Staff

Kayla leads digital strategy, content development, and brand communications for NCG in its efforts to advance the impact of the philanthropic sector. She built the organization’s communications platform and continues to manage digital technology and the integration of platforms. She also co-leads strategy for Philanthropy California communications and serves as a co-chair for United Philanthropy Forum’s Communications Peer Community.

Her understanding of inequitable systems and access to resources has shaped her career path in the social sector. She's developed communications for foundations, nonprofits, and networks driving equitable change. She co-chaired communications for the Bay Area Chapter of Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy and served on the leadership team for the Communications Network San Francisco. Prior to NCG, her passion for building educational access and creating opportunities for young people led her to work with organizations supporting grassroots students, youth impact leaders, and pro bono service. Kayla has a Certificate in Social Sector Leadership from Berkeley Haas School of Business and a dual BS in Nonprofit Management and Business Management.

Kayla moved to the Bay Area in 2013 but is a true Oregon girl. She loves soccer and basketball (Go Warriors!) almost as much as she loves hiking, her dogs, and her family—not necessarily in that order. You can usually find her in the mountains exploring, eating good food, and enjoying quality cider.  

“That everyone has an equitable opportunity for a purpose-filled life.”

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.

Caitlin Brune is a philanthropic and nonprofit consultant with 25 years of nonprofit experience, including more than a decade of grantmaking experience, in roles spanning finance, development, program planning and oversight, and executive management. Most recently, Ms. Brune served as CEO of the Pajaro Valley Community Health Trust, a 20 year-old nonprofit health foundation serving Pajaro Valley residents. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Georgetown University and a Master of Public Health degree from University of California-Berkeley. An experiential learner with lifelong curiosity about the drivers of well-being for individuals and communities, Ms. Brune has previously trained and certified as an Emergency Medical Technician, yoga teacher, massage therapist, meditation instructor and beginning organic farmer. She volunteers as a meditation instructor at Soledad Correctional Training Facility and serves on the boards of the Santa Cruz County Integrated Health Center Commission, Santa Cruz Community Ventures, and Farm Discovery.

“I keep a mental model to remember, that if you give with good intentions, you will never regret anything.”

Alice has spent most of her career in the nonprofit sector and working in the Finance, Operations and Human Resource areas of an organization. Most of her work has been centered in the heart of the organization using her forensic accounting, finance, and operational skills to aid the organization in providing sound financial reporting and support. Alice has joined NCG as its Director of Finance and Operations, and in addition to her current responsibilities will also focus on financial grant management.

Alice has always been passionate about building strong people connections to promote team-building, values and growth. Born and raised in the Bay Area, Alice has a deep interest in community issues and their importance to preserve the many diverse cultures that live in this dynamic region.

Alice loves to spend time with her family and friends, and when time permits watch many of her favorite TV shows, or settle into a good book. She also loves to bowl and has been in bowling leagues and tournaments for over 20 years.

“When we feel love and kindness toward others, it not only makes others feel loved and cared for, but it helps us also to develop inner happiness and peace.” – Dalai Lama

“Revolution is not a one-time event." - Audre Lorde

As the Digital Engagement Associate, Semiyah works on NCG's e-communications tactics, data collection, data analysis, and strategic digital implementation to further build member engagement. She is excited to bring her digital marketing skills and lived experience to the team.

Prior to joining NCG, Semiyah was a Digital Marketing Apprentice at COOP Careers advancing her digital skills. She also has experience with social media marketing, especially in increasing engagement and awareness. During the academic year, she served as a mentor for young Muslim girls at the Rahmah Foundation.

Semiyah graduated with a BA in Women and Gender Studies from San Francisco State University. During her educational career, she served as treasurer and Social Media Manager for the Muslim Student Association successfully facilitated a semester-long class for the Muslim Women’s Student Association and was a creative lead on the publishing & design team for her senior seminar project. She also worked as a consultant for San Jose State University's Muslim Student Association to launch and rebrand their social media. 

When she is not working, Semiyah loves building and maintaining connections with people, learning new coffee brewing methods, reading, obsessively listening to The Moth podcast, and finding ways to make life beautiful.

As a native of Richmond, CA, Crispin’s childhood experiences shaped the path for a career focused on helping disinvested communities like his own. With over two decades of experience, Crispin brings to NCG rich lived and professional experience and a vision for advancing equity and social justice through an exciting policy agenda for our organization, our members, and the community we serve. 

A seasoned philanthropic professional, Crispin served as program officer for Blue Shield of California Foundation where he worked to advance value-based care policy efforts in California and led signature programs, including the Clinic Leadership Institute. He arrived to philanthropy following several years as a leader within San Mateo County’s safety net healthcare system. He most recently ran a thriving consulting practice where he developed philanthropic strategies to improve access to and quality of care for low-income communities.

When Crispin is not hiking around his neighborhood, you can find him in his kitchen replicating delicious Mexican dishes from his childhood or scrolling through endless French bulldogs videos. He is the proud uncle of seven beautiful nieces and nephews, all of whom pursued higher education to proudly serve as the changemakers of their generation. Crispin holds masters degree in public policy from the Goldman School at UC Berkeley.

As the Membership Engagement Coordinator at NCG, Sarah offers support on all things membership. They act as a thought partner on membership strategy while also holding the keys to the Salesforce kingdom. They are really interested in the collaborative nature of NCG’s work and the possibilities within the NCG community.

Sarah comes to NCG with a mix of experiences in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors. Before joining the NCG team, they worked for Tides, an NCG member, helping with Salesforce operations and process improvements. Prior to Tides, they spent time in a graduate program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, gaining interest in philanthropy and alternative funding models. They also interned at Lever for Change, a MacArthur Foundation affiliate, where they learned about large-scale funding practices. In New York, they worked at the Art Dealers Association of America, a membership organization for art galleries around the country.

Sarah was born and raised in Oakland and has returned to live in Oakland after spending time in Brooklyn and Chicago. They are passionate about LGBTQ+ rights and issues, increasing accessibility, abolition work, and addressing homelessness in the Bay Area. They love walking around Lake Merritt, watching (and yelling through) Golden State Warriors games, trying new craft vodkas, and meeting new people. You can also find them at their local farmers market every Saturday chatting with their favorite vendors.

Sarah is passionate about connecting people, exploring new ideas and figuring out how to make things work. She brings these skills, along with a background in program design, network development and learning communities to her work at NCG. Before joining NCG, Sarah provided strategic leadership for an organization that built innovative leadership in the reproductive health, rights and justice sector. Prior to that, Sarah designed and implemented multiple grant programs and learning networks focused on the social determinants of health and safety net healthcare innovation for the Center for Care Innovations.

Sarah received a bachelor’s degree in literary studies with a minor in Latin from the University of Minnesota –Twin Cities. She loves to sew fun clothes and is a bookworm who is very proud to have passed that trait on to her two children.

Nicole Garzino has over twenty years of experience in nonprofit management and innovative philanthropy, including collective giving, coalition building, strategic planning and governance, capacity building, program ideation and design, and Board development and training.  

With an M.A. in Arts Management, Nicole began her nonprofit career in executive leadership positions in cultural organizations, including museums, theatres, arts centers, and grantmaking arts councils. She found a passion for philanthropy and grantmaking through her work with arts councils and public cultural boards, and pivoted her career to lead funding organizations.

Nicole recently served for almost 5 years as Director of Membership for Battery Powered, a San Francisco Bay Area donor collective and grantmaking foundation. During her tenure, the program raised over $20 million from its 700+ member philanthropists for grants and social impact investment on issues of homelessness, mental health, addiction, gun safety, education, healthy democracy, and more. As a consultant and philanthropic coach, she has worked with grassroots nonprofits, small foundations, and philanthropic founders and families to launch and grow their work.

When not working or volunteering in the nonprofit sector, Nicole enjoys time with her children, ages 7-25, and getting offline by road tripping, exploring the great outdoors, and picking fresh fruit.

Nicole is the youngest member of our team and started her work with NCG as a Project Consultant in May of 2019, providing support on Philanthropy California’s budding initiative, Better California. She brings with her several years of experience working in the philanthropic field, supporting projects at East Bay Community Foundation and Philanthropic Ventures Foundation, paired with an educational background in both business economics and social policy.

She describes her life as being characterized by an understanding of the ways in which institutions in America work harmoniously to uphold their inequitable foundations. She became acutely aware at a young age of the paradigm of oppression that blocks equitable access to resources and opportunities for marginalized populations. This fueled her determination to join, create and uplift spaces that affect change for the most vulnerable communities that fall victim to this paradigm.

Nicole continues to support the team through her focus on collaboration and coordination and her desire to be conducive to NCG’s innovative and impactful work. She deeply recognizes the responsibility philanthropy has to tackle the root causes of the problems it aims to solve, do more than simply address its past, and go far beyond charitable giving.

As an avid lover of literature, food, and music you can find her buried in a Baldwin classic, exploring a new ramen spot, or somewhere vibing to the hip-hop classics she grew up on.

Ian is excited to be joining the NCG team after working as a consultant here since just before COVID-19 hit. He even got a chance to meet everyone in person before we all dispersed to the safety of our homes! He joins NCG to provide full-cycle accounting support, and to help streamline some of the organization’s operational processes.

Ian has worked as a Finance consultant at many small-to-medium-sized San Francisco nonprofits. Before that, he ran a media production company. He still does media production in his spare time, producing music, podcasts and audio books.

Ian is very grateful to have grown up in a place where one can learn so much from such a wide variety of brilliant people. (The Bay Area, that is)

Jeff brings diverse financial, administrative and business operations experience to his role, which focuses on ensuring our fiscal and operations systems are robust and support scaling up systems for greater impact. Drawing from experience in both the for-profit technology sector and as a non-profit executive financial manager, Jeff’s talent for achieving scalability through forecasting and robust financial systems will help drive NCG’s work to support healthy, thriving and just communities.

As the Chief Financial Officer for TechSoup, Jeff helped create the financial roadmap for international expansion to 35 country partners across a six year period while revenues doubled. Jeff was also the Chief Financial Officer at Satellite Affordable Housing Associates where he successfully completed the merger of two non-profit affordable housing organizations with nearly 50 properties serving over 4,000 low-income residents. Most recently, Jeff worked as Consulting CFO for Armanino LLP, a regional Accountancy and Consulting firm where he assisted Upstream USA, a national non-profit family planning organization spin-out from a fiscal sponsor and become its own 501c3.

When Jeff is not building financial models, he likes to listen and see live jazz from all genres, watch old movies on the small screen and new blockbusters on the big screen, experiment with vegetarian recipes and explore the world.

Audre Lorde reminds us that, “it is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.”

Alice is a community builder invested in bridging diverse and overlapping communities for social change. As the Director of Equity and Social Justice, Alice will focus on racial equity with an intersectional lens that brings multiple issues, communities, and sectors together to build on the common good. Before joining NCG, Alice was a Soros Equality Fellow where she created a podcast and a digital archive on activism by LGBTQ People of Color. Prior to that, Alice worked as the Director of the Queer Justice Fund at Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy.

She serves on the boards of California Humanities and Borealis Philanthropy and on the Advisory Council for the Conscious Style Guide. Alice is a historian with a PhD from Claremont Graduate University, a MA from UCLA, and BA from Yale University. In her spare time, you can find Alice working on her podcast, Historically Queer, or enjoying the culinary delights of restaurants and bakeries with friends and family.

Alan Kwok, PhD, is Director of Climate and Disaster Resilience at Northern California Grantmakers and Philanthropy California, a statewide alliance among Northern California Grantmakers, SoCal Grantmakers, and Catalyst of San Diego and Imperial Counties. He develops and leads regional and statewide climate and disaster strategies around funders coordination, education, advocacy, and public/private partnerships, with a particular focus on accelerating climate justice and equitable disaster resilience and recovery. Since 2018, he has led statewide efforts in creating a statewide disaster resilience and recovery fund, advocated for equitable climate and disaster resilience policies at the state and national levels, coordinated philanthropic responses to California wildfires and other natural hazards, and supported funders coordination across the state and in the Western US around wildfire, drought, and climate resilience.

Alan’s research, writings, and work on climate and disaster resilience have been published and showcased in San Francisco Business Times, Alliance Magazine, Inside Philanthropy, Chronicle of Philanthropy, peer-reviewed journals, and government publications. He has been a featured speaker on climate and disaster issues in corporate, government, and nonprofit events.

Alan earned his PhD in emergency management (with a focus on assessing and evaluating community resilience) at the Joint Centre for Disaster Research at Massey University in Wellington, New Zealand. He received his bachelor’s degree in psychology at Washington University in St. Louis and master’s degree in geography at San Francisco State University.

Based in San Diego, Alan is passionate about being outdoors and is an avid surfer.

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. 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.

Melissa Nop (she/her/hers) has been working in philanthropy since 2017 and currently serves at NCG’s Manager of Equity and Practice supporting work around culture and community, racial equity, social justice, and public policy – helping to develop networks, training cohorts, and programming.  

Based in the North Bay, she most recently worked at Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees as a Program Associate. As the proud daughter of Khmer refugees, she is passionate about addressing the challenges that immigrants and refugees face. Her interest in healing intergenerational trauma became central after taking a powerful trip home to Cambodia with her mom and brother, which led her to sit on the board of the Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants. Melissa is also the Education Chair for the Asian and Pacific Islander Giving Practice which works on empowering API communities to take on challenges locally and beyond. 

Melissa hopes to bring this lens into her work with the NCG community. 

Katie Oran is a Climate and Disaster Resilience Fellow at Northern California Grantmakers and Philanthropy California, a statewide alliance among Northern California Grantmakers, SoCal Grantmakers, and Catalyst of San Diego and Imperial Counties. She supports the development of regional and statewide climate and disaster strategies around funders coordination, education, advocacy, and public/private partnerships, with a particular focus on accelerating climate justice and equitable disaster resilience and recovery.  

She brings with her experience in climate adaptation, disaster response, land use planning, climate justice organizing, and wildfire mitigation. She served as a CivicSpark AmeriCorps fellow with the Community Corporation of Santa Monica, helping her hometown build more sustainable affordable housing. She has held roles with the Community Wildfire Planning Center, New America’s Future of Land and Housing program, and 350.org. She also worked one fire season directly responding to wildfires as a clerical technician, supporting several Incident Management Teams across the State.  

Katie’s research, writings, and work on climate and disaster resilience have been published or featured in Places Journal, Business Insider, the New America Weekly, NPR, as well as in the Journal Frontiers in Forest and Global Change.  

Katie earned a Masters's Degree in Regional Planning from Cornell University’s College of Architecture, Art, and Planning, where she wrote her thesis on the potential for a managed retreat to be utilized as a form of wildfire mitigation in the State of California. She holds a B.S. in Planning, Policy & Law from State University of New York’s College of Environmental Science and Forestry.  

Based in Davis, Katie is always trying to escape the heat and playing with her sweet dog, Dolly Parton.  

“Great things can happen when we are in community where we feel a sense of place and connection to each other.”

Phuong believes in the power of community and networks, which has also shaped her career path.  She was the Membership Director at Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy (AAPIP) and a co-founder of AAPIP’s Hella Heart Oakland Giving Circle.  At NCG, she oversees membership, programmatic and collaborative work, and helps to shape and strengthen NCG's strategic focus on addressing inequities, supporting the vibrancy and sustainability of our region, and tending to the dynamic and diverse people in our philanthropic community.

She is a first-generation college graduate that benefited from Head Start and Affirmative Action programs and policies.  She received a double major in Urban Studies and Anthropology from Macalester College and a Master in Public Administration from CUNY as a National Urban Fellow. 

As an extrovert, she is always curious to meet and connect with people. Interesting random facts:  She was born in Vietnam and raised in Minnesota. She has run 5 full marathons. Despite her lack of talent, she sings karaoke regularly.

As the Program and Communications Coordinator, Nephthali works on NCG's program development from beginning to end. She is excited to bring her extensive knowledge in programming to NCG.

Prior to joining full-time, Nephthali worked as a contractor on the communications team. She helped implement the transition to virtual programming due to COVID, where she supported over 100 of NCG’s events. Her balcony experience of programming and conversations within philanthropy gives her a unique perspective on the intersectionality of issues affecting Northern California. Now, as a Program and Communications Coordinator, Nephthali has the opportunity to help NCG actualize program visions and curate pressing conversations in the NCG community.

Nephthali graduated with a BA in Pre-Law: Political Science from Oakwood University and a Master’s of Public Administration from the illustrious North Carolina Central University. During her educational career, she served as the founder and president of “The Dialogue,” an organization focused on bridging the gap between universities in the Northern Alabama region, community folk, law enforcement, and university leadership. As president, Nephthali and her team curated programs and events specific to the issues surrounding their community including police brutality and racism on campus.

When she is not working, you can find Nephthali practicing yoga, reading a book to her son, or mastering the recipe to her favorite Indian meal.

Viridiana brings a breadth of experience from the nonprofit, philanthropic, and private sectors. As NCG's Manager of Strategic Initiatives, Viridiana manages and develops philanthropic programs, collaboratives and networks to help advance our collective impact. She is also the Program Director at Blue Heart, which funds grassroots organizations and social justice art collaborations.

She most recently served as Portfolio Manager in Immigration at Emerson Collective, leading philanthropic investments championing immigration reform, and managed grantee capacity-building programs as Manager of Philanthropy Programs. She kicked off her career in philanthropy at the Sobrato Family Foundation and has a background in program management for youth-based nonprofits, and management and operations in education and career focused tech companies. Viridiana has a Masters in Social Work from the University of Michigan, specializing in management and community organizing and B.A.s in Community Studies and Sociology from UC Santa Cruz.   

Viridiana’s journey as an immigrant woman strongly impacts her passion for social justice, her commitment to community driven change, and her continuous involvement in Latinx based issues and the Latinx student/professional pipeline. She is a lifelong resident of San José and an avid supporter of community building, cultural and performing arts efforts in the city.  You can find her baking sweet treats, improving her yoga skills, traveling with her husband Cobán and exploring the outdoors with her new pup Koa.

"If the right conditions exist, individuals and teams can do most anything we put our minds to. As Margaret Mead said: 'Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.' "

Kate is the Senior Director of Leadership, Culture and Community. In this role, she directs NCG’s professional and leadership development work, and guides our focus on organizational culture as a leverage point for impact. Before working in philanthropy, Kate co-founded the nonprofit Puente a la Salud Comunitaria in Oaxaca, Mexico, a community development organization focused on public health, economic development, and sustainable agriculture. She spent a transformative year completing a Master's in Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability, where she deepened her own understanding of the type of leadership and organizational culture that is needed to achieve both environmental and social sustainability. In her life beyond work, she loves farms, farmers, cooking, eating, canning, community, nature, hiking and backpacking, and her four year old niece, who consistently reminds her to be present in the current moment, to live with curiosity, and to appreciate the abundant beauty that exists in the world.

Jaime has spent her career in service to the social impact sector having held various roles from direct service, grantmaking, to development. The common thread that guides her work is a passion for social justice and for connecting with others. As the Director of Strategy and Partnerships, Jaime builds and cultivates relationships to mobilize resources in support of NCG’s strategic goals.

Prior to NCG, Jaime served as the Director of Philanthropy at YWCA Golden Gate Silicon Valley, where she was responsible for amplification and engagement in YWCA’s mission to eliminate racism and empower women and developing resources in support of YWCA’s work impacting over 25,000 people annually across 4 San Francisco Bay Area counties. While at YWCA, Jaime designed a major giving program, grew a corporate sponsorship portfolio, and facilitated the Board Philanthropy Committee. In addition, Jaime served at the Grove Foundation for six years where she managed the youth development and career training portfolios. Jaime began her career as an AmeriCorps member in the San Francisco Bay Area, serving youth and families impacted by incarceration. It was that experience that ignited her commitment for creating more equitable and just communities.

Jaime earned her Master’s in Public Administration from San Francisco State University and her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of California Santa Barbara. 

Jaime has roots in San Jose but recently moved to the Sacramento area and is enjoying getting to know her new surroundings. She is the mother of two little humans that keep her on her toes. Jaime loves spending time with her family, going to the farmer’s market, and exploring nature whenever possible.