy Director, she played a central role in the execution of the Rogers Family Foundation’s 2020 Oakland Education Strategy by overseeing and managing the operational functions of grants management, the Foundation’s program team, grant level and strategy evaluation, and communications. In addition, Dana worked with external partners to increase transparency, access, and usability of public school data while simultaneously building data knowledge and capacity among schools and collaborative working groups.

Prior to joining the Foundation, Dana served as the Project Manager for the Education Equals Partnership, an initiative focused on improving educational outcomes for children and youth in California’s foster care system. Much of her career has been dedicated to supporting philanthropic-funded efforts to transform the California child welfare system. Dana received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Studio Art from Mills College. She lives in Oakland with her partner, daughter, and one adorable dog.