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 founded the Arcus Foundation in 2000, fueled by his personal commitment to two causes: LGBT human rights, and conservation of the great apes. Today, the Foundation has offices in Kalamazoo, Michigan, New York City and Cambridge, UK, supporting groups that work to advance lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) human rights and groups working globally to promote great ape conservation. 

He is a founding board member of the Ol Pejeta Wildlife Conservancy in Northern Kenya, and Save the Chimps in the United States; Arcus gifts helped to create the Save the Chimps Sanctuary in Fort Pierce, Fla. He is also on the board of Greenleaf Trust, a trust bank in Kalamazoo, and a trustee of Kalamazoo College, his alma mater.

Mr. Stryker is a registered architect in the State of Michigan and is President of Depot Landmark LLC, a development company specializing in the rehabilitation of historic buildings, including the renovated train station that serves as Arcus’ Kalamazoo headquarters. He earned masters degree in Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1989.

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.

Dr. Cathy J. Cohen, Board Member  
Respected scholar, educator, author and activist Cathy J. Cohen, Ph.D., brings to the Arcus Board her keen understanding of American politics as it intersects with LGBT, women’s and African American politics.  

Dr. Cohen is the David and Mary Winton Green Professor of Political Science and Deputy Provost for Graduate Education at the University of Chicago. Previously, she served as director of the Center for the Study of Race, Politics and Culture at the University of Chicago, and was Professor of Political Science at Yale University. She is the author of  “The Boundaries of Blackness: AIDS and the Breakdown of Black Politics,” and “Democracy Remixed: Black Youth and the Future of American Politics,” published in 2010 by the Oxford University Press. She is also co-editor of an Oxford University Press book series, “Transgressing Boundaries: Studies in Black Politics and Black Communities,” and “Women Transforming Politics.”

She has served as a board member with several national LGBT /people of color nonprofit organizations, including the Audre Lorde Project, Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press, and the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies (CLAGS) at City University of New York, and was one of the principal organizers of the international conference Black Nations/Queer Nations, held in New York in 1995. Dr. Cohen holds a doctorate degree in political science from the University of Michigan.

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.

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

Annette Lanjouw, Interim Executive Director, New York / Vice President for 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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Jena Schleicher, Executive Assistant to the CEO
Jena worked previously for the hedge fund Axial Capital Management, where she most recently served as an investor relations professional and business assistant. Prior to Axial, she worked for the private equity firm Friedman, Fleischer and Lowe in San Francisco.  Jena holds a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts from the New School University's Eugene Lang College. Her volunteer service includes the New York LGBT Community Center, the LGBT Community Center in San Francisco and the Empire State Pride Agenda in New York.
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Tom Kam, Vice President of Social Justice Programming, New York
Prior to joining Arcus, Mr. Kam was with the Community Foundation for the National Capital Region in Washington, DC, where he served first as senior program officer and later as vice president of Community Investment. He was also regional manager for Human Services for the County of Fairfax, Virginia; senior public health analyst for the United States Public Health Service; and associate director of AIDS Services for the Whitman-Walker Clinic in Washington, DC. Mr. Kam holds a Masters of Social Work from the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, and a Masters of Divinity from St. Patrick's Theological Seminary in Menlo Park, Calif. He is a former Roman Catholic priest who was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of San Francisco in 1983. 
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Cindy Rizzo, Vice President of Organizational Learning and Grants Management,
New York
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 of Communications, New York
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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Arcus LGBT Rights Program



Erica Lim, Program Associate, New York
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 Masters 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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Roz Lee, Senior Program Executive, Social Justice Partnerships, New York

Roz Lee has dedicated her career to fighting all forms of oppression through community organizing, political advocacy and popular education. She most recently worked as Director of Programs of Stonewall Community Foundation, where she created a Racial Equity Initiative grantmaking- and capacity-building program 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 and economic 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. Ms. Lee volunteers for numerous organizations committed to fostering progressive social change. She holds a BA from State University of New York at Albany.
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Antonio Maciel, Senior Program Executive, New York

Mr. Maciel was most recently an independent consultant, providing programmatic and management services to foundations and nonprofit organizations, working on program review and evaluation; grantmaking and grant evaluation; strategic planning and program implementation; issue research and planning; financial and management development; and organizational development and capacity building. Prior to that, he spent twelve years at the Open Society Foundations, serving in a variety of roles during his tenure, including as Director of the US Justice Fund, the largest grantmaking unit within OSI’s US Programs, with a budget of $18 million per year; and as Director of the Emma Lazarus Fund, a $50 million initiative aimed at promoting immigrant rights and increasing naturalization rates. He also has significant international grantmaking experience, having worked on special projects for OSF’s global Education Support Program, as well as on philanthropic activities in Latin America, Africa and Europe. He is a graduate of Stanford Law School.
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Bashar Makhay, Program Associate, New York
Mr. Makhay proudly identifies himself as a progressive gay, Chaldean Iraqi-American Christian. Prior to joining Arcus, he was affiliated with Affirmations, the LBGT community center of metropolitan Detroit, where he developed a Civic Engagement and Community Organizing program. He began his organizing work with ACCESS, the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services, and co-founded AL GAMEA, the LGBT Association of Middle Eastern Americans. He holds an associate’s degree in political science from Parkland College.
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Rebecca Rittgers, Senior Program Executive, New York Ms. Rittgers was formerly a program executive for the Atlantic Philanthropies (USA) Inc., where she worked on the US Reconciliation and Human Rights Program for seven years, working within national and international contexts directing philanthropic programs within the US, Australia, Vietnam and China. Her grantmaking resulted in the alignment of Atlantic's human rights priorities with funding approaches designed to affect policy and systemic change. While there, she also guided the development of a diverse range of social justice programs geared to disadvantaged groups, including immigrants, communities of color, ex-felons, those on death row, veterans, the LGBT community, and groups most impacted after the 911 attacks.
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Carla Sutherland, Ph.D., Senior Program Executive, New York

Dr. Carla Sutherland is known for her groundbreaking human rights work for sexual minorities in Eastern Africa. Before joining Arcus as the first International LGBT Rights program director, Dr. Sutherland led the Ford Foundation's Education and Sexuality program in Eastern Africa, where she was responsible for developing and managing an extensive portfolio of grantees in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, which provide East African women and youth the education and information necessary to make informed decisions about leading healthy lives. She holds bachelor’s and master's degrees in political studies and anthropology from the University of Cape Town, South Africa, and earned a doctorate in social policy from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
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Arcus Great Apes Program 

Elisa Gerontianos, Senior Program Executive, New York
Ms. Gerontianos comes to Arcus with significant experience in moving public policy through advocacy in the areas of federal and state environmental rights, international human rights, and animal welfare. She is currently a member of Manhattan Community Board 4, appointed by the Speaker of the New York City Council. There, she represents the LGBT community to improve the implementation of current hate crime legislation and accompany policy changes directed at improving state and city agency responses. She is a seasoned public policy advocate who has a proven commitment to the underserved, and has successfully built coalitions that have resulted in the passage of legislation promoting sound environmental preservation initiatives in New York and Connecticut. Because of her unique background in working on both human rights and animal welfare and her policy experience, she will support policy work in both the Great Apes Program and the Social Justice Program, increasing Arcus' policy competency as well as bridging our primary areas of work.
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Linda May, Senior Program Executive, Great Apes Program, Kalamazoo 

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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Helga Rainer, Senior Program Executive, Great Apes Program, Cambridge 

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, Cambridge 
Ms. Stevenson is a recent graduate of Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, with a degree in ecology and conservation. In addition to her most recent degree, she holds the Institute of Legal Executives (ILEX) Higher Professional Diplomas in Land Law and Conveyancing from the University of Westminster, London.
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Communications

Sebastian Naidoo, Global Media Director, New York
Sebastian Naidoo is a communications and media specialist, having worked for 16 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

Roxane Fitzpatrick, Office and Facility Manager, Kalamazoo
Prior to joining Arcus, Roxane Fitzpatrick completed more than 10 years of service as a sergeant serving in the Michigan Army National Guard. Her final deployment was at Fort Custer, Battle Creek, Michigan, where she helped relocate 300 citizens displaced by Hurricane Katrina. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo.
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Linda Ho, Accounting Manager, New York
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, New York
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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Adriana Odice, Financial Analysis Manager, New York
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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April Troy, Office Manager, New York
April Troy brings to Arcus many years of office management and social service experience. Former positions include office manager for the Trust for Public Land, Fox News Channel and City Harvest.  She also served as a substance abuse counselor for Carnegie Hill Institute, and holds a CASAC (Credentialed Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counselor) Certificate in New York State.
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Grants Management

Kerry Ashforth, Grants Management Associate, New York
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, New York
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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Josh Vandeburgh, Grants Management Associate, Kalamazoo
Josh Vandeburgh first came to the Arcus Foundation as an intern while a student at Kalamazoo College, and became a full-time grants management assistant in 2008. He spent a year in Thailand studying sustainable development and the cultures of Southeast Asia. Currently Josh serves on multiple community boards including Colleagues International and serves as the board chair for the Kalamazoo Alliance for Equality. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Kalamazoo College.
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Sandy March, Grants Management Assistant, New York
Sandy March joined Arcus from the Agenda for Children Tomorrow in New York, where she was Operations and Program Associate and earlier, Special Assistant to the Executive Director. Previously, she worked at the Permanent Mission of Jamaica to the United Nations. Currently Sandy serves as board secretary for the Bridge Builders Community Partnership, a community-based nonprofit organization in the Bronx. She holds a Masters in Public Administration and a B.A. from Baruch College.
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