Participants | Rising Leaders Cohort

Faiza Bukhari brings extensive experience in the non-profit sector to the Fund and is passionate about transformative change in organizations and communities.Before joining the Walter & Elise Haas Fund, Faiza served as the Director of Admissions for Saybrook University where she worked to redesign enrollment priorities and developed a new model for student achievement and success.Prior to that, Faiza worked as a recruiter for The May Institute in Revere, MA, where she worked to improve day-programs and residential services for autistic children and adults.She also ran the Department of Writing and Rhetoric at the State University of New York, Stony Brook, while she was a student there earning her degrees in Comparative Literature and Cinema & Cultural Studies.Faiza is also a lifelong arts enthusiast who has exhibited her work at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.She spends her weekends teaching ESL, reading, inventing recipes, and hiking

Jenny Chan is a Program Associate at van Loben Sels/RembeRock Foundation where she plays both a programmatic and operational role as part of a tiny staff of two. She manages the Foundation's grants management system and communications, and supports all aspects of due diligence review and grantmaking in legal services, the Foundation's primary focus. Previously, Jenny has spent time working as a grantseeker, working in the private sector, creating visual art, and doing various performing arts. Jenny was born and raised in Hong Kong and has lived in Houston, Texas, where she earned her bachelor's degree in sociology from Rice University. She currently lives in Berkeley.

Jodie Clark is a Program Associate in Global Development and Population at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. She supports grantmaking that aims to increase transparency, participation and accountability between governments and citizens, and increase the use of evidence in policy decisions that affect developing countries.

Previously, she was a program associate at Packard Foundation’s population and reproductive health care program where she focused on sub-Saharan Africa. Prior to that, she was the program and operations manager at the Rockin’ Appalachian Mom Project, a Connecticut-based organization dedicated to responding to nutrition, economic development, and emergency relief needs among children and families in Martin County, Kentucky.

While pursuing graduate studies, Jodie supported a research initiative led by the International Water Management Institute to identify effective small-scale irrigation solutions in Zambia, and worked with Oxfam International to research new methods for evaluating women’s rights and gender equity programs.

Born in the Bay Area and raised in Hawaii, Jodie has a bachelor’s degree in legal studies from Bates College in Maine and a master’s degree in sustainable international development from Brandeis University.

Ariana Díaz De León holds the position of Community Impact Officer at Community Foundation Sonoma County; her grant-making fields of interest include Foster Youth, Homelessness, Basic Human Needs, Latino Leadership, and Environmental Education. Prior to joining the philanthropy field, Ariana was a Data Analyst for the Office of Reporting & Analytics at Sonoma State University, where she received a Master of Public Administration degree with an emphasis in Public Management. Ariana also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Social Work from California State University, Long Beach.

Ariana has served as a Sonoma County Commission on the Status of Women representative since 2016, and co-manages the Junior Commission on the Status of Women program, empowering high school youth to advocate for women’s rights and become leaders in the community. Ariana is a proud daughter of Mexican immigrants and her background and education fuel her motivation to empower those without access in order to help build an equitable community for all.

Lane joined the David and Lucile Packard Foundation in 2017. In her role, she provides training, project management, and operational support for the Office of the General Counsel and leads a number of cross-functional efforts to promote Professional Development and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Prior to joining the Foundation, Lane taught high school English in Arizona and holds Bachelor’s degrees in both Secondary Education and English Literature and a Master’s in Teaching. Outside of work, she is a member of the Board of Directors at California School-Age Consortium and volunteers with the Junior League of Palo Alto Mid-Peninsula and Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area.

Sarah is the Program and Grants Manager at the Silver Giving Foundation. Prior to joining Silver Giving, Sarah was a Program Associate on the Education Team at the Heising-Simons Foundation, focusing on early math, governance, workforce and advocacy in early childhood education. Sarah previously worked in development and strategic planning at Council for a Strong America, where she managed board planning and engagement, corporate donor recruitment, and prospect identification. Sarah received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from Loyola University Chicago. Sarah serves on the board of the Hope Strengthens Foundation, is the co-chair of the steering committee for Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy (EPIP) Bay Area, and is part of the Emerging Leaders Cohort for Technology Association of Grantmakers. 

April is the Special Initiatives and Communications Associate at the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund. She plays a key role in administering grants for the Haas, Jr. Fund’s community partnerships and initiatives, including Crissy Field and SFMOMA. She also supports internal and external communications efforts at the Fund. April serves on the board of Compose Fashion, a nonprofit that seeks to support local art programs through creating a collaborative showcase of artists and composers. Born in the Philippines and raised in San Francisco, her work is motivated by a desire to create more equitable communities for all people and a commitment to social justice and advocacy. April is a first-generation college graduate with bachelor’s degrees in Asian American studies and physical anthropology from U.C. Santa Barbara.

J. M. Johnson provides flexible and knowledgeable partnership that helps funders move from idea to impact, supporting Arabella’s clients in navigating the ambiguity and challenges inherent in building new initiatives and communities. His work focuses on operationalizing programmatic visions and authentically convening and engaging stakeholders to foster momentum and shared and inclusive ownership of new initiatives and movements. In short: he specializes in helping clients get things done to see their strategies come to life. His work at Arabella draws on 10 years of striving for environmental, economic, and LGBTQ justice, an unwavering commitment to advancing the common good, and the skill set he has developed over the years to collaborate with others on these goals.

From 2016 to 2018, J. M. was responsible for high-level management of the Windward Fund’s central operations, including governance, communications, development, and finance. J. M. worked with the Windward Fund board of directors to hone their strategic vision for contributing to the broader environmental movement, and he continues to lead implementation of the organization’s strategic plan. Additionally, J. M. has directly supervised the management of several complex initiatives hosted at the Windward Fund and New Venture Fund, partnering with foundations to build efficient and grantee-centered grant-making processes, participating in the design and implementation of governance structures, and managing stakeholder relationships between funders and grantee partners.

Prior to joining Arabella, J. M. partnered with the executives of Climate Policy Initiative, an international think tank focused on climate finance, to develop and implement personnel and operations strategies to make the organization successful. Before that, he managed the nationwide communications operations for the Sierra Club’s largest priority campaign, Beyond Coal. J. M. has extensive experience with early-stage social impact initiatives, having spent the earliest years of his career managing operations for a fiscally sponsored public health and social justice project in San Francisco.

Outside of the workplace, J. M. is on the Leadership Team of Horizons Young Professionals for Equality (HYPE), a grassroots movement working to promote accessible philanthropy, build a culture of giving, and support the leadership development of community-minded LGBTQ+ individuals and allies. HYPE empowers and unites emerging leaders in the San Francisco Bay Area through grant making to grassroots LGBTQ+ organizations and developing strong community relationships.

J. M. was a Presidential Scholar and graduated with honors with a BA in psychology and a minor in religion from Bluffton University.

Shannon implements strategies supporting the growth and visibility of Neighborhood Funders Group's national network and programming in the field of philanthropy. She helps members connect and build relationships with each other and with NFG through website, social media, and email communications. Her passion lies in lifting up the voices of organizers and grassroots leaders to highlight ideas and opportunities for addressing social inequities. Shannon's background is in advocating for workers' rights and providing support for the housing, economic, education, and health needs of immigrants, low-income communities, and communities of color. She has previously worked with Restaurant Opportunities Center (ROC) and the International Rescue Committee (IRC), and has served multiple terms on the Steering Committee of the Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy (EPIP) Bay Area Chapter. She holds a BA in Peace and Conflict Studies with a minor in Public Policy from the University of California at Berkeley. 

Stacie Mills is the Associate at GreenLight Fund Bay Area. In this role, Stacie helps bring programs with demonstrated and scalable impact to the Bay Area, exponentially growing reach and impact, providing economic mobility opportunities for more children, youth, and families. Her work includes in-depth research and due diligence on key local issues and prospective portfolio organizations, event management, strategic communications, and support with stakeholder outreach, donor cultivation, engagement, and stewardship. Prior to joining GreenLight Fund, Stacie worked at the James Irvine Foundation, expanding opportunity for the people of California by supporting initiatives across multiple portfolios. Prior to joining Irvine, she worked as a paralegal at Amity Law Group, LLP where she specialized in business law. Stacie holds a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Southern California and a master's degree in public administration from USC's Sol Price School of Public Policy. Stacie currently serves as the program chair for the Bay Area chapter of Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy. 

Tim is the Senior Political Strategist for the California Donor Table Fund where he advises a network of progressive donors to invest in regional and statewide strategies to build political power in communities of color throughout California. Before joining CDTF, Tim was the Political Director for Courage Campaign where he oversaw their statewide policy and electoral campaigns and co-founded the first-ever multi-issue California legislative score card (CourageScore.org).  Tim started his career in progressive politics organizing health care workers in the Bay Area with SEIU Local 1021. Originally from Los Angeles, Tim is currently based out of Sacramento.

Victoria Nichols (she/her) serves as an Associate Program Manager at Tides, a philanthropic partner and nonprofit accelerator dedicated to building a world of shared prosperity and social justice. With a background in health systems transformation and a passion for equity and innovation, she has focused her career on projects that aim to redesign policies, structures and systems to more strategically addressing socioeconomic inequities. Victoria’s current work at Tides involves managing an initiative called Policy Connect, which was launched in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to support a cohort of policy-focused grantees in coordinating to advance health equity for children and families. She recently wrote a blog piece on this work and how it has shaped her view on the role that philanthropy should play in fostering cross-organizational collaboration to advance health equity.

Beyond her work at Tides, Victoria is involved in efforts related to democratizing access to reproductive health technology and has written articles and presented at events including APHA, ESSENCE Festival and Youth Tech Health. Victoria earned a BA in philosophy and government from Claremont McKenna College and an MPH, focused on health policy and management from UC Berkeley. 

Melissa Nop (she/her/hers) joined GCIR more than two years ago. She previously served as an administrative and marketing assistant for WorldClinic, a telemedicine company, and held positions at two award-winning Sonoma wineries. She has served on the board of Summer Search, a national youth development organization, for nearly two years, and formerly served as a fundraising co-chair. Melissa earned a B.S. in Public Health, with a minor in International Studies, from Colby-Sawyer College in New Hampshire. As an undergraduate, she was chosen as a Benjamin E. Gilman Scholar to do health advocacy in Thailand. As a daughter of Cambodian refugees, she has always been passionate about addressing the challenges that immigrants and refugees face. While not working, she enjoys traveling, sampling the newest restaurants, wine tasting, and spending time with her loved ones.

Emma Noto currently serves as the Program Associate, Philanthropic Services at RSF Social Finance.  She is responsible for the daily grants operations, and is the primary point person for Donor Advised Funds. She also supports various grantmaking programs, including managing a grantmaking program for new organizations, and supporting the Shared Gifting participatory grant program. Previously, Emma was a Special Education teacher in Boston for several years through Teach for America, and currently serves on the Teach for America Alumni Board. Emma has a BA in Psychology from Bates College and received her MA in Education from Boston University.

Tina Novero is a Project Manager for the Office of Economic and Workforce Development, City and County of San Francisco. In her role, Tina manages the City’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) microenterprise portfolio, SF Women’s Entrepreneurship Programs, and other special projects that revolve around small business support.

Tina has committed her academic and professional pursuits to community development and empowerment. Her interest in community development stems from growing up as a second generation Filipino-American in the multicultural environment of San Francisco. She is most inspired by poverty alleviation strategies through women’s economic empowerment and social enterprises.  

Tina obtained her Bachelor’s in International Relations from San Francisco State University and a Master’s in Public Administration, International Management from Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. She has conducted community development projects in the Sacred Valley of Peru and in urban informal settlements in Manila, Philippines as a U.S. Fulbright Scholar.

Amanda Plasencia serves as a Grants Manager for Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies and works with the firm’s Philanthropic Management team in supporting its foundation clients.

Prior to working at Third Plateau, Amanda worked in the education and nonprofit setting for 8 years. She began her career as a 7^th grade life science teacher in Chelsea, Massachusetts.  After 4 years on the East Coast, Amanda moved back to Northern California where she continued working in schools in a counseling and student advocacy role focused on college preparation.

Amanda’s passion lies at the intersection of education and immigration reform and she feels passionately about giving back to her community in Sacramento, CA. She has volunteered her time supporting My Sister’s House, a nonprofit organization supporting women of color escaping domestic violence and sex trafficking, as well as the Immigration Legal Services office at the Sacramento Food Bank.

She holds Bachelor’s degrees in Political Science and Spanish from UC Davis and Master’s degree in Prevention Science and Practice from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Victoria is the immigrant rights and education equity program associate at the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund. In her role at the Fund, she partners with program directors and grantees on key initiatives and grantmaking. Victoria is also on the Bay Area steering committee of Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy (EPIP), which engages early- to mid-career staff of philanthropic organizations in networking and skills-building events. Her work is driven by a commitment to racial equity and a desire to see the needs of immigrant and underrepresented communities addressed in our political system. Victoria is a first-gen college graduate and holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of California, Berkeley. She is originally from Bell Gardens (in Los Angeles County) and has now lived in the Bay Area for a decade.

Anne Trickey is the San Francisco Arts Commission’s Individual Artist Program Officer. For the last fifteen years, they have diligently supported artists in both the nonprofit and government sector in San Francisco. As a Program Officer, Anne works to provide artists grants, professional development and technical assistance. Alongside other Arts Commission staff, Anne helped create the first agency racial equity statement in San Francisco City government. Anne is a member of the San Francisco Arts Commission’s internal Racial Equity Working Group and adapts city policies, programs and procedures to achieve racial equity goals. Outside of San Francisco, Anne sits on the board of Bay Area Creative and is a practicing artist in their own right.

Tiffany has built her career working primarily for nonprofit organizations in roles where she leveraged technology to drive positive change. She is currently a Grants Manager for the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, focusing mainly on grants in the areas of Science and Criminal Justice Reform. In her role she manages the full grants lifecycle and partners with stakeholders to develop and iterate on grants management systems and processes. Prior to CZI, Tiffany managed legal aid grants and led the technical implementation of a statewide grants system at the State Bar of California’s Office of Access and Inclusion. Throughout her career of over a decade in the nonprofit and public sector, Tiffany has combined her enthusiasm for technology, dedication to social improvement, and focus on efficiency to build effective and empowering technical solutions. Tiffany holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration from CSU San Bernardino and a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from UC San Diego. In her off hours, she can be found spending time with her husband chasing after their toddler and two dogs.

Cassie is Head of Programs at Full Circle Fund, a community of professionals pooling their time, talent, and money to collectively give back to local nonprofits. In addition to managing programs and events, she leads their monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work.

Previously, she co-led the McKenzie Foundation's grantmaking in youth mental health, and she co-chaired the Bay Area chapter of Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy (EPIP). She volunteers with Resource Generation, a community of young people with wealth and/or class privilege committed to the equitable distribution of wealth, land, and power.

Originally from the Bay Area, Cassie holds a B.A. in Psychology with a double minor in Social Studies of Medicine and Ethnic Studies from McGill University in Montreal, Canada.