Arcus Foundation

Board & Staff

The Arcus Foundation board of directors and staff are a diverse group, reflecting the diversity inherent in the world their work is shaping. They are thought leaders who have significantly influenced thinking, and action, in the social justice and conservation movements. They bring expertise, resources, and vision to their work – along with track records as catalysts of change.

Board Members

Jon Stryker, Founder and Board President 

Jon Stryker is the founder and president of the Arcus Foundation, a private, global grantmaking organization with offices in New York City, Kalamazoo, Michigan, and Cambridge, UK. Arcus supports the advancement of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) human rights, and conservation of the world's great apes. Mr. Stryker is a founding board member of the Ol Pejeta Wildlife Conservancy in Northern Kenya, Save the Chimps in Ft. Pierce, Florida and Greenleaf Trust, a trust bank in Kalamazoo. He also serves on the boards of Kalamazoo College and Friends of the Highline. Mr. Stryker is a registered architect in the State of Michigan. He earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Kalamazoo College and a master’s degree in architecture from the University of California, Berkeley.

Read the Chronicle of Philanthropy's profile of Jon Stryker here.

Watch a video excerpt of Jon Stryker accepting the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force's Creating Change Award here.

Stephen Bennett, Board Member  
Stephen Bennett is CEO of United Cerebral Palsy (UCP), an international network of disability advocacy organizations and providers of services. He is a leader in disability public policy with roots in advocacy, organizing and strategy, having started his career as a Peace Corps/VISTA volunteer in South Central Los Angeles in the aftermath of the Watts riots. Mr. Bennett served as the CEO of AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA) in the late 1980s to the mid-1990s, and his experience in the early years of the HIV/AIDS pandemic developing a response, organizing support and building public understanding greatly impacted his life and later work.

Mr. Bennett was also a founder of Sokolov, Schwab, Bennett, a healthcare strategy firm and CEO/Chair of the software firm, TransDecisions. Throughout his career he has volunteered his talents to public service causes, working in mental health, breast cancer and disabilities. He has served on various boards, including ANGLE, Leadership 18, and the National Institute for the Severely Handicapped. He is a founding board member of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation and he currently chairs the Disability PAC. Teaching positions have included the Anderson School of Management at UCLA and Pepperdine University. Mr. Bennett and his partner are active supporters of Immigration Equality, which works to advance equal immigration rights for the LGBT and HIV-positive community.

Janet Mock, Board Member
Janet Mock is a writer and activist whose essays, speeches and media criticisms aim to expand society's limited idea of womanhood and reclaim stories of those most marginalized in the LGBTQ movement. She worked as a staff editor for People.com for more than five years and helped develop programming for trans youth at the Hetrick-Martin Institute in New York City. Since sharing her teenage transition story, Ms. Mock has concentrated her efforts on speaking out about the struggles, triumphs and portrayals of trans women like herself. She founded the social media project #GirlsLikeUs to highlight the diversity of trans women and to raise their visibility. She travels the country speaking about intersectional gender justice, and her commentary has appeared in a number of media outlets, from National Public Radio to the Melissa Harris-Perry show. She is seen in the HBO documentary The Out List.

In 2012, the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, an organization created to advance the legacy of transgender activist Sylvia Rivera, honored Mock for her advocacy. She was also named one of GOOD magazine's "100 Doers to rally behind," the "Top 13 Women of Color to Watch" by the Center for American Progress, and The Grio's "100 Most Influential African-Americans." Her work has also been nominated for a GLAAD Media Award and a Women's Media Center Award. Mock attended the University of Hawaii at Manoa and earned her master's degree in journalism from New York University.

Catherine Pino, Board Member 
Catherine Pino is the co-founder and principal of D&P Creative Strategies, a company that she and her partner founded to advance corporate, philanthropic and legislative efforts that mirror her deep commitment to social justice and civil rights issues. Ms. Pino has over two decades of experience working in the philanthropic and nonprofit sectors, including roles at Carnegie Corporation of New York, DeWitt Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund, the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University, Independent Sector and the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), where she gained an expertise for developing strategic philanthropic efforts, designing and evaluating programs that target underserved communities, and creating successful public policy and advocacy agendas.

Organizations Ms. Pino has current or past affiliations with include the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, the Victory Fund, Hetrick-Martin Institute, Nielsen, Independent Sector and NCLR.

Jeff Trandahl, Board Member
Mr. Trandahl is the Executive Director and CEO of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, where he leads efforts to protect and restore native species and habitats in the United States.  Prior to his leadership at the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Trandahl served on Capitol Hill for 23 years. During his tenure on Capitol Hill, Mr. Trandahl was elected Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives, a role in which he served from 1998 to 2005. He was the second highest constitutional official in the U.S. House of Representatives and served as the chief legislative official. Prior to his election as Clerk, he served members of the House and Senate in a broad range of staff assignments.

Mr. Trandahl earned a B.A. in Government and Politics from the University of Maryland in 1987 and a Certificate in Management from the John F. Kennedy School at Harvard University.  He currently serves on the boards of the Gill Action Fund, Jones Group, and Arise Corporation.
 

Darren Walker, Board Member 
Darren Walker has been an innovative thinker and indefatigable doer throughout his career, which has spanned philanthropy, law, investment banking and community development. Currently, he is Vice President of Education, Creativity and Free Expression at the Ford Foundation one of the organization’s three major program areas.

Before joining the Ford Foundation, Mr. Walker was vice president for foundation initiatives at the Rockefeller Foundation, held positions in international law and banking, and was COO of the Abyssinian Development Corporation, a community organization in Harlem. He also worked for a year as full-time volunteer staff for the Children’s Storefront School, also in Harlem.

Passionate about advancing equality for disadvantaged communities, his board memberships have included the Association for Neighborhood Housing and Development, Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York, National Housing Institute and the National Low-Income Housing Coalition, among many others. Mr. Walker is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and University of Texas School of Law, and he attended Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government Leadership Program.

Executive Staff Members

Kevin Jennings, Executive Director  
Kevin has a long and distinguished career as an educator, social justice activist, teacher, and author.  Most recently, he was CEO of Be the Change, a nonprofit that creates national issue-base campaigns on pressing problems in U.S. society.  Before that, Kevin served as Assistant Deputy Secretary of Education, heading the department’s Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools where he led federal efforts to promote the safety, health and well being of U.S. students and led the Obama Administration’s anti-bullying initiative.  Kevin began his career as a high school history teacher and coach in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.  During this time he served as faculty advisor to the nation’s first Gay-Straight Alliance leading him in 1990 to found the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), a national education organization tackling anti-LGBT bias in U.S. schools.
 
Kevin holds a BA from Harvard University, an MA in education from Columbia University’s Teachers College, from which he received the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2012, and an MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business.  He has received numerous awards for his work, is a regular speaker on national and international platforms and is a board member of the Harvard Alumni Association, the Union Theological Seminary, the You Can Play Project, and is Board Chair for the Tectonic Theater Project, which created The Laramie Project.  He is author of six books and is also a founding member of the New York City Gay Hockey Association, playing left wing on The Boxers.  Along with his partner of 17 years, Jeff Davis, he is the proud owner of two Bernese mountain dogs.
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Sandor Johnson, Executive Assistant
Sandor Johnson is a former CNN International/Asia finance correspondent. He is currently a small construction-company owner, Ford fashion model and founder of Potter Settlement Vineyards and Winery – a business that he owns in his native Canada. His passion for Conservation and Human Rights issues is evident from many of the news stories he wrote as a journalist. Sandor earned a Master’s in Journalism and Communication from Canada’s Carleton University and an Honors Bachelor’s in English Literature from The University of Western Ontario.
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Annette Lanjouw, Vice President, Strategic Initiatives and Great Ape Programs 
Annette Lanjouw is a highly regarded expert in great ape conservation, having worked with chimpanzees, bonobos and gorillas in the wild as well as working extensively in conservation strategy, program implementation and research. She was previously director of the International Gorilla Conservation Programme which works to conserve the fewer than 800 mountain gorillas inhabiting the forests on the border of Rwanda, Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo. Ms. Lanjouw served as scientific advisor to world-renowned wildlife filmmaker Alan Root, as Central Africa program officer for the Wildlife Conservation Society, and as project manager and field director for the Frankfurt Zoological Society’s Chimpanzee Conservation Project in eastern DRC. Before joining Arcus, she was international program officer for the Howard G. Buffett Foundation. A native of the Netherlands, Ms. Lanjouw holds a BSc in zoology and psychology from Victoria University in New Zealand and an advanced degree in behavioral ecology from the Rijks Universiteit in the Netherlands. She is scientific advisor to the Trust for African Rock Art, and a member of the Species Survival Commission Primate Specialist Group, the Trans-boundary Conservation Specialist Group, and the World Commission on Protected Areas.
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Jay Michaelson, Vice President, Social Justice Program
Jay Michaelson brings to Arcus 10 years of experience as an LGBT faith activist.  He is the author of the bestselling book God vs. Gay? The Religious Case for Equality, and the founder of three nonprofit organizations including Nehirim, a national LGBT Jewish community. Jay holds a Ph.D. in Jewish Thought from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, a J.D. from Yale Law School, and a B.A. from Columbia, and has held teaching positions at Boston University Law School, City College of New York, and Yale University. Jay has been included on the Forward 50 list of influential American Jews, and is a frequent contributor to The Daily Beast, The Huffington Post, and Religion Dispatches.
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Cindy Rizzo, Vice President, Organizational Learning and Grants Management
Cindy Rizzo brings an open and inclusive approach to working with grantees and other partners, and has designed a streamlined grantmaking process that is clear and straightforward. Before joining Arcus, she was director of grantmaking at the Boston Foundation, and earlier worked on the staff of Fenway Community Health Center, an LGBT health center in Boston. Past and present board positions include Funders Concerned About AIDS, Massachusetts Health Council, Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, Gay Community News and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. The mother of two, she co-edited a book on LGBT parenting called “All the Ways Home.” Ms. Rizzo holds a law degree from Suffolk University School of Law in Boston. 
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Bryan Simmons, Vice President, Communications
Mr. Simmons has more than 20 years of global experience and deep expertise in communications, brand management and integrated marketing campaign development. Simmons formerly held a number of executive positions in Marketing and Communications at IBM, including Vice President, IBM Americas, Vice President of Global Industry Communications and Vice President of Marketing, IBM Lotus Software. He also launched the company’s first global alumni outreach program and most recently led the planning for IBM’s Centennial. Mr. Simmons holds a bachelor’s degree from Harvard College in Cambridge, MA.
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Arie Weissman, Vice President, Finance and Operations
Mr. Weissman has more than 30 years of finance, talent management, information technology and operations experience. He formerly held the position of executive vice president and chief financial officer for 20 years at The Advertising Council, a leading provider of public service announcements.  Earlier in his career, he was assistant controller at Young & Rubicam, a leading advertising, branding, and public relations agency. Prior to joining Arcus, Weissman worked as an advisor and consultant to numerous leading New York area nonprofit organizations. In addition to his consulting engagements, he served as interim chief financial officer at Harlem United, The Foundation for Newark’s Future and at The Foundation for Child Development. Also among his clients were commercial enterprises such as Saatchi & Saatchi. Mr. Weissman holds a bachelor’s degree from Brooklyn College, CUNY, New York. He is a member of the Nassau County Executive’s Jewish Advisory Board and former Treasurer and member of the Board of Trustees for the New York Chapter of the National Kidney Foundation.
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Arcus Great Apes Program

Elisa Gerontianos, Director, Policy
Elisa has significant experience in moving public policy through advocacy - advancing both environmental conservation and human rights. From participation in government as a two-term appointee appointed by the Speaker of the NYC Council to breaking out of traditional law practice and founding a law firm in New York, she is an innovative and proven leader in coalition building, strategy development, and public advocacy work. Because of her unique background in international human rights law, conservation, and policy experience, she supports policy work for the Foundation’s Great Apes and Social Justice Programs, bridging these primary areas of focus.  Prior to joining Arcus, Elisa practiced law in NYC for 9 years.
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Linda May, Director, Captive Apes Program
As Arcus' founding executive director, Linda May has a unique understanding of the Foundation’s mission, vision and grantmaking priorities, which she brings to her current position as senior program officer for the Great Apes program. Prior to joining Arcus, Ms. May worked in financial management and the insurance industry. She is particularly interested in the fight for social justice, compassion regarding the treatment of animals and great ape sanctuary and conservation. 
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Adam Phillipson, Program Officer, Great Apes
Adam Phillipson comes to conservation from a background in both the humanities and the natural sciences, with a particular interest in the cultural and behavioural traditions underlying the attitudes of resource users to their environments. Previous projects include community conservation with Frankfurt Zoological Society in Ethiopia, and research into the illegal trade in wildlife products in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan with Fauna and Flora International. He has also worked on Chimpanzee projects in Guinea, and undertaken Gorilla research in Gabon. He holds a master’s degree in conservation science from Imperial College, London, and a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from Cambridge University.
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Helga Rainer, Director, Conservation Program
Helga Rainer has extensive experience in natural resource management and project development. She has worked with national and international NGOs in Europe, Asia and Africa on project development and implementation. Her work has included research on urban environment projects in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and development of regional conservation strategies in Uganda. Ms. Rainer served as the Uganda Country Program Officer for the International Gorilla Conservation Programme, where she strengthened community participation in conservation and published work on trans-boundary natural resource management. Ms. Rainer is a PhD candidate at the London School of Economics and Political Science; her doctoral research focuses on linkages between conservation and conflict. She holds a master’s degree in environmental science from the University of Bath and a bachelor’s degree in genetics from University College London. 
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Marie Stevenson, Program Associate and UK Office Manager
Prior to joining Arcus, Marie Stevenson gained extensive administration experience working in the legal sector, higher education and a trade union.  She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Ecology and Conservation. In addition she holds the Institute of Legal Executives Higher Professional Diplomas in Land Law and Conveyancing.
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Arcus Social Justice Program

Adrian R. Coman, International Human Rights Director
Adrian brings 18 years’ experience in advocacy NGOs, philanthropy, education, and politics. A native of Romania, Adrian begun his career as a teacher of Chemistry and Physics in Romania and Spain. He was the first executive director of ACCEPT, the national LGBT organization in Romania, where he led campaigns contributing to the repeal of an anti-gay criminal law and the adoption of anti-discrimination provisions. Upon his immigration to the United States in 2002, Adrian worked in grantmaking with the Baltic-American Partnership Fund at the Open Society Foundations and as Program Director of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission. In 2009, he went to the European Parliament in Brussels to advise a legislator working on human rights and anti-corruption. Adrian holds a degree in Chemistry and Physics from Romania, a BA in human rights from City University of New York, and a MA in human rights from Columbia University, where he also co-taught a class on strategic planning for human rights advocates and participated in the 2000 Human Rights Advocates Program. He is fluent in English, Spanish, and Romanian and has a working knowledge of French.
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Cheryl Dudley, Global Religions Director
As an ordained American Baptist minister, Cheryl Dudley has worked primarily in faith settings. Prior to coming to the Arcus Foundation, she was the Senior Advisor to the President & CEO of Church World Service, an ecumenical global humanitarian response organization based in New York. While there she was the key liaison to organizational partners across the world, including Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia-Pacific, Europe and the United States. Prior to this, Cheryl was the Associate Executive Director of American Baptist Home Mission Societies, based in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.  She inhabited several roles while there, including supervising the denomination’s national programs that helped strengthen outreach to often marginalized sectors within the church, i.e., women, communities of color, anti-poverty organizations. She later served as the chief development officer (funds development), and later led their intercultural program team. Cheryl has worked on the grassroots level as a community organizer and later as the Executive Director at the Peoria Friendship House of Christian Service, an ecumenical community-based anti-poverty organization located in central Illinois. Dudley received a bachelor's degree from Pomona College, a master's of divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Ministry from McCormick Theological Seminary. Cheryl has created original design labyrinths for personal and community use, and appreciates using them and other meditative tools for personal inspiration and community integration and healing.
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Desiree Flores, U.S. Social Justice Director
Desiree brings more than a decade of social justice grant making and program development experience supporting marginalized leadership and constituency building at the local, state and national levels. Most recently, she was the Director of Board Affairs for Planned Parenthood Federation of America and its nonpartisan advocacy and political arm, Planned Parenthood Action Fund.  Prior to that, she was a Program Officer at the Ms. Foundation for Women leading programs on reproductive justice, HIV/AIDS and school-based sexuality education. Through this work, she advised and partnered with foundations, individual donors as well as national advocates and community-based organizations to create a more racially diverse and politically powerful domestic pro-choice movement. Having grown up on a dairy farm in California’s central valley as the granddaughter of Mexican farm workers, Desiree is committed to supporting equality and opportunity for the United States' most vulnerable communities. She holds a bachelor’s degree from UCLA and a master’s in public administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
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Roz Lee, Senior Program Executive
Roz Lee has dedicated her career to advancing racial, gender, economic and LGBT justice through philanthropy, community organizing, legislative advocacy, and popular education. Her work at  Arcus is focused on the intersection of racial justice and LGBT equality. She worked as Director of Programs at the Stonewall Community Foundation, where she created a Racial Equity Initiative to support organizations led by and for LGBT people of color. She worked as a Program Officer for the Jewish Fund for Justice, making grants to social justice groups across the country. In 2002, she received a Union Square Award for her work as a cofounder of the New York City Organizing Support Center, an organizing, training and political education hub for grassroots social change organizations. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English Literature and Teacher Education from the State University of New York at Albany. Ms. Lee volunteers for numerous organizations committed to advancing racial justice and LGBT equality. She lives with her partner and daughter in New York City.
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Erica Lim, Program Associate
Ms. Lim has various experiences working in the non-profit, education, and government sectors. Prior to her work at Arcus Foundation she served as International Relations Coordinator for Grupo Fenix in Nicaragua where she managed programs for sustainable development, renewable energy, and women’s empowerment. Ms. Lim has also worked in projects for at-risk youth, HIV intervention, political organizing, and human rights activism. She received her master's of social work from the University of Southern California with a concentration in International and Macro Issues as well as prior degrees in Sociology and African/African-American Studies.
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Communications

Turiya Minter, Administrative Assistant to the VP, Operations and Finance, VP, Communications and VP, Organizational Learning and Grants Management
Turiya previously worked for the private equity firm LLR Partners in Philadelphia, PA, where she served as an Executive Assistant to the founding and managing partners. Prior to LLR, she worked for the accounting firm BDO Seidman. Turiya attended Grossmont Community College in EL Cajon, CA where she majored in Business Administration.
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Sebastian Naidoo, Global Media Director
Sebastian Naidoo is a communications and media specialist, having worked for 17 years in headquarters and field offices of civil society organizations and the United Nations. His professional tenure has included the UN Development Programme, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Doctors Without Borders and OneWorld International. He was Managing Editor of the ReliefWeb humanitarian news service and at OneWorld he delivered human rights news through Yahoo!, overseeing bureaus in New Delhi, Lusaka and Washington D.C. Previously, he worked as a reporter in Japan, Cambodia, and the UK, with his writing appearing in the London Guardian, the London Independent, The Washington Post, The Cambodia Daily, and New Internationalist among others. He is a member of Doctors Without Borders US Association and has received national and international awards for his work. A South African and British national, he holds Masters degrees in Japanese and in Journalism and speaks English, Japanese and Spanish.
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Finance/Operations

Nancy Cabrera, Receptionist, New York Office
Ms. Cabrera brings over 20 years of office management and reception experience.  She recently worked at Safeguard Self Storage, where she managed one of the top three largest facilities in the region. Prior to that, she was the office manager of the nonprofit law firm, Lawyers Alliance for New York, where she provided office support to fourteen in-house attorneys, as well as a network of volunteer attorneys.  She was also responsible for coordinating an annual series of workshop exclusively for individuals working at over 600 NYC nonprofits. Ms. Cabrera is an advocate of equal rights for all in the LGBT community and also enjoys working with at-risk youth.
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Linda Ho, Controller
Linda Ho comes to Arcus from the national headquarters of the American Lung Association, where she most recently served as the director of accounting and financial reporting. Prior, she worked for the Renaissance Economic Development Corporation in the position of staff accountant. She holds a BBA in accounting from Baruch College, Zicklin School of Business, The City University of New York. 
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Melvin Jung, Accountant
Before joining the financial team of the Arcus Foundation, Melvin Jung served as an accountant for Jazz at Lincoln Center and Amnesty International. He earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the New York Institute of Technology. 
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Linh M. Nguyen, Senior Accountant
Before she joined the Arcus Foundation, Ms. Nguyen worked at Marks Paneth Shron LLP, TVR Communications LLC, XPlus One Solutions, and YIVO Institute for Jewish Research. She has broad experience in profit and not-for-profit accounting. She holds a BBA in Accounting from Baruch College, Zicklin School of Business, City University of New York.
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Adriana Odice, Director, Financial Analysis and Reporting
Adriana Odice comes to the Arcus Foundation with over 24 years of accounting expertise, in both the public and private sectors, having served as the chief operating officer of Business Management Resources Group. An active community member, she is a supporter in many charitable organizations including the Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk, Katelyn Foundation, Suicide Prevention International and Suicide Prevention International’s Junior Committee. Ms. Odice currently sits on the Board of Directors of the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center as the Finance Committee Chairperson. She is a CPA and holds a bachelor’s in accounting from Fairfield University, Fairfield CT. 
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Jennene Tierney, Director, Human Resources
Jennene is seasoned human resources leader with nearly 20 years’ experience, primarily in national and international non-profits. She comes to Arcus most recently from The New Teacher Project where she was the human capital business partner and talent coach. Her previous leadership roles include Director of Talent Management at the U.S. Fund for UNICEF and Senior Learning and Organizational Development advisor at CARE USA. Prior to this, Tierney was a consultant in Accenture’s New York Change Management Practice, where she provided organizational change and development advice to Fortune 500 companies.
Tierney began her career in human resources at the United Nations World Food Programme in Rome, Italy. She graduated from Temple University with a bachelor's degree in marketing and earned an MBA with honors from St. John's University.
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Grants Management

Ericka Novotny, Director, Grants Management
Ericka oversees grantmaking processes and procedures; compliance, and overall grants management functions, including complex international grantmaking environments. She brings a wealth of grantmaking knowledge from her work at the Annenberg Foundation where she was a member of senior management and oversaw all operations of the grants management department and focused programmatically on community development and animal welfare grantmaking. Additionally, Ericka began her career in philanthropy with the Getty Foundation where she coordinated various internship programs, resulting in the placement of hundreds of undergraduate and graduate interns at arts organizations throughout Los Angeles County. Prior to this, Ericka worked in the advertising/marketing field in Minneapolis and Chicago. Ericka currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Grants Managers Network, and Co-Chairs the Nominating Committee. Other field contributions include serving as the Editor and contributing writer of the GMN Examiner and the Communications, Conference, and Collective Knowledge Committees. A Minnesota native, Ericka conducted her undergraduate studies at the College of Saint Benedict/St. John's University and during her 10+ years in Southern California conducted graduate studies at Antioch University, Los Angeles.
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Kerry Ashforth, Grants and Knowledge Manager
Kerry Ashforth worked as a community organizer and anti-homophobia activist before entering the world of philanthropy. Previous to Arcus, he served as program officer at the New York Council for the Humanities and as international program associate at American Express. He holds a bachelor’s degree in music theory and composition from New York University, and a Master of Science in Organizational Change Management degree from the Milano School of International Affairs, Management and Urban Policy at the New School for Public Engagement. 
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Monica Charles, Grants Management Associate
Monica Charles comes to Arcus from the NYU Langone Medical Center in New York, where she assisted the division director with administrative duties, budgeting and meeting logistics. Prior, she worked at the Ford Foundation for six years, overseeing international projects in the Office of Program Management, and was also a grants administrator for the Knowledge, Creativity and Freedom Program. She gained further grants management experience through her positions at the National Council on Economic Education, Twenty-First Century Foundation and United Hospital Fund. She is a long-time volunteer at Lighthouse International and holds an MPA in Nonprofit Management from Baruch College.
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Daniel Werner, Grants Management and Evaluation Assistant
Daniel Werner brings a diverse skill set to the grants management team. Prior to joining Arcus, he worked at the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission where he oversaw the organization’s database and donation processing operations. A native of California, Daniel worked as a Teach For America teacher in the Los Angeles public schools system as well as a public policy fellow in Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's cabinet office. These experiences solidified a deep commitment to advocating on behalf of disadvantaged communities. Daniel holds a BA degree in International Political Economy from UC Berkeley and an MA in Education from Loyola Marymount University.
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