Racial Equity Action Institute | Cohort

Since 2018, she serves as the Diversity and Equity Manager for the City of Sacramento. In their role she is responsible for developing, implementing, and evaluating Citywide diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, initiatives, and strategic planning. Aimée joins the City of Sacramento with over 18 years of higher education administration experience at San Francisco State University where she served as the Interim Director of Diversity and Student Equity and the Interim Executive Director of Associated Students, founding Director of the Richard Oakes Multicultural Center. In addition, she has served on a variety of community-based boards of directors, including the SF Black Coalition on AIDS (Rafiki Wellness Center), SF CARE Council, and Center for Spiritual Awareness.

She/They have a passion for curating learning spaces for deep dialogue, life-long learning, and change management strategies that fosters racial equity and inclusion on an personal level for systemic change.

Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and Black Studies, and a Master’s Degree in Education Administration from San Francisco State University.

Rugieyatu Bhonopha, MS-HCA Program Manager for the Belonging and Equity office at John Muir Health. Our vision is to cultivate a true culture of belonging where every patient, employee, provider and community member feels safe and valued, inclusive of all aspects of their differences. We are committed to upholding the value of equity by addressing institutional and systemic barriers, to being accountable to change systems and to create an environment built on respect and dignity for all. Rugieyatu facilitates the work of the BE Office and liaisons with the Belonging and Equity Council and the BE Sub-committees, task forces and affinity groups Contribute to the design and delivery of programs, processes and education across the company she created the Belonging and Equity and Bi Monthly Newsletter and works cross functionally with leadership teams to help grow the BE mindset across the health system and create a diverse, equitable, and inclusive place to work and receive care.

Rugieyatu Bhonopha is also the founder of the first multicultural Lambda Phi Xi Sorority Inc at the University of Nevada, Reno. With a strong background in entrepreneurship fighting for representation for the BIPOC community.

Jenn Bowman is queer, black woman who is currently a Director for Casey Family Programs. Jenn is a seasoned Social Work professional with over 20 years of experience in human services work. Jenn has a commitment to social work through a racial equity and social justice practice. Jenn believes we cannot do real social work without understanding, undoing and reconstructing the systems that provide services and supports to all communities. Outside of work, Jenn enjoys hiking in the Oakland redwoods, earning boxing belts at her boxing gym and spending time with chosen family.

Dominique B. Burton - JD, CDE, Coach & CDP Mediator is a strategic and innovative strength-based practitioner of Inclusive Leadership and Organizational Development. As a holistic Workplace Culture Architect, she seeks to improve performance and alignment, with a diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging lens, driven by successful human-centered strategies of empowerment, resilience, and engagement.

Dominique is a continuous learner holding certificates in various fields including Diversity, HR Management, Result-Based Accountability, and Facilitation. She holds a Juris Doctorate from King Hall, UC Davis – School of Law, and completed her undergraduate studies at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT.

TC Duong (he/him) is a program officer who focuses on community-driven solutions as a leader in the Foundation's work to align systems with community priorities. He has an extensive career in advocacy, policy, nonprofit program management, training, and technical assistance.

Most recently at the Building Movement Project, TC brought together learning communities to effectively shift service organizations to a social change model. As the community health and health equity program manager for the Blue Cross Center for Prevention in Minnesota, he managed community partnerships and developed trainings and convenings on building equity and strengthening relationships. He was the fellowship program manager for the Rockwood Leadership Institute, managing fellowship cohorts for immigrant rights leaders in California, LGBTQ advocacy leaders, and activists in arts and culture. Prior to his time at Rockwood, he served as the program manager for Asian Pacific Partners for Empowerment Advocacy and Leadership (APPEAL). In this role, TC provided cross-cultural organization development and leadership training to community organizations in Minnesota.

TC has worked on advocacy and training for several Washington, D.C.-based organizations such as the National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (National CAPACD), Southeast Asian American Advocacy Initiative at the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC) and Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG).

Renée Espinoza guides all aspects of Metta Fund’s grantmaking and programmatic investments, learning and evaluation efforts, and partnerships.

With over 25 years’ experience leading and developing community-based nonprofits with an emphasis on strategic planning, program development, and volunteer engagement, Renée brings broad, strategic experience as well as a passion for community and social justice. Prior to joining Metta Fund in late 2020, Renée served as Executive Director of San Francisco Court Appointed Special Advocates (SFCASA) for seven (7) years. Under Renee's leadership, the organization increased the total number of youth served by 40%, launched new programming, and built a strong base of support by tripling annual revenue. Before that, Renée served as the Interim Executive Director of the San Francisco Education Fund and Executive Director of SFPAL. Throughout her entire professional career, Renée has been a proponent of working with populations furthest from economic opportunity and limited access to develop strengths, self-advocacy skills, and self-agency in order to achieve real change.

Renée holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of California at San Diego. Renée is a native Californian native and resides with their family in San Francisco.

Luigi is a community builder and problem solver using a systems and power analysis. As the Program & Finance Manager for the LeadersTrust, Luigi is focused on building equitable policies, practices, and approaches for our staff and external partners.

Luigi is a first-generation Chinese-American, college-graduate and knows first-hand the personal and systematic barriers people from marginalized backgrounds can face daily. He is focused on breaking down barriers and opening doors so that the philanthropy sector can truly reflect the communities that it supports.

He is the co-founder and executive co-chair of the API Giving Project which works on empowering API communities to take on challenges locally and beyond.

Senior HR Analyst – Office of Civil Rights, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA)

Mark Scott Greene is the Senior HR Analyst in the Office of Civil Rights at the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. In his role with VTA, Mark helps to provide leadership for VTA compliance pertaining to Title VI, Environmental Justice, Equal Employment, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. He also helps to lead VTA’s diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

Mark has more than 10+ years of public sector experience focusing his efforts on mediation, conflict resolution, workplace investigations, and equity. Through his continued work, he envisions being a part of an impactful movement that focuses on meaningful inclusion, action-oriented systems change, and transformation.

Mark holds a Juris Doctor degree, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics and Business Administration. He is a native of Oakland who now lives in San Jose with his wife, son, and dog.

Anita joined EBALDC in 2016. As Director, Anita oversees the strategic vision and direction of EBALDC’s Neighborhood Collaborations Department, which includes the organization’s work as collaborative backbone convener and creative community development. Prior to becoming Director, Anita managed the Healthy Havenscourt Collaborative, a neighborhood collaborative focused on the the Havenscourt neighborhood in East Oakland. In this role, she served as the collaborative convener, supporting a network of 30+ partners across multiple sectors, working together to strengthen the health and well-being of Havenscourt residents’ health and well-being with a focus on place.

Before EBALDC, Anita worked in social impact consulting, providing evaluation and strategic planning services for government and non-profit agencies throughout the Bay Area. Anita has always viewed health through the lens of social justice. Prior to consulting, she worked at Amnesty International USA, helping to launch the organization’s health and human rights campaign. She has more than ten years of research experience with a focus on strengthening healthcare access and services for low-income communities and communities of color. She has extensive ethnographic research experience, advocating for the role lived experience plays in informing healthcare policy and services. Through this work, she discovered her passion for health equity through place and building healthy communities. Anita holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in Anthropology from the University of Southern California and a B.A. in Psychology from the University of California, Berkeley.

Amanda Lasik is a social impact professional with a passion for partnering with communities and building relationships. As senior manager, social impact at Blue Shield of California, she leads school-based work for a youth mental health initiative to expand access, awareness and advocacy to high quality mental health supports for California’s youth. She also supports the transformation of Blue Shield’s corporate giving to make it more focused on equity and was a finalist in a health equity contest for her proposal to engage youth to define what mental health means for them through a participatory budgeting project.

Amanda previously worked at The San Diego Foundation where she built infrastructure for conducting and sharing community social impact research and streamlined grant cycles with the organization’s regional affiliates. Her experience also includes leading a community collaborative to pass California legislation to reduce food insecurity where she was awarded the Hunger Fighter Award from the California Hunger Action Coalition.

Amanda holds a master’s in international affairs from the University of California, San Diego and a bachelor’s in business administration from Northern Arizona University. Her passion for partnering with communities extends across borders as she serves as the board president of Esperanza International, an organization committed to fostering global citizenship and building solidarity and friendship to support dignified housing in Mexico.

Amanda resides in Berkeley where she can often be found hiking up a new trail, paddle boarding or planning her next international adventure.

Ena (she/her, pronounced EH-NAH) leads United Way Bay Area’s policy, housing, and research initiatives. Previously she led UWBA's SparkPoint and youth workforce initiatives, overseeing the team that provides technical assistance, funding, data collection, and evaluation support to partner nonprofit organizations. Ena also serves on UWBA’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council. She spent her childhood living in Tokyo and various cities in the U.S. but is now proud to call the Bay Area her home. Prior to joining UWBA, Ena was a NYC Teaching Fellow and taught second grade in Brooklyn, New York. She has a B.A. from Middlebury College, M.P.A. from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, and M.S. Ed from Brooklyn College. Ena is fluent in Japanese and speaks conversational Mandarin. Ena is passionate about diverse and relevant children’s books that discuss real-world themes and owns a collection of several hundred children's books. She is the proud winner of UWBA’s inaugural dance competition and enjoys having family dance parties with her husband and their two young children.

Ryan Ly (he/him) is an Executive Administrator at Fresh Lifelines for Youth(FLY). Ryan attended San Jose State University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Justice Studies and a Minor in Human Rights in 2016.

In 2016 he interned with the San Jose Peace and Justice Center to support individuals with filing for DACA/DAPA in the Bay Area. He also interned as a mentor at FLY.

After graduation, he joined FLY as the Mentor Program Match Manager. He worked with interviewing volunteers and matching them with youth. Shortly after he transitioned over to the Development Department. He worked with donors and gift processing. He has been with FLY for 6 years.

Ryan currently works under the Chief of Staff. He leads FLY's equity initiatives. In his spare time, he shoots photography and videography for special events such as weddings and graduations.

Precious Malone is currently the Acting Division Director for the San Francisco Adult Probation Department where she plans, organizes, and coordinates the activities, policies, and procedures of the Intensive Supervision Services Division.  She has over 15 years of work experience in the City and County of San Francisco’s Criminal Justice System. Precious serves as a Racial Equity Leader within her Department and is responsible for the development and implementation of their Racial Equity Action Plan. As a woman of color, Precious is committed to racial equity and social justice and brings both her knowledge and lived experience. She graduated cum laude and received her B.A. in Social Work from Southern Illinois University.  Precious is a San Francisco native, raised in the Bayview Hunters Point Neighborhood.  

Sandra Nathan has extensive executive leadership experience in philanthropy, government and the nonprofit sector. Sandra currently serves as Managing Director, Operations for Humanity United. Humanity United is a global foundation dedicated to cultivating the conditions for enduring freedom and peace. Prior to joining Humanity United, Sandra served as Principal and CEO for Apodictic Consultants, which provided strategic consulting and transitional leadership to philanthropy, nonprofits and government. Sandra served as Interim Executive Director for the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice in NYC, and prior to that Interim Executive Director of Philanthropy Southwest, the oldest philanthropy serving organization in the United States.

Before moving into transitional leadership, Sandra had several stints as a senior leader in community foundations. These included the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona in Tucson where she served as Senior Vice President of Philanthropic and Community Services. In that role she was the chief strategist for foundation’s grantmaking, community investment opportunities and led in the use of diverse capital streams including equity and debt. She also oversaw the work of CFSA’s affiliated partner organizations, including the African American Initiative, the Alliance (LGBTQ) Fund, the Latino Giving Circle, and the Santa Cruz Community Foundation.

Sandra served in a similar role as Vice President of Grants and Loans at the Marin Community Foundation, where she oversaw grantmaking for the Buck Trust, an endowment of over $900 million. In that role, she managed strategic grantmaking in excess of $20 million annually, all in support of MCF’s strategic initiatives, community grants, and loans.

Sandra’s earlier experience in philanthropy included her role as Chief Executive Officer for the Richmond Children’s Foundation, where she oversaw place-based initiatives, and led the organization through a process of conversion to a community Foundation.

Sandra’s background also includes executive leadership in nonprofits at the national and local levels. She served as Executive Vice President for the National Council on Aging in Washington, DC; Regional Director for AARP in Dallas, Texas, and Washington Director for the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges.

Highlights of Sandra’s public sector career include Department head for the City of Oakland, and City and County of San Francisco. She also served as Deputy County Executive for Santa Clara County where she oversaw criminal justice, public safety and social services functions for the county.

Sandra has a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of San Diego, a Master of Arts in Public Administration from National University, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Theology and Christian Education. She also holds a certificate in Nonprofit Management from the Harvard Business School. 

With a passion for giving back, Sandra serves on the Board of Directors of Northern California Grantmakers, UC Berkeley Pacific School of Religion, the Tohono Chul Park Foundation, and Equality Arizona.

Sanju Poudel has been committed to the social sector her entire career. She is currently Senior Director of Institutional Partnerships at Resilia, a tech-for-good startup that strengthens nonprofits and changemakers through multiple entry points, including unlimited one-on-one coaching with their full-time staff of nonprofit experts. Prior to Resilia, Sanju was a Philanthropic Advisor at the Marin Community Foundation where she partnered with individuals, families, and nonprofits to facilitate meaningful, impactful, and equitable grantmaking. She also developed the Foundation’s Community Knowledge program and served on the Advisory Council. Sanju has held various Development and Communications roles at nonprofits including EmPath, Community Research Initiative, and Nepal Youth Foundation. She is an immigrant from Nepal who has lived around the world, which has played a significant role in her personal values and career path. Sanju is also a mom of two energetic and curious children who inspire her every day. 

Jesica is the Director of International Programs at The McConnell Foundation in Redding, California, where she has worked for the past 9 ½ years. She spearheaded the Organizational Capacity Building process around DEI that the organization is currently undertaking and chairs the Sustainability Committee. Jesica grew up “off the grid” in neighboring Trinity County. Her upbringing imbued a deep value in community and sense of interdependence with others and the environment. She participated in foreign exchange in Thailand when she was 15, which stimulated questions around human nature, inequity, conflict, and governance that have steered her curiosity and career. She has her BA in International Studies from Southern Oregon University and received the Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship from the University of Hawaii-Mānoa to complete her MA in Asian Studies. Before joining The McConnell Foundation, she had 6 years of management experience in non-profits. She has also studied Peacebuilding and Conflict Transformation at Eastern Mennonite University in Virginia. Jesica looks forward to resuming the travel her job usually requires of her, which is typically three trips to Laos, Nepal, and Thailand each year.

With a background in architecture, education and policy, Beth is the Deputy Director of Policy and Communications at SF Public Works, where she focuses on the Racial Equity Initiative, communications and department-wide projects. Previously, she was a legislative aide to three members of the SF Board of Supervisors. Beth was awarded the Koshland Civic Unity Fellowship by the SF Foundation in recognition of being a Bay Area grassroots risk taker. She is the co-founder of two San Francisco community-based nonprofits, Excelsior Works! - a multi-lingual workforce development center – and Youth Art Exchange – a youth development and civic engagement organization. Beauty, in the largest sense of the word – in human relationships, nature and art – helps keep her whole.

Carmen has been involved in community work in the Bay Area since 2005, and currently serves as the Site Director at CEO (Center for Employment Opportunities) in San Jose. In this role she supports social justice efforts through overseeing services for adults who are system impacted by supporting them in their professional development with a goal of helping them secure permanent employment. Prior to this role she worked at another Bay Area non-profit supporting youth involved in the juvenile justice system by providing connections to mentorship and court advocacy. Additionally, she has done work with programs such as Girl Scouts & Young Women’s Freedom Center which focuses specifically on providing gender responsive programs. She holds a BS in Justice Studies with a minor in Mexican American studies from San Jose State University.

Carmen is a woman who is first generation (daughter of Nicaraguan immigrants), a San Jose native, and a Mother. These various pieces of her identity are part of what ignites her passion to be involved in spaces that contribute to collective community healing through providing resources, education, and support to those who need it most. She believes in doing this through trauma informed practices and prioritizing representation at all levels. Her goal is to create accessible pathways to knowledge in all forms, and break down barriers that exist within DEI work which prevent those who are most marginalized from being able to engage in these spaces.

When she is not working, Carmen is spending time with her three girls & pitbull. She enjoys everything food related, whether it’s cooking or eating. She also loves reading, exploring, and other creative outlets.

As a Grants Officer, Brooke shapes grantmaking culture at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, making it more equitable, transparent, and collaborative. As a thought-partner and advisor to grantmaking teams across the foundation, she streamlines grantmaking processes and reexamines default assumptions about what philanthropy should look like. She advocates for continuous improvement, so Hewlett can live up to its Guiding Principles even more fully, both in its grantmaking and its internal practices. Often using data as a jumping off point, Brooke facilitates discussions with Hewlett staff that enable them to see their portfolio of grants from new perspectives, often resulting in grantmakers pivoting aspects of their grantmaking practice, making it more values-aligned. Brooke sits on multiple teams at Hewlett, including the Grantmaking, Learning, and Operations Team, the Culture, Race and Equity Team, the Education Program, and the Economy and Society Initiative. Brooke holds a master’s degree in international and comparative education and a Ph.D. in education policy.

Monica was raised in Northern Arizona and is a member of the Navajo Nation. She comes from a long line of strong Diné women who have inspired her to hold onto her heritage and help strengthen the communities around her. Monica’s lived experience has been centered around the same core values she is supporting as a program director at the North Valley Community Foundation (NVCF) located in Chico, California. Those values–belonging, dignity and justice–are where equity thrives. Monica directs NVCF’s equity project, We Are Here, both internally and externally. Through We Are Here, Monica engages with all departments at NVCF. She focuses on community outreach to dig deeper with NVCF’s resources, supports learned experiences for development of programs and community impact, while weaving equity as the commonality in all practices throughout NVCF. Though her work began in disaster recovery, it has quickly expanded. Monica brings her love for human beings, her open heart and relationship building enthusiasm into everything she does. Monica has an extensive background as a professional in the legal field navigating people through some of the hardest changes and obstacles in life, which has helped her form a strong sense of meeting a person where they are, for who they are.

Kim Williams serves as the Hub Director for Sacramento Building Healthy Communities (Sac BHC), a health equity initiative, focused on ending health and racial disparities in Sacramento neighborhoods. The focus of the Sac BHC is to remove barriers and create new policies and systems that will improve the overall quality of life for the most underserved residents in Sacramento. Through the Sac BHC Initiative, Kim oversees and supports Action Team issue campaigns in the following issue areas: Food Access, Health Access, Youth & Education, and Community Development. In addition to Sac BHC, Kim serves as the Community Incubator Lead for one of the Sacramento Black Child Legacy sites and she participates in several other commissions, coalitions, and collaboratives such as the Racial Equity Network, the Sacramento County Health Authority, and Sacramento Investment Without Displacement.

Regina Youngblood joined the City of Hayward on Jan. 3, 2022, as Assistant City Manager to oversee the City’s internal services functions, including Finance, Information Technology, and the Human Resources departments. In addition, Regina is responsible for Diversity Equity and Inclusion efforts across the City.

Prior to joining the City of Hayward, Youngblood served as Director of Human Resources for the City of Durham, NC, and has more than 20 years of progressive leadership experience, including 20 years of budget development and control and 14 years of human resources management knowledge.

Prior to serving in Durham, Youngblood was Deputy Director for Operations and Chief Operating Officer for the District of Columbia Youth and Rehabilitative Services Department. Previously, she served as Deputy Chief of Human Resources for the District of Columbia Public Schools, and has held positions as a Budget Coordinator, Operations Executive, and Executive Director in Dallas, Texas.