Rising Leaders Cohort Information Session & Q&A

Victoria Nichols (she/her) serves as the Project Director for Free the Pill at Ibis Reproductive Health (Ibis). In this role she leads a 200+ member coalition and public facing campaign focused on bringing birth control pills over the counter (OTC) in the United States, ensuring that they are priced affordably, fully covered by insurance and accessible to people of all ages. In 2023, she led the coalition and campaign to a historic win that was two decades in the making: the FDA approval of the first-ever OTC birth control pill in the US. Now she is working with partners to educate providers and communities, support equitable access and lay the groundwork for future OTC switches.

With a background in health policy and a passion for transforming systems for the better, Victoria has devoted the past 10 years of her career to advancing equity and promoting innovative models of care. She has had the privilege of working with mission-aligned nonprofit and philanthropic organizations and is committed to centering community experts to lead and inform change. Victoria holds a Master of Public Health in Health Policy and Management from UC Berkeley, a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and Government from Claremont McKenna College and participated in the Northern California Grantmaker’s Rising Leaders Cohort in 2020. In her free time, Victoria enjoys traveling, practicing meditation, and spending time with loved ones.

Amanda (she/her/ella) is a Director at Third Plateau. In this role, she supports the firm's philanthropic management clients with creating and implementing their grantmaking processes. She also oversees the firm's internal culture work - creating structures that help Third Plateau to embody its values and to create a culture of inclusion and belonging.

Amanda’s background is in education. In her roles as a 7th grade science teacher, academic advisor, and college counselor, Amanda collaborated with community partners and organizations to bring new, enriching programming to her students. Amanda has B.A.s in Political Science and Spanish from UC Davis, and her Ed.M from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Amanda loves her Mexican-American culture and family -so much that she added a daughter to the crew in December 2023. She loves to read, travel, and find ways to incorporate any of the shows she’s currently watching or rewatching into conversation - (it's currently Girls5Eva).

Kate Ray joined the Heising-Simons Foundation in 2024 as a program associate supporting the Education team. Prior to joining the Foundation, Kate worked for the Rogers Family Foundation in the final years leading up to the spenddown of its Oakland Education Strategy. There she gained experience supporting grantmaking and administrative operations, serving as a program officer for select grantee partners, co-designing and launching a communications strategy, and providing tailored technical assistance to grantees. Kate is passionate about trust-based philanthropy, supporting grantees beyond the grant, and ensuring young people have educational experiences that empower them to thrive.

Kate has a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from the University of North Texas, and a master’s degree in higher education leadership from Texas Christian University.