Programs
Mehdi Boubiya
(Program Associate for the Middle East & North Africa)
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Mehdi was born in Casablanca, Morocco. He graduated from Portland State University with a BA in Political Science, and a minor in International Studies. While pursuing his studies at PSU, Mehdi worked as a Counselor Assistant at the school’s International Admissions Office, and as the Coordinator of the Organization of International Students. As part of his senior thesis, Mehdi volunteered at the Portland International Community School, mentoring, and tutoring refugees and immigrants from war-torn areas in the world, and developing projects that aimed to improve their educational experience. Mehdi was also a member of the International Cultural Service Scholarship Program at Portland State University for three years. As part of that program, he worked to promote the understanding of Arab and Berber cultures in the Portland, Oregon area, through public speaking, and events organization. Mehdi joined the Global Fund for Women because he deeply believes in the necessity and the urgency of advancing women’s rights throughout the world, and especially in the Middle East and North Africa region. He speaks Arabic, French, English, and conversational Spanish.
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Aiste Brackley
(Program Officer for Europe & Central Asia)
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Originally from Lithuania, Aiste has a passion for human rights, international affairs and media. Prior to joining the Global Fund for Women, Aiste worked as Communication Affairs advisor to Lithuania’s Education Minister, where she played an active role in shaping the higher education and science sector reform and introducing it to the public. During her time as deputy editor at The Moscow Times daily, she shaped business coverage and led a team of reporters during the period of Russia’s record economic growth. Aiste also kept close watch on Eastern European politics and economy as an analyst for the Economist Intelligence Unit in London. She is the author of a report on human rights and media in Lithuania for the Media Diversity Institute in the UK and worked as a researcher for the European Center for Minority Issues in Germany. Aiste pursued graduate studies at Cambridge University and the London School of Economics. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Vilnius University and also spent a year studying at Uppsala University. Aiste is fluent in Lithuanian, English and Russian and speaks basic German. She is an avid hiker and will never say “no” to contemporary jazz and good wine.
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Olga Budu
(Program Assistant for Europe & Central Asia)
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Olga is originally from the Republic of Tuva in Southeastern Siberia, Russia. She received her law degree at the Urals State Law Academy and B.A. in Development Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. Her studies took her to West Africa, where she attended University of Ghana to learn more about their development processes. Olga is passionate about many different issues of justice: in addition to her work at the Global Fund, she volunteers to raise awareness about environmental issues in indigenous territories of Russia. When she’s not working, you can find her jogging the streets of San Francisco, or supporting Tuvan throat-singing bands during their US tours.
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Dianne Gallo
(Program Associate for the Americas)
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Dianne earned her BA in English and American Literature and Spanish Language and Literature from Brandeis University. She spent six months living in Buenos Aires, Argentina, studying at local universities in conjunction with Butler University's Cooperating Programs in the Americas. Her professional background includes experience as an English teacher at Colegio Publico Federico Garica Lorca in Alcala de Henares, Spain, and as a teacher at Nature Nurture Adventure in San Francisco. Dianne also served as Workshop Coordinator and Facilitator at Leah's Pantry, Inc., a San Francisco non-profit organization. There, she facilitated bilingual nutrition and cooking workshops for children, teens, adults and senior citizens in San Francisco, and coordinated program logistics for over 70 nutrition education workshops serving over 700 low-income individuals throughout California. Before joining the Global Fund, Dianne assisted IDEX's Latin America Program with the translation of reports from grantee partners. She is fluent in Spanish.
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Whitney Graham
(Program Assistant for Asia and Oceania)
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Whitney graduated from Brown University with a BA in International Development and History of Art and Architecture. Her undergraduate thesis titled, “Art Against Apartheid; Politics and the Aesthetics of Resistance, 1960-1990,” explores how art was deployed as a weapon of cultural resistance to the racial segregation and political oppression enacted through the policies of the apartheid regime. Her studies at Brown focused on issues of political culture, subaltern histories, nationalism and gender, and post-colonialism. Whitney has lived and worked in Tanzania and Kenya and studied in Delhi, India. She splits her time between the Global Fund for Women and San Francisco’s de Young Museum where she works in the Education Department helping run an outreach program for public high school students aimed to develop their job skills and enhance art literacy. Whitney speaks conversational Spanish and French.
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Erika Guevara-Rosas
(Regional Director for the Americas)
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Erika earned both a Master's degree in Women's Studies and a graduate diploma in Migration and Refugee Studies from York University, and holds a Law Degree from Universidad de Londres. Since 1999, she has been developing a comprehensive international experience in the field of human rights in different countries in the Americas, including Mexico, Ecuador, Canada, Colombia, Peru, Panama and Venezuela. Erika comes to the Global Fund with significant experience with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, where she served as a Protection/Legal Officer for seven years in different countries, working mainly in border areas with war-affected populations. She has also worked for non-profit organizations in Mexico (Sin Fronteras) and Canada (SAVIS), coordinating projects to promote and protect the rights of refugee and migrant women. She has written several articles on refugee and gender issues. At the Global Fund for Women, as the head of the Americas Program, Erika is responsible of leading the development of a long-term vision and action plan to achieve a high-impact regional grant-making program to promote women’s human rights and, to influence transformative social change and women’s abilities to achieve economic independence, political participation and social action. Erika was born and raised in Mexico. She is fluent in Spanish and English and conversational in Portuguese.
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Nada Rafih Hosking
(Program Assistant for the Middle East & North Africa)
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Nada attended the University of Hassan II in Casablanca where she studied English literature and Linguistics. Before joining the Global Fund for Women, she worked for ZUMA Press, Inc., a photography and wire service agency in Southern California, as an Editor and Associate Manager. Nada recently obtained an Associate Degree in Art History at City College of San Francisco, and is a regular volunteer with the school district, teaching kids to read and write. She came to the Global Fund first as a volunteer out of her interest in working to empower women around the world and to help bridge the gender gap. Nada was born and raised in Casablanca, Morocco, and is fluent in Arabic, French and English.
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Caroline Kouassiaman
(Program Officer for Sub-Saharan Africa)
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Caroline likes asking questions and particularly enjoys asking questions of young women, feminist activists, entrepreneurs and people interested in gender and sexuality. She recently worked with Innovations for Poverty Action, where she managed field research projects on entrepreneurship in urban Ghana. She has also worked as an admission counselor at Knox College and has assisted several organizations in growth planning. Having grown up in the U.S. and several African countries, Caroline is of Ivorian and American heritage and identifies as Pan-African in identity and experiences. Caroline holds a B.A. in economics from Occidental College and she has two master’s degrees, in public administration and international relations from Syracuse University. She is passionate about food, girls’ education, entrepreneurship, sexuality studies and LGBTQI issues internationally; areas that she continues to explore and support through research and volunteer work. Caroline speaks French and would like to learn Portuguese.
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Violeta Krasnic (Program Director for Europe and Central Asia)
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Violeta joined the Global Fund for Women in September 2010 bringing more than 15 years of experience as a human rights advocate, gender-based violence counselor, non-profit management trainer, and video producer. She was born in Macedonia, grew up in Kosovo and Serbia, and has worked throughout Central and Eastern Europe and in the U.S. At the beginning of ’90s, Violeta worked as a gender-based violence counselor in the former Yugoslavia where she also organized outreach and humanitarian support services for women violence survivors and refugees, as well as campaigns to strengthen civil initiatives against nationalism and war. In the U.S., Violeta has conducted research and advocacy on the impact of U.S. foreign policy on women's human rights globally. Prior to the Global Fund, Violeta worked at WITNESS, an international advocacy organization which empowers human rights defenders to use video as a tool for justice. Violeta oversaw WITNESS’ program activities in Europe and the former Soviet Union, including partnerships with locally based human rights organizations and trainings through regional and thematic networks. Videos she has produced have been screened at the US Congress, the State Department, the United Nations, the Council of Europe, and at advocacy events worldwide. Violeta holds an MA from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University and a BA in Psychology (Phi Beta Kapha), also from Columbia. Her native language is Serbian; she is fluent in Croatian and Bosnian, and proficient in Russian, Spanish, and Macedonian. Violeta is a certified yoga teacher who enjoys crocheting (on subways in New York) and sailing (in San Francisco Bay). Watch or read an interview with Violeta Krasnic »«Show Less
Clare Kritter
(Program Assistant for the Americas)
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Clare holds a B.A. in Sociology and a minor in African Studies from Colorado College. She spent a semester in Nairobi, Kenya studying development and public health with the School for International Training. She has traveled to Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Spain to study anti-globalization and indigenous movements. Upon graduation, Clare was awarded a grant to film a documentary about Afro-Ecuadorian movements, environmental degradation and industrial shrimp farming in coastal Ecuador. Clare also collaborated with NGOs in Ecuador to direct a short informational film addressing social infrastructure and cultural norms surrounding trash collection. In San Francisco, she volunteered with the Valentino Achak Deng Foundation and interned with the Foundation for Sustainable Development. Clare is fluent in Spanish, and an avid reader, hiker, and lifelong student of dance and performance.
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Devi Leiper
(Program Associate for Asia/Oceania)
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Devi was raised in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. She has a Bachelors degree in Politics and International Relations from the University of Manchester in England, and a Masters in International Development and Management from Lund University, Sweden. As part of her Master’s program, she received a grant to work and study in Kampala, Uganda, where she helped establish Uganda’s first sex worker-led organization, WONETHA (Women’s Network for Human Rights Advocacy). During this time, she wrote her thesis on the relationship between sexuality and development, using the specific case of sex workers in Kampala. Her undergraduate dissertation offers a feminist critique of the current universal human rights framework and what this means for the issue of domestic violence in Cambodia. Devi’s exposure to non-profit work began in Cambodia, where she has worked and volunteered with local organizations targeting various issues including corruption, rural housing, flood relief, and sex work.
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Muadi Mukenge
(Regional Director for Sub-Saharan Africa)
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Muadi brings a background of women's health, African politics and economic development in Africa and frequently advises donors on their Africa programs. She presents often, including at international conferences and media outlets such as NPR and Pacifica Radio Affiliates. She has contributed to several articles on women's rights and African development and regularly writes opinions pieces. Since joining the Global Fund in 2004, Mukenge has increased support in the areas of conflict-prevention, economic policy advocacy, empowerment of rural women, and expansion of grants to French-speaking countries. She has stewarded the deepening of support to the women's movement in the Great Lakes Region (DRC, Burundi, CAR), and facilitated GFW grantee convenings in DRC on ending sexual violence and advancing women's rights. Prior to joining the Global Fund in 2004, she served as Program Officer for Africa at the Pacific Institute for Women's Health, where she managed training and evaluation projects, and managed the Pacific Institute's grant-making program and communications initiative. At Coro Southern California, a leadership training institute, she produced communications materials and managed alumni fundraising campaigns. From 1993-1997, Mukenge worked at the African Studies Center at UCLA, where she assisted research initiatives, organized international conferences and the teacher training program, and produced research publications on political transition in Africa. Mukenge holds a Master's Degree in African Studies from UCLA. She is fluent in French and is originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Mukenge is active in volunteer organizations focused on African immigrant rights, foreign policy toward Africa, and promotion of human rights in the Congo. Mukenge is on the Boards of Priority Africa Network, New Field Foundation, and the African Studies Association.
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Shalini Nataraj
(Vice President, Programs)
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Shalini Nataraj is Vice President of Programs at the Global Fund for Women, where she oversees a grants program that disburses nearly $9 million annually to support women’s rights initiatives worldwide. Prior to joining GFW, Shalini was Associate Director of the Reebok Human Rights Award Program, focused on highlighting the work of young human rights activists. Before joining Reebok, Shalini worked for the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee as the acting Director of International Programs, supporting social movements to promote women’s health and reproductive rights as well as political and civil human rights. She has worked with community organizations in Asia, Africa and the United States on human rights and environmental issues.
Shalini has co-founded several advocacy organizations focused on human rights issues such as ending the practice of trafficking, and promoting human rights and democracy in Burma, Rwanda, Burundi and neighboring countries following the Rwandan genocide. Shalini has also worked on sustainable development and corporate social responsibility initiatives.
She serves on the boards of Grantmakers Without Borders and the Women’s Funding Network, among others, and serves on the advisory committees of several more social justice and human rights organizations.
Shalini possesses over 25 years experience in the fields of environmental justice, international development and human rights, working internationally as well as in the United States.
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Anasuya Sengupta
(Regional Program Director, Asia/Oceania)
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Anasuya spent her childhood in north Karnataka, an arid and resource-poor region of southern India, and returned here after her undergraduate degree in Economics (Honors) from Delhi University. She served as a Program Officer at Samuha, an organization working with village women on issues of livelihoods security. From 2001 to 2007, Anasuya headed a UNICEF (India) partnership with the Karnataka State Police, and was responsible for designing and implementing a statewide system of police response to issues of violence against women and children. Over the same period, she served as Program Associate with Gender at Work, an international knowledge network for gender equality, and advised the Young Women and Leadership/Young Feminist Activism Program of the Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID). She is actively involved with Development Alternatives for Women in a New Era (DAWN), a global South network of women's activists, working across Asia-Pacific, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. Anasuya founded the White Ribbon Campaign for Peace (India), and has been part of national and regional networks against religious and cultural fundamentalisms, as well as campaigns on issues of sexual and reproductive rights and health. She co-edited and contributed to Defending Our Dreams: Global Feminist Voices for a New Generation (AWID and Zed Books, 2006), arguably the first international anthology of young feminist analyses. Anasuya holds an M.Phil in Development Studies, as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, was recently a Visiting Scholar at the University of California, Berkeley, and is currently completing her doctoral dissertation in Politics from Oxford. She speaks English, Hindi, Kannada, Bengali, Tamil and Malayalam. She is challenged by yoga, while sustained by poetry, theatre and music.
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Caitlin Stanton
(Senior Program Officer, Learning, Monitoring and Evaluation)
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Over the past decade, Caitlin has worked to advance the human rights of women and girls' at the Global Fund for Women. Currently she serves as the Global Fund's Sr. Program Officer for Learning, Monitoring and Evaluation. Previously, she served as interim Director, Major Gifts and Sr. Officer for Philanthropic Partnerships and has traveled on behalf of the Global Fund in Ethiopia, Kenya and Mozambique. Caitlin is the Chair of the Board of Directors of IDEX, a nonprofit promoting sustainable solutions to poverty in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, and has also served on the Boards of the Palo Alto Area Mills College Alumni Association, Mid-Peninsula Parents of Multiples, and as an Advisor to Akili Dada, a Kenya/US initiative for girls' education and leadership. Previously, she worked with the Mills College CARES Center on community service and service-learning programs, and as a volunteer for the East Bay Institute for Urban Arts and in the Oakland Public Schools. She has studied in Okinawa, Japan and Cape Town, South Africa and holds a BA in dramatic arts from Mills College where her thesis focused on women playwrights in the South African Freedom Movement.
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Kimberly Wolf
(Program Associate for Sub-Saharan Africa)
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Kim graduated from the University of California Berkeley with a BA in Development Studies. She was actively involved with campaigns to raise awareness of the conflicts in Sudan as Co-President of the Berkeley Chapter of STAND. Kim studied for a year at the University of Cape Town where she volunteered with a grassroots organization to provide aid for recent refugees and tutored students in the Khayelitsha Township. Kim is an active volunteer with The Valentino Achak Deng Foundation, which is committed to creating educational opportunities in South Sudan, especially for young girls. You can find Kim at her favorite yoga studio, biking around the city, or catching a live music show. «Show Less
Margaret Youngs
(Project Coordinator for Sub-Saharan Africa)
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A native of the East Bay, Margaret is passionate about generating positive change in the world at both the community and international level. Prior to joining Global Fund for Women, she served as the Program Manager for the Africa and Asia region at Opportunity International, a non-profit organization supporting microfinance institutions in over 20 countries around the world. During her time in Chicago, she was an active member of the Chicago Chapter of Women Advancing Microfinance since its founding in 2008. Margaret earned her master's in public policy from the University of Chicago and B.A. in global studies from UC Santa Barbara. She speaks French, a skill improved during her junior year while studying in Toulouse, France. Margaret eagerly seeks out opportunities to travel, even in the form of long walks around the neighborhood or swimming laps around the local pool.
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Zeina Zaatari
(Regional Director for Middle East and North Africa)
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Zeina earned her PhD in Cultural Anthropology with an emphasis in Feminist Theory from the University of California at Davis. She earned an MA in Anthropology at Iowa State University and a BA in Sociology at the American University of Beirut. Zeina conducted fieldwork with women’s groups and women activists in South Lebanon detailing their life histories and the ways they negotiated their work in civil society of a post-war country. Prior to joining the Global Fund for Women, she had been teaching courses on women of the Arab and Muslim worlds, on gender and sexuality as well as religion and society at the University of California at Davis. She has delivered lectures and presentations on women and war, Arab women’s movements, scholarly activism, and Arab American feminists. Zeina published a Report on Women’ s Freedom in Lebanon (Freedom House) and recently authored a report on Advancing Women’s Rights in Conflict Zones in the Arab World (in Arabic) published by the UNESCWA. Zeina is a founding member of the Radical Arab Women’s Activist Network, the National Council of Arab Americans, and Sunbula: Arab Feminists for Change in the Bay Area, California. She served on the board of Partnership for Immigrant Leadership and Action (2006- 2007) and is one of the producers of the radio show, Voices of the Middle East and North Africa, on KPFA 94.1. Zeina was born and raised in South Lebanon. She speaks Arabic, French and English.
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Development
Mia Briones
(Development Associate for Major Gifts)
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Mia holds a BA in Peace and Conflict Studies from UC Berkeley, with a concentration in young women’s issues in Sub-Saharan Africa. Upon graduation, she lived and volunteered with the Bagamoyo Women’s Development Network in Bagamoyo, Tanzania, where she was able to learn about the economic challenges grassroots women’s groups face in Tanzania. As an Oakland, California native, Mia also strongly advocates for social justice and equal opportunities for communities of color in the Bay Area. Mia has a great interest in marine biology, though she has a phobia of open water.
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Sara Ferree
(Grant Writer)
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Sara has a passion for connecting people, organizations, and resources to achieve common goals. After graduating from Brown University with a BA in Economics, Sara served in the Peace Corps in Jamaica. As a lifelong volunteer and advocate for increased opportunities for women and children, Sara developed a strong belief that the best way to improve the lives of children is through ensuring equal rights and opportunities for all women. Sara holds an MA in International Policy Studies, Development from the Monterey Institute.
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Thara Jinadasa
(Development Associate for Annual Giving)
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Thara has more than four years of formal fundraising experience at a range of nonprofits that span education, public health and women's human rights. Her knowledge base in multi-generational philanthropy and grassroots fundraising inform her expertise in a variety of donor services, including donor acknowledgement and database management. Thara is currently formalizing a workplace giving program at the Global Fund for Women to facilitate payroll donations and to further incentivize matching gifts from employers.
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Taylor Lanfried
(Development Associate)
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Taylor graduated from Chapman University with a bachelor's degree in psychology. At Chapman, she planned campus-wide events to raise awareness about student health and well-being, sustainability, cultural diversity, education, community service, women's rights, and more. Taylor is passionate about women's access to education, and in her free time she enjoys reading, hiking, traveling, and practicing yoga.
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Elaine Martyn
(Vice President, Development)
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Elaine’s position as Vice President of Development represents the intersection of her personal and professional passions: a commitment to women’s empowerment through high-level, dynamic fundraising. Elaine has lead efforts to build the philanthropic community in the UK, US and Asia. Her career has centered on the advancement of human rights through medical education, social justice, diversity policy, and advocacy using fundraising and political action. Elaine brings her experiences at Refugees International, King’s College London, the British Medical Association, and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Harvard Medical School to the Global Fund to work with philanthropists who are committed to growing our impact.
Prior to joining Global Fund, she lead the development team at Refugees International in Washington DC. From 2005-2008, she influenced the strategic vision behind King’s College London’s capital campaign, personally raising over $40 million towards medical research and healthcare projects in the UK, Africa, India, Pakistan, Sri-Lanka and the U.S. She served as Head of Research Grants and Trusts at the British Medical Association and managed the work of a 20-member Board of Medical Education, crafting policy on patient rights and medical education.
Elaine double majored in Medical Studies and English Literature and Communications at Gannon University, and has a Master’s degree in Victorian Literature from the University of Leeds. She is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Women’s Foreign Policy Group and Women in Development. Read More »
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Heather Masaki
(Development Associate for Philanthropic Partnerships)
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Heather was born and raised on the island of O'ahu. She earned a BA in Women's Studies and Religious Studies from San Diego State University, where she graduated summa cum laude and was honored as the Women's Studies Outstanding Graduating Senior. While at university, she co-led an active feminist organization on campus and has traveled twice to India and once to Turkey as part of a feminist travel study group focused on the international women's movement and women-led NGOs. She is an avid supporter of progressive media and social justice, and previously worked with the National Radio Project, where she currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors. In her free time, Heather enjoys exploring the bay area and its myriad film festivals, daydreaming about the beaches back home, and aspiring to run another marathon. She has been with the Global Fund since April 2008. «Show Less
Elena I. Nicklasson
(Development Associate for Major Gifts)
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Elena holds a BA in Political Science from Beloit College and an MA in International Policy Studies from the Monterey Institute of International Studies. She is passionate about international security and disarmament, and devotes her time to helping NGOs in Russia and US address these critical issues. Elena has worked with a number of organizations addressing women's rights, and led a life skills group for women in Wisconsin. Elena is always inspired by her free-spirited grandmother's lessons on the importance of women's emancipation.
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Jenna Payne
(Events Manager)
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Jenna is passionate about bringing people together around important causes. She has been organizing events for the past 10 years for various non-profits in the Bay Area. Prior to the Global Fund, Jenna worked as Program Director for the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship and Inner City Advisors. Jenna is an advocate for human and environmental rights. She serves on the Board of World Bridges and Global Citizens for Sustainable Development and as an Advisor for the Bali Institute for Global Renewal. Jenna has a bilingual teaching credential and B.A. in Urban Studies and Planning from UC San Diego. She loves to travel, and lived in South American for several years, where she worked with eco-villages and as a photographer for Fair Trade Brazil. She is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese.
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Christine Switzer
(Director of Development, Principal Gifts)
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Christine joins the Global Fund for Women with a passion for social change philanthropy and global gender equity. She has 13 years of fundraising and program experience internationally in both the public and private sectors. Christine was previously the director of development and external affairs at the International Museum of Women. Prior to joining IMOW, she was the director of corporate and foundation relations at the UC Berkeley Law School. In her previous positions, she directed UC Berkeley Extension’s International Programs, worked as consultant for the Inter-American Development Bank’s Multilateral Investment Fund where she conducted an evaluation of the Partners in Innovation Program in Latin America and the Caribbean. She also worked as a management consultant at Accenture in Washington, DC, France and the Netherlands, and has worked for the U.S. Embassy in Paris and Madrid. Christine graduated with a Masters degree from the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy at Tufts University where she studied international development and education with a focus on gender equity. A graduate of the University of Virginia, she also studied at the Sorbonne and at the Institut de Sciences Politiques in Paris. Christine is fluent in Spanish and French, proficient in Italian and Portuguese, and is currently learning Greek.
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Noelle Williams
(Development Associate, New York Office)
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Noelle Williams graduated from the University of Michigan in 2008 with a Bachelor's degree in English. After campaigning for Barack Obama in the 2008 election, she moved to Los Angeles to work for Ms. magazine and its publisher the Feminist Majority Foundation. At Ms., she expanded her knowledge of women's issues and wrote regularly for the magazine and its blog. She continues to freelance for the Ms. Blog and other online publications. A self-proclaimed grammar geek, Noelle is an avid writer and reader. She lives in Brooklyn with her fickle cat Marjorie.
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Amelia Wu
(Director of Philanthropic Partnerships)
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Amelia joins the team with passion for fundraising as a vehicle for social change. She has over 15 years of both fundraising and program experience with a range of international nonprofit organizations, including Room to Read, the Asia Foundation, Give2Asia, and six years from 1999-2005 on the Programs side of the Global Fund for Women. Amelia believes that the Global Fund plays a special role in the international women’s rights movement and in the field of feminist philanthropy, which makes it a special place to do fundraising. Drawing on her experience as both a fundraiser and a programmer, she hopes to mobilize networks and resources worldwide to help the Global Fund and the international women’s movement achieve its goals. Amelia graduated with a masters in public policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, where she focused on international development and political economy, as well as a bachelor of arts in economics from Cornell University. She is also the mother of three girls, who keep her centered and motivate her work to make the world a better place for women and girls.
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Communications
Christine Ahn
(Senior Research & Policy Analyst)
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Christine writes and speaks regularly on human rights, globalization and militarism and has addressed the United Nations, Congress, and the South Korean National Human Rights Commission. She is a fellow with the Korea Policy Institute and Oakland Institute and a columnist with Foreign Policy In Focus. Christine has appeared on CNN, NBC, Al-Jazeera, NPR, and has published op-eds in the International Herald Tribune, Asia Times and other media. She edited Shafted: Free Trade and America's Working Poor and contributed to The Revolution Will Not Be Funded: Beyond the Nonprofit Industrial Complex. Christine produced Fashion Resistance to Militarism while program director at the Women of Color Resource Center. She was inducted into the OMB Watch Public Interest Hall of Fame and recognized as Rising Peacemaker by the Agape Foundation. She serves on the board of the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy. She has a Masters in public policy from Georgetown University.
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Michele Kumi Baer
(Communications & Information Associate)
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Michele graduated with a BA in Development Studies from Brown University, where she wrote her senior honors thesis about the UN Security Council's approach to issues concerning women, peace and security. She has been involved in global affairs and human rights since high school, when she founded her school's chapter of Amnesty International. If she is not in the office, Michele is most likely dancing. She is currently a member of the Aguas da Bahia Dance Company, an active student in Afro-diasporic and urban dance styles, and also a teacher-choreographer. Michele joined the Global Fund first as an intern in June 2010. « Show Less
Zoe Blumenfeld
(Communications Associate)
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Zoe grew up in the Bay Area and attended the University of California, Santa Cruz where she earned her bachelor’s degree in American Studies with a Journalism emphasis. Her love of writing and storytelling was nurtured at the Santa Cruz Sentinel where she worked as journalist. After serving as marketing coordinator for Visa’s Olympic sponsorship, she followed her passion for writing and education to join the National Writing Project’s communications team. There she specialized in the production of multi-media communications collateral, highlighting the innovative work of dedicated teachers across the nation. Zoe is conversational in Spanish and has spent time traveling in Israel with Jewish American youth.
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Deborah Holmes
(Vice President, Communications)
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Deborah has a BA in Journalism from the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Deborah has more than 30 years experience in media, healthcare, executive relations, internal/external communications, special events, and not-for-profit. As Senior Vice President at Fleishman Hillard International Communications, Deborah served a variety of clients the retail, healthcare, pharmaceutical, public health and technology sectors. In addition to serving as Global Co-Chair of the Multicultural Practice group, Deborah was also member of the firm’s Global Healthcare and Sustainability practice groups where she helped guide award winning programs and initiatives.
Prior to Fleishman-Hillard she served as Director of Public Relations and Marketing for Truman Medical Centers, an academic health system in Kansas City, Missouri. An accomplished television news reporter and analyst for more than 30 years, Deborah has worked for local and international news organizations. She has received numerous awards for investigative reporting and documentaries. Deborah is conversant in French.
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Laura Shapiro
(Director of Online Communications)
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Laura has been designing and building for the web since 1996, primarily for non-profit organizations and educational institutions in San Francisco. She led Mother Jones through two redesigns in her six years there. Her roots are in feminist theater, and prior to her work on the web she directed plays, stage managed, administered, and fundraised for dozens of non-profit theaters in the bay area, including the Brava Theater Center and the Working Women Festival. « Show Less
Finance & Administration
Ayan Ali
(Grants Administration Associate)
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Ayan graduated with a B.S. in International Trade and Marketing from the State University of New York, and a business Diploma from the Academie de Langues et de Commerce in Geneve, Switzerland. Prior to joining the Global Fund, she worked as a Refugee Operations Assistant at the International Organization for Migration in New York City. She also interned at the Women’s Environment & Development Organization (WEDO), where she gained extensive experience networking and organizing with women’s social justice groups around the world. Ayan has lived, studied and worked in the United States, Switzerland, Somalia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
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Eliza Barrios
(Desktop Support Associate)
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Eliza is a first-generation Filipina-American who grew up in Hawaii, the Philippines and San Diego. She holds a BA from San Francisco State University and an MFA (the first in her family!) from Mills College. Eliza has over a decade’s experience as a Newswire Editor and as a Help Desk Technician. Leaving her corporate position, she decided to travel to the Philippines, Argentina, Mexico, Southeast Asia, and Brazil for a few years where she became critically aware of a wide range of social justice issues and struggles around the world. A fervent geek, artist and volunteer with the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, her interests include art, politics, bicycling, food and anything that expands her mind.
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Wendi Deetz
(Staff Accountant)
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Wendi joins the Global Fund after working as the Operations Manager for the National AIDS Memorial, a living tribute to all lives touched by HIV/AIDS. She is a passionate anti-violence activist and self-defense instructor. Since moving to the Bay Area 12 years ago, she has served as a board member and teaching collective member for several feminist, anti-violence organizations. In 2007, Wendi had the life-changing opportunity to travel to Kenya to train self-defense instructors in Nairobi for "I’m Worth Defending," an innovative violence-prevention program that provides resources for survivors. Wendi holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English & Women’s Studies and a minor in Queer Studies from UCLA. Wendi believes it’s incredibly important to be out - as a survivor, a queer woman, and as a white and trans ally. A California native, Wendi lives in Oakland with her five-year-old mutt, Djuna. She speaks Spanish and would very much like to know more than a few phrases in Swahili one day.
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Saideh Eftekhari
(Grants Administration Associate)
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Saideh holds undergraduate degrees in Spanish and Music Field Studies and a Masters in International Affairs. She joins the Global Fund from One World Children’s Fund, where she served as a fellow, focusing her efforts on expanding the organization's outreach. Saideh has studied in Mexico and Switzerland, and has worked at The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. She speaks Farsi, French and Spanish.
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Karen Ishimaru
(Information Management Officer)
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Karen earned her undergraduate degree in East Asian Studies at UC Berkeley and has a Masters in Public Policy from UCLA. She spent a year in Japan studying at the International Christian University and later coordinated an exchange program bringing together nonprofit professionals in the U.S. and Japan. She has worked with various nonprofits in the Bay Area that focus on youth and financial literacy. Prior to joining Global Fund, she worked as a research associate with a consulting firm providing evaluation and information-based services.
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Christina Martinez
(Finance Officer)
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Christina brings over a decade of experience as a project manager and senior planner for large-scale federal agencies and corporations. Christina has Bachelors of Science degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Art&Design and a concentration in Women’s and Gender Studies from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is currently pursuing a MBA with a concentration in Nonprofit Management at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley, where she is in the evening/weekend program.
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Eryn Mathewson
(Administrative Associate/Front Desk)
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Eryn was born in Colorado and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She attended Howard University in Washington, DC, which she often describes as “one of the best decisions I have ever made.” After earning a BA in anthropology and Spanish at Howard, Eryn interned at an NGO in Peru working on reproductive rights issues with communities in Lima. Eryn is deeply interested in focusing on the connections between the education and juvenile justice system as a crucial issue of racial justice in the US. She comes to the Global Fund out of her interest in working to improve US foreign relations as a way to promote women’s human rights globally.
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Dale Needles
(Chief Financial Officer)
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earned a BA in Slavic Languages and Literature from the University of California at Berkeley and an MA in Nonprofit Administration from the University of San Francisco. With 20 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, Dale has been the CFO for the Hispanic Scholarship Fund and the Center for Citizen Initiatives. Dale is also the co-founder of the Fund for International Nonprofit Development, an international nonprofit organization, which provides small grants and management assistance to Russian non-governmental organizations. Dale is from the US and is conversant in Russian and Spanish.
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Mikaela Rioux
(Office Manager)
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Mikaela graduated from McGill University with a B.A. in Women’s Studies and Theatre. Her studies focused on gender inequality worldwide, advocating for human rights with cultural competency and using theatre to engage, teach and inspire change. Mikaela comes to the Global Fund for Women with over 3 years of non-profit office management and administrative experience. Prior to joining the Global Fund, Mikaela worked in administration and fundraising for New Leaf: Services For Our Community and Equality California, two agencies working to support the LGBTQ community through counseling, education and civil rights advocacy. Mikaela grew up in Maine and lived abroad in Montreal and Rosario, Argentina. When she is not keeping the Global Fund office running smoothly, you can find Mikaela riding her bike around the city. She is a volunteer with San Francisco Bike Party and hopes to inspire more women to share the road and enhance their lives by riding. Mikaela is fluent in English and Spanish.
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Annalisa Synnestvedt
(Finance Director)
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Annalisa did graduate research in Women’s Studies at UCLA, as well as earned her B.A. in Women’s Studies at Temple University in Philadelphia. Her research has focused on the effects of U.S. funding policies on sexual minorities worldwide. She has over ten years of non- and for-profit accounting experience, and provides pro bono accounting services to non-profit organizations in the Bay Area. She speaks conversational Spanish and is learning Dutch.
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Randy Trigg
(Senior Information Management Officer)
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Randy received his Ph.D. from the University of Maryland in computer science. He lived and taught in Denmark for three years where he learned the practice of participatory design from its Scandinavian founders. Randy has also lived in Vietnam and Brazil. He was born in the US and speaks English and Danish.
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Orion Trist
(Systems Architect)
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Orion is an organizer and activist and has led peace projects and marches in Marin County, where he lived for four years before moving to San Francisco in 2009. He loves to gather community into creative spaces and mobilize them to work for positive cultural change. Orion is a proponent of alternative energies like biofuels, with in-depth knowledge of sustainability issues. He runs his own car on waste vegetable oil. He is a certified permaculturist and sits on the board of directors for the Oakland permaculture non-profit Planting Justice. He holds a bachelors degree in Environmental Studies and Geography from the University of Oregon, in Eugene. He is an advocate for Bioregionalism; sustainability based on stewardship of the land and keeping it local. In this vein of minimizing his carbon footprint, he rides his bike to work.
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Human Resources & Organizational Development
Lilian Loyola
(Human Resources Generalist)
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Lilian joined the Global Fund in December 2009. She has a Master’s degree in Psychology from the National Autonomous University of Mexico and a Certificate in Human Resources from the University of California, Berkeley Extension. Her academic background in Psychology and HR has been critical to her success as an HR Generalist. She is very knowledgeable in HRIS and has implemented technology to improve HR processes. Prior to joining the Global Fund, Lilian worked in the benefits administration industry. Lilian is a member of the Society of Human Resources Management, and she volunteers at Upwardly Global, where she mentors immigrant professionals to prepare for the US job market through mock interviews and American-style resume writing. She is fluent in Spanish.
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Katarina Ma
(Human Resources Assistant)
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Katarina grew up in San Francisco and attended University of California, Santa Cruz where she earned a B.A. in Psychology. She is also has a certificate in Human Resources Management from the College of Extended Learning at San Francisco State University. Her love for travel led her to study abroad in South Korea. Prior to joining the Global Fund, she was an intern with the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer and volunteered throughout the Bay Area. She enjoys baking and exploring the Bay Area in search of new adventures and great food.
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Christine Pallatto
(Human Resources Director)
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joins the Global Fund from AchieveMission, where she was a consultant and provided performance and talent management design and implementation solutions to organizations in the non profit sector. She has over 25 years of Human Resources experience spanning non-profit, entrepreneurial and global organizations. Previously, she was the Director of Human Resources at the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, where she contributed to the creation and implementation of their HR strategy, practices and programs. Christine has extensive experience in human resources in the financial services industry. She is a member of the Advisory Board of AchieveMission; she is active with the Northern California Human Resources Association and is also a mentor for women interested in careers in Human Resources. Christine has a BA in Psychology and an MA in Counseling from San Francisco State University, and is conversant in French.
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"When I researched the global women’s human rights landscape,...