Our Board

Amanda Andere has spent over 15 years working in the nonprofit and public sector as a leader committed to addressing social justice, economic opportunity, and security through advocacy for systemic change. Prior to joining Funders Together to End Homelessness as their CEO, she served as the CEO of Wider Opportunities for Women, a national advocacy organization. Currently, she serves as a board member of the United Philanthropy Forum and the James Madison Political Science Alumni Board, as well as on the steering committing for The Campaign for Housing and Community Development Funding. Previously she served as an adjunct professor at George Mason University teaching Nonprofit Management, Executive Director of FACETS and Vice President of Cornerstones; who have similar missions of preventing and ending homelessness as well as breaking the cycle of poverty.

Kristen Cambell is executive director of Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE) and leads its mission to inspire interest, understanding, and investment in civic engagement within philanthropy and to be a voice for philanthropy in larger conversations taking place in the fields of civic engagement, service and democratic practice. Previously, Kristen ran her own consulting practice focused on civic engagement, education, and leadership. She served the National Conference on Citizenship as its chief program officer, and has held philanthropic roles at the Case Foundation and Points of Light. Kristen is an AmeriCorps Alum and serves on the Alumni Council of The Fund for American Studies, and on the advisory board for groups such as the Annenberg Presidential Learning Center and the Sustained Dialogue Institute. Kristen is currently serving on United Philanthropy Forum’s 2018 Annual Conference Planning Committee, and served on a small planning group for the Forum’s 2017 CEO Summit.

Ann Esteban is responsible for the financial management, forecasting and reporting of SCG as well as serving as the liaison to the Audit and Finance committees of the Board of Directors.

Ann has over 30 years of experience within the private, public and non-profit sectors. She began her career at Pricewaterhouse Coopers LLP, has worked at SunAmerica Inc., Heritage Oak Private Education and also served as the CFO of Chrysalis, a homeless assistance agency, for over 9 years. She earned her B.S. in Accounting from the University of Southern California and is a licensed CPA.

Prior to her appointment as Philanthropy Ohio’s president and CEO in August 2019, Deborah served as its vice president, programs & learning from 2014-2019, providing vision and oversight for all local, regional and statewide educational programs. In addition, she led the organization’s strategy to apply a diversity, equity and inclusion lens to examine and execute its learning and networking programs. Deborah previously served as director of grants and programs at the Princeton Area Community Foundation, where she provided strategic leadership to implement a $1 million annual competitive grantmaking program. During her career, Deborah has worked at Girls Inc.; the Institute for Women’s Leadership at Rutgers University; and Women & Philanthropy. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO) and on the Forum’s Racial Equity Committee, and previously served on the Forum’s 2019 Annual Conference Planning Committee. 

Kari joined the Iowa Council of Foundations as president in 2015. She works directly with the board of directors and oversees organizational activities including program development and management, membership recruitment and retention, as well as education and outreach for the purpose of strengthening and growing philanthropy in Iowa. An Iowa native, Kari brings her lived, rural experience, passion for place-based leadership, and collaborative spirit to the network each day. Kari is in her second year serving as Co-Chair of the Forum’s Lean, Keen, Producing Machines Peer Community, and she served on the Forum’s 2019 Conference Planning Committee and 2017 PolicyWorks Institute Planning Committee. Prior to joining the ICoF, Kari was the director of nonprofit partnerships & grantmaking at the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque.

Kyle Caldwell began his tenure as president and CEO of CMF on November 1, 2018, bringing more than 25 years of government, and nonprofit and philanthropic sector experience. He has also been a supporter of CMF as a volunteer for many years and was formerly a member and co-chair of CMF's Government Relations Public Policy Committee.

Prior to his appointment with CMF, Kyle, a Michigan native, was executive director of the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy at Grand Valley State University, one of the country’s leading academic centers for philanthropy.

He previously served as an intern, and then later as executive director of the Michigan Community Service Commission in the Engler and Granholm administrations. A champion of public/private partnerships, Kyle helped launch and then lead the ConnectMichigan Alliance (CMA) that created a $20 million endowment to support volunteerism that engaged both state government and philanthropy in a one-of-a-kind statewide campaign. CMA merged with the Michigan Nonprofit Association (MNA) and Kyle became its president and CEO. There, he championed the work of nonprofits and foundations to help build a stronger ecosystem for philanthropy.

Throughout his work in government and in foundations, Kyle has helped develop strategies and programming initiatives that strengthen the work of public and private grantmakers. Most recently, he led the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy at Grand Valley State University.  Prior that, he served as the director for the Pathways to Opportunity Program at the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation where he helped evolve the Foundation’s approach to addressing poverty to focus on education.

He earned both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in communication from Western Michigan University. Both WMU and Lansing Community College, where he earned an associate’s degree in photojournalism, have bestowed Kyle with exemplary alumni awards.

As Panta Rhea’s first Chief Strategy Officer, Amalia facilitates strategic design, organizational development, and partner investments in support of deepening the foundation’s commitments to intersectional social justice. Amalia leads the Resilience & Renewal Fund and collaborates on the growth and implementation of strategic initiatives.

With over 20 years of experience in global and US-based nonprofit social entrepreneurship, organizing, and advocacy, Amalia’s work to advance the rights of most impacted communities has led her around the globe, including to Mexico, Ecuador, Egypt, Tanzania, Thailand, and across the United States. Before coming to Panta Rhea, Amalia worked for 5 years at Hispanics in Philanthropy as Vice President of Strategy and Impact where she spearheaded the development of new program strategies and oversaw HIP’s Migration and Power Building & Justice initiatives. Earlier in her career as a Fulbright Scholar in Turkey and through work at Jesuit Refugee Services, the ACLU, Amnesty International and other organizations, Amalia launched several initiatives that continue to provide aid and advocacy for impacted people. Amalia co-founded Asylum Access, an international nonprofit fighting for the rights of refugees in Africa, Asia and Latin America, and served as a Board member and subsequently staff member for a total of 12 years.

Amalia is a licensed lawyer in California and received her Juris Doctor degree at Washington College of Law. Born in Venezuela and raised in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Amalia currently lives in the Washington DC area with her husband and 2 young kids.

Dena Chadwick is the Chief Operating Officer at Philanthropy Southeast. Dena manages financial operations and related reporting, which is accurate and consistent with generally accepted accounting practices, established internal controls, and financial policies. In addition, Dena supports the President and CEO all on board related meetings and committees and oversees the operations of Philanthropy Southeast. 

Previously, Dena worked as an independent contractor for a variety of small businesses providing accounting support and business plan documentation. She began her career as a staff accountant and assistant controller with the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation in 1991. She earned a Bachelors of Business Administration in Accounting from Oglethorpe University in Atlanta.

Dena served as a board member for The Museum School’s from December 2010 to January 2013 and served as its Treasurer from December 2010 to June 2012.

Dena is a native of Atlanta and resides in the neighborhood she grew up with her two children.

LaShanda Jackson is a social justice activist, defender of democracy, and advocate for racial equity whose career in philanthropy and organizing spans nearly two decades. Raised by a southern family of civil rights activists and community leaders, her advocacy is personal. LaShanda’s fierce advocacy for transforming democracy and returning power back to the people has brought her to the role of Executive Director of the Funders’ Committee for Civic Participation (FCCP). Before joining the FCCP, LaShanda (she/her) served as Vice President of Development for Common Cause where she led organizational fundraising strategy and operations. Before joining Common Cause in February 2017, LaShanda worked for the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund as the Manager of Gift Accounting, where she oversaw financial management of an $80 million capital campaign. 

Prior to that, LaShanda cultivated and provided stewardship for members and major donors as the Membership and Major Gifts Coordinator at the Public Justice Foundation. She began her nonprofit career in 2003 with the Library of Congress, primarily raising capital campaign funds for the Capitol Visitor Center and sponsorship funding for the National Book Festival. LaShanda also proudly served as an educator at Northwestern High School in Prince George’s County, MD and served as a Regional Field Director for the 2008 Obama for America campaign. LaShanda holds Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Science degrees from the University of Maryland.

LaShanda also serves on the Common Cause Maryland Advisory Board.

Philip Li oversees all aspects of the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation’s management, including finances, program development, grantmaking, and relationships with peer organizations. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Forum member Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO) and the Steering Committee of Forum member Trust-Based Philanthropy Project, and previously served on the Board of Directors of Forum member Philanthropy New York. Prior to joining the foundation, Phil served as the chief operating officer at The Century Foundation, a public policy think tank, and at the Brooklyn Community Foundation, where he helped the organization convert from a private foundation to a public charity. For four years he led the philanthropic services practice at Changing Our World, a nonprofit consultancy, and prior to that he worked with the Annie E. Casey Foundation on two of its leadership development initiatives. Phil served as the executive director of the Coro New York Leadership Center, a nonprofit that trains and develops individuals interested in public service for four years. He was introduced to Coro as a participant through its Leadership New York program, which prompted him to jump to the nonprofit sector from Wall Street—where he started his career at Merrill Lynch International and finished as a junk bond analyst with Moody’s Investors Service. He is also a trustee of two family foundations. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Phil has a B.A. in Economics and Biology and an MBA from The Wharton School in Finance and Strategic Planning.

Laurie Liles serves members through strategic leadership of Arizona Grantmakers Forum, creating and sustaining relationships with aligned philanthropic, nonprofit and community partners. She works closely with the Public Policy Committee and board of directors to elevate Arizona philanthropy’s voice through public policy advocacy and community engagement. Before joining Arizona Grantmakers in 2015, Laurie worked to improve policy outcomes for Arizonans for more than 25 years. She began her career as a research analyst for the Arizona House of Representatives before joining the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association, where she served as senior vice president of public affairs and as president and chief executive officer, among other roles. In 2014, Laurie was a Washington, D.C. correspondent for Cronkite News, producing more than 30 stories covering politics, immigration and Indian affairs for Arizona news media outlets.

Sarah Mann Willcox joined NCNG in 2014, and was named executive director in 2022. Prior to joining NCNG, Sarah served as the director of sustainability - primarily a development role - at the N.C. Center for Nonprofits. She is a graphic facilitator and spends a lot of time studying and thinking about how adults learn best. Sarah has served on several nonprofit boards including the Durham Symphony Orchestra and the Triangle Youth Philharmonic. She has a master’s degree in public administration from N.C. State and has a B.S. from Appalachian State. Sarah is a classically trained violinist and Irish fiddle player and is something of a hobby collector. Lately, she's been into tap dancing and sewing.

As a member of Philanthropy New York’s senior leadership team, Kristen helps develop and implement PNY’s strategic priorities and supervises the Member Services, Communications, and Learning Services teams. Kristen provides key support to PNY members and leads the organization’s leadership development programming and training programs for foundation program officers. Prior to joining PNY in 2007, Kristen coordinated the public education and humanitarian aid programs at MADRE, an international women’s human rights organization. Kristen has been involved with several organizations as a volunteer, including New York Women's Foundation, Fund the People and Equity in the Center, and serves on the board of NEO Philanthropy. Kristen currently serves on the Forum’s KM Committee is a member of and contributor to the Forum’s Membership and Communications Peer Communities, and has served on the Forum's KM Advisory Group and Drupal Working Group.

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.

Erik serves as Chief Executive Officer of Native Americans in Philanthropy, a national organization advocating for stronger and more meaningful investments by the philanthropic sector in tribal communities. Previously, he served as the Executive Director for the Center for Native American Youth at the Aspen Institute. He has held positions at the Center for American Progress on their Poverty to Prosperity team, as Majority Staff Counsel for the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, and in the Obama administration as a Policy Advisor at the U.S. Department of Education. Erik began his career in Washington, D.C. at the National Congress of American Indians Policy Research Center.

He holds a J.D. from UCLA School of Law, an M.A. in American Indian Studies from UCLA's Graduate Division, and a B.A. from Whittier College.

Marissa Tirona (she/her/hers) joined GCIR in November 2020, bringing more than 15 years of senior leadership experience at social justice and philanthropic institutions. As President, Marissa leads the organization’s efforts to galvanize philanthropy to build a society in which everyone thrives, no matter where they were born. Previously, she was a program officer at the Ford Foundation, where she managed a $225 million portfolio as part of the Building Institutions and Networks (BUILD) initiative, Ford’s flagship program designed to strengthen organizations and networks core to the global social justice infrastructure. Before joining Ford in 2017, Marissa led the Blue Shield of California Foundation’s programmatic, policy, and grantmaking efforts to address, prevent, and ultimately end domestic violence and promote health equity throughout the state. Prior to that, she was senior project director at CompassPoint Nonprofit Services, where she designed and led comprehensive, multiyear leadership initiatives that developed network capacity, facilitated movement-level work, and centered communities of color. Earlier in her career, Marissa served as program director of the National Employment Lawyers Association and, before that, as an employment attorney at two national law firms.

Marissa has deep experience in organizational and movement capacity building. She frequently speaks on and writes about issues related to transformative philanthropic practice, social justice movement leadership development, and organizational and network strengthening in the United States and around the world. As a certified coach, she has a keen understanding of what is needed to lead and manage thriving, adaptive, and impactful teams, organizations, and networks.

Marissa currently serves on the boards of Change Elemental and Sadie Nash Leadership Project and previously served on the boards of numerous other organizations, including Oakland Kids First, Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach, Social Policy Research Associates, and the Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area. She holds a J.D. from Santa Clara University School of Law, is a member of the California State Bar, and has a B.A. in English literature with a concentration in women’s studies from Swarthmore College. Based in Brooklyn with her family since 2017, Marissa is always from the Town (Oakland).

Edwin Torres joined Grantmakers in the Arts as president & CEO at the end of 2017. Torres served on the GIA board of directors from 2011 through 2016. He most recently served as deputy commissioner of cultural affairs for New York City, where he collaborated on the development of the city’s long-term sustainability plan, a study of and efforts to support the diversity of the city’s cultural organizations and the city’s first cultural plan. Prior to joining the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, he was a program officer with The Rockefeller Foundation, where he worked on the foundation’s support for arts and culture, jobs access, and resilience. He has also served in the dean’s office at Parsons the New School for Design, on the arts and culture team at The Ford Foundation as well as on the staff of the Bronx Council on the Arts. He holds a Master of Arts in Art History from Hunter College and a Master of Science in Management from The New School.

Marcus F. Walton joins GEO with over a decade of practice in both nonprofit management and the ontological learning model. He specializes in operationalizing conceptual frameworks; racial equity facilitation and training; leadership and management strategy; stakeholder engagement; program development and navigating philanthropy.

In his previous role as Director of Racial Equity Initiatives for Borealis Philanthropy, Marcus lead the Racial Equity Initiatives team and worked in partnership with 18 nationally-networked, philanthropy-serving grantee organizations to move past the “transactional” nature of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to a unified movement which prioritizes strategies that close gaps in access to opportunity, resources and well-being (across all categories of gender, identity, sexual orientation, class and ability).

Before that, Marcus served as Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for the Association of Black Foundation Executives (ABFE), where he oversaw its operations, HR and staff development functions, including the overall strategy, conceptualization and administration of racial equity programming. Prior to ABFE, he combined his organizing experience and passion for public service in the role of Program Officer of Community Responsive Grantmaking with the Cleveland Foundation and Sr. Program Officer with Neighborhood Progress, Inc.

Marcus is a Newfield Network-trained ontological coach, with additional training in the Action Learning systems coaching model. He promotes coaching as a tool for personal mastery, racial equity & systems change, social sector excellence and transformation within marginalized communities.

Marcus received a Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science from Bowling Green State University and has continued graduate studies in public administration at Georgia State University’s Andrew Young School of Public Policy as well as Rutgers University’s School of Public Affairs and Administration.