Forum Philanthropy + Policy Institute 2023

David Biemesderfer is a President and CEO of United Philanthropy Forum, a role he began in January 2016. Since starting at the Forum, David has led the organization through a period of notable growth and transformation. He was named to the "2018 NPT Power & Influence Top 50" list by The NonProfit Times.

David is a seasoned executive with more than 25 years of experience in the philanthropic sector and deep expertise in communications, public policy, research and association management. Prior to his role at the Forum, David served as President and CEO of Florida Philanthropic Network (FPN), a statewide network of philanthropic organizations working to strengthen and grow philanthropy in Florida. He joined FPN in 2009 as Vice President and served as FPN’s President & CEO starting in June 2010. Under David’s leadership, FPN’s membership grew sevenfold, its budget grew fourfold and its statewide presence increased significantly. He served on the Forum’s Board of Directors for six years.

David’s past experience also includes working for 10 years at the Minnesota Council on Foundations (MCF). He left MCF in 2004 as its Vice President of Communications and Information Services. David has also served as a consultant for a variety of foundations and other philanthropic clients in the areas of communications, public policy and accountability.

David has a bachelor’s degree in communications from Gustavus Adolphus College and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Minnesota.

Reverend Dr. Heber Brown, Founder of Black Church Food Security Network, is a community organizer, beginner farmer, social entrepreneur and Senior Pastor of Pleasant Hope Baptist Church in Baltimore, Maryland. For nearly two decades, Dr. Brown has demonstrated a deep commitment to and advocacy on a myriad of social justice concerns at every level of government, business, and at the grassroots level as well. He is a catalyst for social change who believes that systemic problems need systemic solutions. Toward that end, in 2015 in the midst of the Baltimore Uprising which sparked after the death of Freddie Gray, he launched the Black Church Food Security Network which combats food apartheid by providing seed funding and support to help congregations begin growing food on church-owned land. The Network also works to partner Black Churches and Black Farmers in the Mid-Atlantic region in an effort to create a community-controlled, alternative food system based on self-sufficiency and Black food and land sovereignty. He earned his B.S. degree in Psychology from Morgan State University, a Master of Divinity degree from Virginia Union University and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Wesley Theological Seminary.

Traci Bruckner joined the SAFSF team in October 2018 with nearly two decades of experience in public policy. She leads SAFSF’s work that helps funders fully engage in the policy process, both in support of their grantees and in their own activities, to shift inequities in food and agriculture systems.

Traci spent 15 years with the Center for Rural Affairs, leading their federal and state policy efforts around agriculture, conservation, and beginning, women, and socially disadvantaged farmer issues. She also worked on state health care and tax policy issues. During her tenure at the Center, Traci served as a member and chair of the USDA Advisory Committee on Beginning Farmers and Ranchers. This Advisory Committee provides recommendations to the Secretary of Agriculture on policies and programs that create and foster opportunities for a new generation of farmers and ranchers. Traci also served on and chaired the governance council of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, a national grassroots coalition advocating federal policy reform for the sustainability of food systems, natural resources and rural communities.

Before joining SAFSF, Traci was with the Northeast Nebraska Behavioral Health Network as a community outreach director, working to build community supports to foster a pipeline of behavioral and mental healthcare professionals. Prior to that, Traci was the policy director of the Women’s Fund of Omaha, working on a host of policy issues that impact women and girls.

Traci holds a bachelor’s of science from Wayne State College in political science and sociology.

Jonathan Coppess is an Assistant Professor and Director, Gardner Agriculture Policy Program at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and author of The Fault Lines of Farm Policy: A Legislative and Political History of the Farm Bill. Previously, he served as Chief Counsel for the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, Administrator of the Farm Service Agency at USDA and Legislative Assistant to Senator Ben Nelson. Jonathan grew up on his family’s farm in Western Ohio, earned his Bachelors from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and his Juris Doctor from The George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C.

Matthew L. Evans is the Forum’s Senior Director of Public Policy. Matthew brings to the Forum more than 16 years of public policy and government relations experience and has been instrumental in the Forum's expansion of its public policy work. Specifically, Matthew has led the push toward incorporating the idea of philanthropy using its collective voice and influence to address issues that impact communities and promote systems change via active engagement in the advocacy and public policy process.

Prior to joining the Forum, he was Director of Public Policy & Special Projects for the Southeastern Council of Foundations (now Philanthropy Southeast), where he worked to ensure the legislative and regulatory success of the philanthropic sector in the South. Before he began leading advocacy efforts on behalf of the philanthropic sector, most of Matthew's professional career has been shaped in Washington, D.C., having held multiple positions that gave him direct experience in working with elected officials, corporations, and associations, leading advocacy efforts for several national organizations.

Throughout his time in philanthropy, Matthew has served on the public policy committees of the Forum, Independent Sector, and the Council on Foundations. Currently, he is the Vice Chair of the Nonprofit VOTE Board of Directors and serves as a member of the organization's National Leadership Council. He also is a member of the Funders Census Initiative Leadership team. Matthew holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Tennessee State University, an HBCU in Nashville, Tennessee.

Florencia Gutierrez has worked with the Annie E. Casey Foundation for the past 12 years. In her senior associate role, she manages the data work for the KIDS COUNT Data Center, KIDS COUNT Data Book, Race for Results and other national KIDS COUNT publications. She also provides technical support around data and research to the KIDS COUNT network. In her data capacity role, Florencia also spearheaded the Foundation’s 2020 Census work with a focus on the young child undercount. This effort led to the establishment of a national and state infrastructure focused on counting all children in 2020. Before joining the Foundation, she was at the Center for Public Policy Priorities where she worked on KIDS COUNT at the state-level. Florencia has a master’s degree in Education and another in Public Policy from the University of Texas-Austin.

Dr. Iheoma U. Iruka, is a Research Professor of Public Policy, and the Founding Director of the Equity Research Action Coalition at Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

As a consultant to the National Urban League, Dr. Iruka will direct the organization’s policy and strategic approach to ensuring an accurate count of African Americans and historically undercounted communities.

Prior to rejoining Carolina, she served as Chief Research Innovation Officer and Director of The Center for Early Education Research and Evaluation at HighScope Educational Research Foundation. She was also at the Buffett Early Childhood Institute at the University of Nebraska, and the FPG Child Development Institute.

Dr. Iruka is engaged in projects and initiatives focused on how evidence-informed policies, systems, and practices in early education can support the optimal development and experiences of children from low-income and ethnic minority households, such as through family engagement and support, quality rating and improvement systems, and early care and education systems and programs.

Dr. Iruka has been engaged in addressing how best to ensure excellence for young diverse learners, especially black children, such as through development of a classroom observation measure, examination of non-traditional pedagogical approaches, public policies, and publications geared towards early education practitioners and policymakers.

Dr. Iruka has served or serves on numerous national boards and committees, including the Brady Education Foundation and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine committees on Supporting Parents of Young Children, and Applying Neurobiological and Socio-behavioral Sciences from Prenatal through Early Childhood Development: A Health Equity Approach.

Dr. Iruka has a B.A. in psychology from Temple University, a M.A. in psychology from Boston University, and earned her Ph.D. in applied developmental psychology from the University of Miami, Florida.

Dwayne S. Marsh is President and CEO of Northern California Grantmakers. 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.

Maggie Mascarenhas joined Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders (SAFSF) as the Public Policy Associate in October 2022. In this role, she provides policy research as directed by the Senior Director of Public Policy, assists with conceptualizing and executing SAFSF policy convenings, and helps develop campaigns designed to engage and align funders in support of policy and advocacy initiatives.

Previously, Maggie managed senior and child nutrition programs at the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, serving 25 counties and 8 cities in central and western Virginia. There, she focused on increasing senior access to fresh produce, developing diverse community partnerships to mitigate transportation barriers, and expanding in-school pantries. Prior to that, Maggie provided strategic and digital communications support at a nonprofit in the sustainable food systems space and worked on a small organic farm in central Maine.

Maggie holds a B.A. in Government from the University of Virginia (UVA) and a Master’s in Food Policy and Agricultural Law from Vermont Law and Graduate School (VLGS). As an undergraduate student, she explored equitable labor practices in higher education, and participated in UVA’s Living Wage Campaign. As a graduate student, she studied agriculture’s impact on climate change, and policies aimed at supporting global food security. She also supported a research project at VLGS’s Center for Agriculture and Food Systems focused on developing a blueprint for a national food strategy.

Caroline Medina (they/them) is the Director of Policy for the Whitman-Walker Institute, the research, policy, and education arm of Whitman-Walker Health, a Federally Qualified Health Center with more than 50 years of service to diverse communities across the D.C. area, particularly LGBTQI+ people and people living with HIV. Caroline engages in strategic advocacy, effective coalition-building, and impactful research and analysis to advance policies that improve access to high-quality health care services and health insurance, combat discrimination, and promote health equity for underserved communities. Caroline’s portfolio of work focuses on enhancing data collection on sexual orientation, gender identity, and variations in sex characteristics to support evidence-based policymaking and intersectional research agendas.

Prior to joining the Whitman-Walker Institute, Caroline was the Director of LGBTQI+ Policy at the Center for American Progress think-tank where they worked to expand legal and lived equality for LGBTQI+ people, particularly those living at the intersection of multiple marginalized identities. Before moving to D.C. Caroline worked as a Legislative Director and Chief of Staff to State Representative Kay Khan, House Chair of the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Children, Families, and Persons with Disabilities. Caroline earned their Master of Public Administration from the London School of Economics and Political Science with a focus on social and economic policy and their B.A. from Amherst College.

Marc assists Philanthropy Northwest’s policy and advocacy efforts through research, helping plan and implement meetings and presentations, and drafting informational materials. Born and raised in Seattle, he is interested in the ways that philanthropy can improve communities in the Pacific Northwest and how public policy can shape this impact. Marc received a bachelor's degree in political science from Chapman University and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Washington.

Bayoán began his career as a labor organizer leading campaigns to unionize airport newsstand and food service works in Newark, NJ and New York, NY.  Prior to his transition to Los Angeles, Bayoán was a community organizer and planner at the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative in Boston working on sustainable economic development, food justice, and community land trust initiatives.
 
After receiving his Masters of Public Policy at Tufts University, he moved to Los Angeles and spent a year at the East LA Community Corporation (ELACC) working on affordable housing development and supporting the advancement of a new community land trust with residents of Boyle Heights and East LA. He is now the Co-President of the land trusts Fideicomiso Comunitario Tierra Libre. After ELACC, he shifted to the foundation space as the Senior Project Manager at the Liberty Hill Foundation leading the emPOWER initiative and supporting the Standing Together Against Neighborhood Drilling-LA campaign. Currently, he is the founding Associate Director of Power Building and Justice (PBJ) at Hispanics in Philanthropy developing a new PBJ grantmaking strategy and heading the Multi-Racial Democratic Building initiative.

Sally Schaeffer has nearly two decades of experience as a bipartisan federal government relations representative, with a specialization in appropriations, nonprofit tax, and women’s issues, particularly gender-based violence.

​Prior to starting Uncorked Advocates after the 2016 Presidential election, Sally represented more than 500 nonprofits, foundations, and charitable giving programs as the Government Relations Director at Independent Sector. She has served as the Washington advocate for Girl Scouts of the USA and Futures Without Violence. Sally started her career on Capitol Hill working for Congresswoman Louise Slaughter (D-NY), Ranking Member of the House Rules Committee, as her Legislative Director and Chief of Staff. During her seven-year tenure, she handled appropriation issues as well as education, women’s and children’s issues, and financial services.

Patricia L. Smith joined The Funders Network in 2018, bringing with her a wealth of expertise in the public, private and nonprofit sectors. Pat took the helm on the cusp of the network’s 20th anniversary, guiding TFN through key milestones during a pivotal moment in our history, including the launch of internal equity training for TFN’s team, an affirmation of our organizational commitment to racial equity and a new strategic framework that will govern TFN’s future direction through 2025. Pat’s vision is to help create a generation of philanthropic leadership that is engaged and emboldened to tackle the defining issues of our era — namely pervasive racial, economic and environmental injustices — and committed to bringing about a just society. As president and CEO, Pat drives TFN’s organizational and operational initiatives and systems and provides oversight and direction to its funder working groups and grant and fellowship programs. She also serves as program lead for TFN’s Inclusive Economies working group, which applies a three-part focus — race, place and prosperity — to economic growth and development.

After four years as a member of Demos’ Board of Trustees, Taifa Smith Butler began her tenure as Demos president in July 2021. 

Butler came to Demos after nearly a decade at the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, where, from 2015 to 2021, she led and inspired the GBPI team as its president and CEO. She is an established leader known as a problem solver and tireless champion for equity.

Taifa brings more than 20 years of experience in strategic communications, public policy research and data analysis in the public, nonprofit, and private sectors. Prior to joining the GBPI team as deputy director in 2011, she served as the policy and communications director for Georgia Family Connection Partnership where she co-managed the Georgia KIDS COUNT project and monitored public policy and its impact on children, families, and communities. 

Named one of Atlanta’s 500 most powerful leaders in 2020 and 2021 by Atlanta Magazine, Taifa has served on various local, state and national committees and boards. Butler is a Class of 2017 Rockwood Leadership Institute “Leading from the Inside Out” Fellow, a member of the Leadership Georgia Class of 2016 and was a New Executive Fund fellow with the Open Society Foundation in 2015. 

A first-generation college graduate, Taifa graduated from Mount Holyoke College and holds a master’s in public management and policy with a concentration in economic development and financial management from the Heinz School of Public Policy and Management at Carnegie Mellon University. 

Afomeia is an experienced public health professional grounded in anti-racist framework who has been working alongside organizations to mobilize and build community agency. Most recently, prior to coming to Philanthropy Northwest, she was the Director of Policy at Alameda Health Consortium. Prior to that, Afomeia was at Urban Habitat, Human Impact Partners, Seattle Children’s Center for Diversity & Health, and King County Public Health Department. Afomeia received a Masters in Public Health from the University of Washington, and is a native of the Seattle Area.

Sarah C. Walker is a Bipartisan Policy Center consultant focusing her efforts on state election policy strategy. She is a professional advocate, public affairs, and government affairs operative who has made a career of joining political and social movements at crucial moments of change to define the next stage of success. Sarah brings more than 20 years of experience in advocacy campaigns, message development, corporate legislative planning, and lobbying to her work.

Notably, Sarah led the legislative strategy for Secure Democracy from 2019 – 2021, helping to mitigate against some of the most restrictive election policy legislation in Texas, Georgia, Florida, and Arizona and securing critical wins for bipartisan elections policy in Kentucky, Texas, Connecticut, Iowa, and Washington. 

Sarah is a trained spokesperson and has been a regular contributor to local and national radio and television networks. She has served as an expert source for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Politico, The Economist, and more.