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Team

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Des Buford (she/her/Des) Pronunciation: nmdrp.me/desbuford
Director of Consulting Operations & Administration

Aminata Diallo (she/her) Pronunciation: nmdrp.me/amidiallo
Director of Organizational Culture & Development

 

Jessica (Jessi) Espinoza-Jensen (she/her)
Pronunciation: namedrop.io/jessicaespinozajensen
Director of Funder Organizing

Dino Foxx (they/them) Pronunciation: nmdrp.me/dinofoxx
Director of Imagination & Culture

Lorenzo Herrera y Lozano (he/him/his)
Pronunciation: nmdrop.me/lorenzoherreraylozano
Co-Executive Director

Sharon Hing (she/her) Pronunciation: namedrop.io/sharonhing
Director of Collaborative Learning

Rachel Humphrey (she/her/hers)
Pronunciation: nmdrp.me/rachelhumphrey
Senior Director of Practice Acceleration

Dana Kawaoka-Chen (she/her) Pronunciation: nmdrop.me/danakawaokachen
Co-Executive Director

abdiel j. lópez (any/all)
Pronunciation: namedrop.io/abdiellopez1
Director of Capital Activation

Rosita Lucas Spreyer (she/her) Pronunciation: https://namedrop.io/rositalucas
Senior Director of Resource Development & Finance

Mario Lugay (he/him/his) Pronunciation: nmdrop.me/mariolugay
Senior Director of Innovation

Kururama Masomere (she/her/her)
Pronunciation: namedrop.io/kururamamasomere1
Director of Capital Strategies

Kimi Mojica (they/siya/she) Pronunciation: nmdrp.me/kimimojica
Senior Director of Consulting

Maria Nakae (she/her) Pronunciation: nmdrp.me/marianakae
Senior Director of Just Transition Investing

Kristine Piasecki (she/her/hers)
Pronunciation: namedrop.io/kristinepiasecki
Director of Finance & People-Centered Systems

Sasha Russell-Ciardi (she/they)
Pronunciation: namedrop.io/sasharussellciardi
Senior Director of Member Organizing

 

Sujatha Sebastian (she/her)
Pronunciation: nmdrp.me/sujathasebastian
Senior Director of Leadership Programs

 

Lora Smith (she/her) Pronunciation: namedrop.io/lorasmith
Director of Investment Partnerships

Nahir Torres (she/her) Pronunciation: https://namedrop.io/nahirtorres
Senior Director of Leadership Programs

Kat Gilje (she/her) Pronunciation: https://namedrop.io/katgilje
Consultant, Spend-Out for Redistribution Program

Jasmine Jones (she/her)
Pronunciation: namedrop.io/jasminejones
Consultant, Philanthropic Reparations Project

Des joined Justice Funders in 2021 and currently serves as the Director of Consulting Operations & Administration, where she supports the consulting practice in guiding philanthropic institutions to align their organizational practices with the values and principles of Just Transition.

For nearly two decades Des has been dedicated to building and celebrating community through arts and cultural programming—namely at the intersection of LGBTQ communities and communities of color. She deeply believes in the transformative power of community to create dialogue, bolster coalition building, and spark social change. Des thrives on building long-term and deep relationships with colleagues, philanthropic allies, strategic partners, movement organizations, and community members.

Prior to joining Justice Funders, she was the Director of Institutional Partnerships & Events at Horizons Foundation. Des previously led the San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival (Frameline), the largest showcase of queer cinema in the world, where she served in various leadership roles for fifteen years. Des has a demonstrated commitment to mentoring and developing new talent, particularly through a lens of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.

In her free time, Des enjoys gardening, grilling, singing along to showtunes and Ricky Martin, and romping around the Bay Area with her partner and their beloved pup, Osita. She holds a B.A. from the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, with a minor in LGBTQ Studies.

As the Director of Organizational Culture & Development, Ami’s role is to facilitate Justice Funders’ culture, learning, programs, and systems to nurture the sustainability of the organization’s internal infrastructure and capacity to advance the goal of field-wide transformation in philanthropy through a just transition.

Ami brings years of experience in evaluation, and program and project management in nonprofits and foundations. Most recently, Ami was the Manager of Learning and Community Impact at The Scattergood Foundation where she focused on mental and behavioral health advocacy, and managed a region-wide evaluation capacity building initiative for over 100 nonprofits in Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey.

Ami has a master’s degree in Science, Technology & Society from Drexel University, and a master’s degree in Social Policy from the University of Pennsylvania. As a first generation Senegalese-American born in Harlem and raised in Queens, NY, her passion for culture and community has guided her perspective in this work.

Based in North Carolina, she enjoys life as a foodie, cooking, swimming, and her newly found joy in hiking and the outdoors.

Jessi joined Justice Funders in 2022, and currently serves as the Director of Funder Organizing where she stewards the political journeys of funders toward collective action to both mobilize philanthropic resources to build a regenerative economy and accelerate a Just Transition for philanthropy.

Jessi has 15 years of experience in grassroots partnership building, capacity building, community building, facilitation, community driven research, and art-based practices which cultivate creativity, curiosity, connectedness, and play. Prior to joining Justice Funders, Jessi was the Director of the New Mexico Health Equity Partnership, a statewide network organizing to advance health equity and racial justice. In this role, she served as a connector in grassroots and philanthropic spaces.

Jessi lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico and holds a MA in Sociology and a BBA in Marketing & Accounting. Jessi was the proud mama to two beagles for 16 years and recently adopted a rescue coonhound, named Letna. She enjoys morning walks to the river and spending time in the mountains amongst the wildflowers and snow. Creative care practices, such as bilateral drawing, making photo stories, and somatic scribing to the sounds of nature also bring Jessi joy.

As Director of Imagination and Culture, Dino works closely with Justice Funders’ People-Centered Systems Circle by introducing and supporting the adoption of regenerative practices and co-creating a culture of: psychological safety, centering well-being, radical interdependence, untethered imagination, and generative leadership internally and externally.

As a gender non-conforming, queer, indigenous grassroots fundraiser from San Antonio, TX, Dino comes to Justice Funders with many years in social justice philanthropy, two decades in non-profit operations and has been working to return financial resources to the places from which wealth has been extracted. As Operations Coordinator and Donor Organizing Coordinator for Thousand Currents (formerly IDEX), Dino collaborated on the formation of a giving circle of young inheritors of wealth in the Bay Area and helped establish the Thousand Currents’ COVID-19 rapid response fund which provided emergency grants to organizations in the global south.

Dino is a mindfulness practitioner who enjoys cooking, meditation, yoga, hiking, volunteerism, traveling (when safe) and music. They are the author of When the Glitter Fades (Kórima Press), and are committed to the creation of nonviolent social change through the art of Drag.

As Co-Executive Director, Lorenzo Herrera y Lozano supports the team in pursuing collaborative strategies to build a bold and sustainable Justice Funders by strengthening internal operational systems, aligning programs with our vision, and cultivating practices that nurture an organizational culture through which we are all able to flourish, thrive, and bring our full selves to the work of transforming philanthropy toward a Just Transition.

Early in his journey, Lorenzo was confronted with the painful contradictions between the radical and inspiring mission statements of movement organizations and the mistreatment and exploitation of their employees. Moved by the stories of heartbreak and loss of those who came before him, coupled with the heartbreak and loss he was experiencing, he rejected the practice of creating martyrs out of each other and of offering ourselves—our physical and mental health, our agency, our dreams—as sacrifices in the name of future generations. Turning to the wisdom of women of color, most of them queer, he began nurturing an organizational development and leadership praxis rooted in two fundamental beliefs: 1) to do our work well, we must support each other in being well; and, 2) to move in the direction of a shared vision, we must begin embodying that vision in the present.

Building on two decades of nonprofit management and governance experience; graduate training in Cultural Studies, Organizational Leadership and Ethics, and Chicanx Studies; and, a practice in neuroscience-informed asset-based coaching, Lorenzo applies these beliefs to every aspect of his work with the Justice Funders team—from the infrastructure we create; to the design, delivery, and assessment of our programs; to the supervision and professional development we provide; to the questions we ask and the reflections we offer one another; to the wellness strategies we weave into our together.

Raised in the Bay Area and northern Mexico, Lorenzo makes queer home with his partners, two rapidly growing teenagers, and a chihuahua in San Francisco.

As Director of Collaborative Learning, Sharon leads and supports a growing body of Justice Funders’ public engagements, including organizing a series of trainings about the just transition in philanthropy, and developing the leadership of funder organizers through peer learning workshops.

She has dedicated her career to building community, developing channels for collaboration, and designing creative interventions for collective action. Recently, she was with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) where she led multiple immigration advocacy collaboratives and regranting programs. Sharon also was a lecturer at UC Berkeley School of Law where she taught legal ethics. She began her career at Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy.

After graduating from UCLA School of Law with specializations in critical race theory and public interest law and policy, Sharon served as a law clerk to the late Judge Harry Pregerson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She received her undergraduate degrees from UCLA with majors in Fine Art, International Development Studies, and History.

She finds joy in baking her way through a growing pile of cookbooks, and taking walks along the New York City waterfront with her pup and partner.

Driven by a vision of a truly just and equitable world, Rachel Humphrey has worked in the philanthropic and nonprofit sector for 25 years as a strategist, capacity builder, and movement builder. She is passionate about people feeling connected, empowered, and purposeful in their collective efforts for justice, and brings a solid and ever-evolving anti-oppression lens as well as skills in Appreciative Inquiry and Conflict Literacy to supporting this aim.

Beginning in 2015, Rachel designed and led Justice Funder’s leadership development and consulting work. In 2022, Rachel’s work at Justice Funders focuses on accelerating the shift to regenerative practice through individual and group coaching. Prior to joining Justice Funders, Rachel supported social justice nonprofits and foundations as an independent consultant and as a Senior Consultant for TCC Group. Rachel also spent a decade mobilizing resources for community-based organizations around the world, including seven years as Director of Philanthropic Partnerships at the Global Fund for Women.

Rachel has trained extensively in participatory facilitation methods, including with the Institute of Cultural Affairs, Social Transformation Project, and the Center for Right Relationships. She has studied embodied leadership practices with Strozzi Institute and Coaches Rising. She is a few administrative hoops away from becoming a Master Certified Coach (MCC) through the International Coach Federation and holds a Master’s degree in Nonprofit Administration and an A.B. in Anthropology and Asian Studies. In her free time, she can be found on the trails near her home in West Marin County, CA.

As Co-Executive Director of Justice Funders, Dana Kawaoka-Chen partners and guides philanthropy in reimagining practices that advance a thriving and just world.  Dana leads with vision and is guided by relationships.  As a practitioner, Dana co-authored the “The Choir Book: A Framework for Social Justice Philanthropy,” and was a primary contributor to “Resonance: A Framework for Philanthropic Transformation.”  You can find her writing on a Just Transition for Philanthropy in Medium.

As founding Executive Director of Justice Funders, Dana grew the organization by aligning its strategy to the visions of movements working for racial, economic and social justice.  Dana’s leadership in facilitating a Just Transition for philanthropy by redistributing wealth, democratizing power and shifting economic control to communities has resulted in millions of philanthropic dollars being mobilized and aligned to build infrastructure for frontline communities to govern themselves.  For her work advocating for deeper investments in social movements and grassroots organizing, Dana was recognized by Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy (AAPIP) in 2015 as one of twenty-five national “Leaders in Action.”

Dana has previously served in executive functions for two other non-profit organizations.  She has a Masters of Science degree in Organization Development from the University of San Francisco, Bachelor of Arts degrees in American Studies and Visual Art from the University of California at Santa Cruz, and Non-Profit Management Certification from San Jose State University.

Born and raised in the Bay Area, Dana currently lives in San Jose with her family.

abdiel is the Director of Capital Activation and is part of Justice Funders’ Integrated Capital team. In this role, they work closely with philanthropies to design and test fresh strategies that shift investment practices that align with Just Transition values to redistribute capital and power back to frontline communities. Through narrative strategy and public engagement opportunities, abdiel helps inspire the field to take actionable steps toward a Just Transition.

abdiel is a curator, writer, and organizer with over a decade of experience weaving across research, philanthropic, and arts institutions in Los Angeles and Mexico City. They were recently appointed to serve on the Board of Directors of the Center for Cultural Innovation. They hold a BA in sociology from Grinnell College, where they were a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow.

Outside of Justice Funders, abdiel likes to write for their Substack, volunteer at art events and mutual aid organizations, lift weights, and hike with their fierce Pomeranian dog-child, Horchata. abdiel lives, works, and plays in Los Angeles and returns to Oaxaca every few months to reset and reconnect with their ancestors.

As Senior Director of Resource Development & Finance, Rosita leads development and strategy to secure contributed income that will advance Justice Funders’ mission, partnering with the Co-Executive Directors and Senior Directors in providing executive leadership; stewarding organizational complexity while caring for people and culture; making values-aligned decisions for the organization; and coaching others in service of Justice Funders’ theory of change. As part of her resource development work Rosita engages with a range of stakeholders including philanthropic supporters, Justice Funders Network members, program participants and consulting clients, and our larger national network of movement and philanthropic allies.

Rosita’s previously held roles include Director of Advancement Services for Student Affairs Philanthropy at UC Berkeley,  philanthropic director for Oakland’s Holy Names University, and analyst for City College of San Francisco’s Office of Research, Planning and Grants.

Rosita is credentialed as a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) and 21/64 Certified Advisor. She holds a M.A. in Latin American, Caribbean and Iberian Studies from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and a B.A. in History from UC Berkeley.

As Justice Funders’ Senior Innovation Director, Mario leads our organization’s Movement Commons Culture and Collective Action Lab. He partners with philanthropy and field practitioners to design, pilot, and scale interventions that advance social movements.

Mario comes to the organization via Stanford University’s d.school, where he served as a 2016-2017 Civic Innovation Fellow, and Guidestar, where he was an entrepreneur-in-residence. Mario is the founder of the movement-building technology platform, Giving Side.

In 2010, he co-founded New American Leaders, the country’s first and only organization dedicated to training first- and second- generation immigrants to run for elected office. He has held leadership positions at the Kapor Center for Social Impact, as well as the Funders’ Committee for Civic Participation, where he organized new and unprecedented philanthropic investments in both integrated voter engagement strategies and for a fair and accurate 2010 census count. He built significant community organizing experience as the National Coordinator of the national anti-war coalition, Racial Justice 911, and at CAAAV Organizing Asian Communities in the Northwest Bronx.

Mario is a long-time philanthropic and nonprofit consultant, speaker, facilitator, and writer. He has served in board and advisor roles at New Left Accelerator, POC Donor Collaborative, Digital Impact at Stanford’s Digital Civil Society Lab, New Media Mentors, American Prospect, and Asian Pacific Environmental Network. He is a graduate of Columbia University.

Kururama (Kuru) Masomere is the Director of Capital Strategies at Justice Funders, where she works with movement partners to support the integrated capital fundraising strategies of Just Transition projects, enterprises and loan funds. As a member of the Integrated Capital team, Kururama supports the mobilization of resources toward the creation of community-controlled institutions that build economic, cultural and political power in Black, Indigenous and other communities of color.

Kururama arrives at Justice Funders with experience in immigrant rights organizing, grantmaking, impact investing, and community and economic development strategies in philanthropy, local government and the broader nonprofit sector. Kururama was introduced to transformative philanthropic practices during her time at a foundation where she oversaw and co-led the mobilization of both grants and loans to community-based organizations. Kuru earned a dual BA in Organizational Communications and Criminal Justice at Western Michigan University and a Masters degree in Public Policy from the University of Michigan.

Kuru is Zimbabwean originally and currently works and lives in Detroit with her two kids, Amani and Ario.

Kimi Mojica joined Justice Funders in 2018 and currently serves as the Senior Director of Consulting where they guide and support philanthropic institutions in aligning grantmaking practices with social justice values and the Just Transition. In addition to leading Justice Funders’ consulting practice, they lend their talents to support the design and delivery of the Harmony Initiative and other leadership programs. They bring over twenty years of experience as a process strategist, facilitator and trainer working with a broad range of leaders and groups to vision and steward positive change beyond traditional DEI efforts, to transform culture, conflict and practices towards collective liberation.

Kimi works at the nexus of conflict literacy, peacemaking, leadership and organizational development grounded firmly in an equity lens that recognizes how power, structure and systems impact connection, relationships and quality of life. In addition to philanthropy, their career and background spans across sectors  having worked in higher education, tech, corporate, as well as community based formations. Prior to Justice Funders, Kimi has worked as the Membership Services Manager at Asian Americans Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy (AAPIP) and has served as Board Chair of East Bay Meditation Center and the Astrea Foundation. Kimi’s commitment to racial, gender and healing justice is evident through the dynamic ways they hold space/process with a participatory, experiential, learning-centered, skills-based approach rooted in compassion. Possessing an insatiable desire to explore the complexities of change, resilience and the human condition, Kimi is also an associate trainer at SEEDS and a lead facilitator and curriculum designer at Awaken, in addition to being a coach, mediator and circle keeper.

Born in San Francisco, Kimi currently lives in Oakland, CA/Ohlone Territory. They believe in the power of imagination and can often be found seeking refuge in nature, or in their meditation and Kajukenbo martial arts practices.

Maria is the Senior Director of Just Transition Investing at Justice Funders, where she works with foundations to align their investment practices with the values and principles of Just Transition. She leads the Just Transition Investment Community, a new peer learning and action community for staff and trustees of philanthropic institutions who are committed to divesting from the extractive economy and redirecting investment capital to BIPOC-led, movement-aligned Just Transition projects and loan funds that build local, regenerative solidarity economies. She brings 20 years of experience in expansive roles as movement builder, organizer, trainer, fundraiser, communicator, capacity builder, community educator, researcher and direct service provider.

Prior to Justice Funders, Maria served as Development Director for Forward Together where she led a team that tripled the organization’s institutional and individual fundraising revenue, significantly grew its grassroots donor base, established the organization’s first major donor program, institutionalized the participation of the Board of Directors in individual fundraising efforts, and shifted the culture and practice of fundraising from isolation to integration into the overall organization and its programs. She is passionate about mobilizing resources to support thriving movements for racial, gender and economic justice.

Maria serves on the Investment Committee of Just Futures, a new platform that harnesses the power of nonprofit retirement savings for transformative social change. She is a 2006 New Voices Fellow and holds a Master’s degree in Public Health from the University of California, Berkeley with an emphasis in maternal and child health. She loves reading food blogs, but can’t find time to cook most of the recipes she wants to try. Instead, you’ll find her at the nearest playground, farmers market or whatever natural bodies of water she can get to, frolicking about with her three spunky girls.

Kristine Piasecki grew up in Northeastern Minnesota on the Northern Shores of Lake Superior. She is an enrolled member of the Couchiching First Nation of Ontario, Canada, holds a BS in Accounting, with a background in finance, human resources, and project management. Kristine founded Piasecki Solutions, a small business that recognizes the importance of advocating for organizational resources and equally advocating for the well-being of the worker. She is a self-taught artist who is driven by her activism and involvement with social justice and women’s rights within her community. Kristine has a passion for leading with integrity, working from spirit and joy.

Sasha is committed to dismantling systems of oppression by nurturing transformative alternatives rooted in radical imagination and decolonial, feminist love. For over 25 years, Sasha has worked for grassroots social justice organizations, progressive cultural institutions, and in radical philanthropy. Her experiences in philanthropy include serving as the Managing Director of the Solidago Foundation and as the Managing Director of Donor Engagement at Grassroots International. She is also a student of movement-based healing practices, and spent a number of years as a student and teacher of ashtanga yoga. Sasha has an MA in Latin American Studies and has translated Como Si No Muriera Nadie by Chilean author Poli Delano. She is also a solo parent of a young child, Kai, who she is raising in radical and spiritual community. Sasha previously used the name Maggie Russell-Ciardi.

Sujatha believes in the power of collaboration to help advance a just and thriving world. As Senior Director of Leadership Programs, she oversees the design and implementation of Harmony and Maestra in close partnership with the Justice Funders team. In this role, she works with foundation leaders across institutions to build the capacity and resources to align philanthropy with social justice.

Sujatha is an experienced strategist, capacity builder, and facilitator with a diverse background in systems change and community development. Over the past 18 years she has collaborated with a broad cohort of foundations, intermediaries, and nonprofits.  In addition she is the  founding principal of the Conveners Group and co-founder of Conveners.org.

Sujatha grew up in a multicultural household, the proud daughter of a midwife and an immigrant entrepreneur. She is a graduate of Bryn Mawr College and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. While she considers herself a New Yorker at heart, Sujatha feels blessed to call the East Bay home where she lives with her wonderful family and joyful pup Luna.

Lora arrived at Justice Funders after two decades of movement building and Just Transition work in Central Appalachia and the American South. As Director of Investment Partnerships, she collaborates with movement leaders and philanthropic partners to redirect investment capital away from the extractive economy toward local, regenerative solidarity economies that build economic power and self determination in Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities on the frontlines of economic and racial injustice.

Lora is the founder and former Executive Director of the Appalachian Impact Fund, the first place-based social impact investment fund of its kind serving Appalachian Kentucky with a focus on non-extractive, community-controlled investment. Previously, Smith worked as the Network Officer for Central Appalachia at the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation where she directed the Foundation’s strategic grantmaking and program related investments in the region. Feeding her love of the arts, Lora is a co-creator and member of the Waymakers Collective, a fund and democratically controlled collective supporting artists, arts and culture organizations, and culture bearers in Central Appalachia. In 2022, she co-founded the Lige Clarke Liberation Fund, the first philanthropic fund in Kentucky focused on supporting queer communities in the mountains.

Lora is a mother, writer, and avid traveler. She lives in an overflowing and happy home with her partner, their four children, and two very mischievous poodles.

Nahir is Senior Director of Leadership Programs, joining Justice Funders’ Leadership Programs team. As a program alumna, Nahir is excited to oversee implementation of the Harmony Initiative, along with newer Leadership Development offerings, including the Liberatory Governance Community of Practice.

She brings over 15 years in philanthropy, where she honed her skills as a facilitative leader, convener, and network weaver, adept at mobilizing resources for social justice. Most recently, she served as Deputy Director of The Hyams Foundation, which has a mission of increasing economic, racial, and social justice and power within working class communities in Massachusetts. During her tenure at Hyams, Nahir focused on resourcing and cultivating close partnerships with BIPOC and working-class movement organizations, while working to shift philanthropic practice and funding in greater alignment with movement.

Nahir holds an Ed. M. in Human Development & Psychology from Harvard University Graduate School of Education, and a B.A. from Wellesley College. Born in Puerto Rico, but raised in Boston, Nahir resides in the Greater Boston area, where she enjoys taking walks with her family.

Kat Gilje has considered Justice Funders her political home since joining philanthropy in 2013 as Executive Director of Ceres Trust, a private foundation redistributing all assets to grassroots movements, farmers, and land stewards. She is an organizer, integrated capital strategist, and somatic practitioner with more than 25 years of experience in social movement organizations. During her ten years in philanthropy, Kat served as co-chair of Justice Funders; California Foodshed Funders; the Integrated Rural Strategies Group of the Neighborhood Funders Group; and the San Joaquin Valley Funders Collaborative; as well as the Steering Committee of the Health and Environmental Funders Network. She served as funder representative to the Building Equity and Alignment for Environmental Justice Fund, and co-stewarded the Regenerative Economies Organizing Collaborative with climate justice movement leaders and funders committed to a just transition. Kat recently passed the Series 65 Investment Advisor Law Exam in service of this work.

Kat was trained in agricultural sciences in Minnesota and Cuba; in community organizing and facilitation by Voices for Racial Justice/Organizing Apprenticeship Project, Farm Labor Organizing Committee, the Gamaliel Foundation, and in non–profit finance and management by Grassroots Institute for Fundraising Training and others. Kat now focuses on organizing money for movements, and finance for repair, land justice, and regenerative economies. She previously was a fellow at the Just Economy Institute; co-director of Pesticide Action Network North America (PAN); co-director of Centro Campesino; and senior associate at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Community Water Center, and the Advisory Circles of Feed Black Futures and reWild Our Campus. She is a sweets and daughter, with a beloved queer family, deep love of insects, the prairie and lakes of the Midwest, and awe at the power of the ocean. Kat’s somatics focus is with people working in cross-class, intergenerational formations, and as a spoonie herself, those living with chronic and/or terminal illness. Her training comes from social movement practitioners and the Strozzi Institute, and she is active in her lay–led faith community and other collective experiments for Spirit-led justice and joy.

Jasmine Jones is a highly skilled strategist with 15 years of demonstrated success leading organizations in grant-making, program design and implementation, strategic planning, organizational development, collect impact and capacity building. As a consultant and founder of Catalyst Connections LLC, Jasmine is passionate about guiding leaders and organizations in advancing racial equity, health equity, economic security, climate justice and social movements.

Jasmine joins Justice Funders with deep and direct experience in community organizing, government, and philanthropy with a focus on education equity, economic security, and police accountability in disinvested communities. She was a founding member and the lead organizer at the Black Organizing Project based in Oakland, California. During her time with the Black Organizing Project, the organization played a leadership role in developing and adopting historic school climate policies in the Oakland Unified School District. Jasmine was appointed by Mayor Gayle McLaughlin to the Human Rights and Human Relations Commission in the city of Richmond, CA in 2013, and served as the Chair of the commission from 2014-2017 addressing workers’ rights and community policing. Before taking the helm at the West Contra Costa Public Education Fund, Jasmine served as a movement grantmaker at the San Francisco Foundation, overseeing a $2.3 million portfolio establishing access to opportunity in education, employment, and wealth building. Jasmine believes that through empathy, public policy, and deep financial investments sustained over time, we can create a world where everyone can thrive, especially Black people who have historically been disenfranchised.

Born and raised in Richmond, CA, she represents “REAL” Richmond everywhere she goes!. She received her Masters of Public Affairs from the University of California, Berkeley and a B.A. in Sociology from San Francisco State University.