Rodrigo Aguiar joins the Arcus Foundation from Lambda Legal, where he fielded thousands of help desk calls from people reaching out to get information on the state of the law, discrimination, and to find legal support. Rodrigo comes to Arcus with a background in Business Administration and graduated with honors from Berkeley College. Rodrigo is passionate about social justice and building long-lasting meaningful human relationships. In his spare time, Rodrigo enjoys making candles and Afro-Cuban crafts.

Heather comes to Arcus with more than 14 years’ experience in communications and administrative support. She has served as executive assistant to the General Partners of Spray Venture Fund, and the President and CFO of Calydon, Inc., building on prior experience in office management and administrative assistant positions. Heather became a communications specialist at Cell Genesys, generating and editing the bi-weekly company newsletter, press releases, web copy, articles for journals and publications, and advertisements. She continued this work as an independent consultant in the U.S. southwest for art galleries, small boutiques, and individual artists. Heather is also a teacher, writer and classically trained singer.

Prior to joining Arcus, Angela was senior digital writer at Panthera, the wild cat conservation organization; and editorial and marketing associate at American Jewish World Service. She launched her career as a reporter for The Evangelist, a Catholic newspaper in New York's Capital Region, where she earned top industry awards. During this period, she helped lead a Kiwanis club that worked to improve the lives of children and families locally and globally, and co-authored Keeping Time, a nonagenarian musician's autobiography. Angela has a bachelor’s degree in newspaper journalism from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University in New York. She has been committed to mission-driven enterprises and working with words from a young age.

Monica Charles comes to Arcus from the NYU Langone Medical Center in New York, where she assisted the Neonatology 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 philanthropy and grants management experience through her positions at Bloomberg, the Council for 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.

Adrian has worked for more than 20 years in advocacy, philanthropy, education, and politics. Since 2013, he has coordinated the International Human Rights Program at the Arcus Foundation in New York, advancing LGBT human rights. Adrian was executive director of the LGBT group ACCEPT 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 U.S. in 2002, he worked in philanthropy with the Baltic American Partnership Fund and in human rights advocacy with OutRight International. In 2009, he went to the European Parliament in Brussels to assist a legislator on human rights and anti-corruption. Adrian holds degrees in chemistry and human rights, and is fluent in Romanian, English, Spanish, and French.

Desiree brings more than a decade of social justice grantmaking 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, where she led programs on reproductive justice, HIV/AIDS, and school-based sexuality education. Through this work, she advised and partnered with foundations, individual donors, 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.

Karolina joins Arcus from Bloomberg Philanthropies, where she provided support, research, and analysis for the Management Team. Prior to working at Bloomberg Philanthropies, Karolina graduated from Franklin & Marshall College, where she served as an Executive Board Member and intern for the Alice Drum Women’s Center. Karolina believes in spreading radical kindness and is an advocate for intersectional social justice.

Linda 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 to Arcus, she worked for the Renaissance Economic Development Corporation as staff accountant. Linda enjoys driving and taking road trips whenever possible, and hopes to one day be able to take a cross-country road trip. Linda holds a BBA in accounting from Baruch College, Zicklin School of Business, The City University of New York.

Melvin joined the financial team of the Arcus Foundation in the Spring of 2009. Prior to Arcus, Melvin served as an accountant at Jazz at Lincoln Center and Amnesty International. A lifelong New Yorker, Melvin raises tropical fish as a hobby, and holds a BS in accounting from the New York Institute of Technology.

Rachel comes to Arcus with eight years of grant management experience at The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, a small family foundation where her responsibilities included grant management, financial recordkeeping, and updating and systemizing office procedures. Before beginning her career in philanthropy, she lived and studied in Chicago, New Zealand, and Kenya. She is a board member at the Peekskill Museum in her hometown, and on the Communications Executive Committee for the Van Cortlandt Track Club in the Bronx. Most weekends you will find her running the trails with her dog or weeding in the backyard. Rachel completed her undergraduate degree in Cognitive Science at Northwestern University and she received a master’s in public administration from the School of Public Affairs at Baruch College.

Annette Lanjouw is a highly regarded expert in great ape conservation. She has worked with chimpanzees, bonobos and gorillas in the wild, and has worked extensively in conservation strategy, program implementation, and research. For 15 years she was director of the International Gorilla Conservation Programme, which works to conserve 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 a doctorandus 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.

Erica brings more than 10 years of experience working in the non-profit, government, and community organizing sectors. She has been with Arcus since 2012, supporting the International portfolio of the Social Justice Program to advance the full equity and inclusion of LGBTQ communities. Prior to her work at Arcus Foundation, she worked with organizations in Nicaragua on sustainable development, renewable energy, and women’s empowerment. She is deeply committed to seeing the full realization of rights for women and girls of color and, in her free time, is a co-founder and core organizer with Sister Diaspora for Liberation, where she enjoys community building with women to dismantle systems of patriarchy and white supremacy. She also currently serves on the Young Professionals Board of Womankind. She received her Master 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.

Daniel joins Arcus after working for nonprofits in Chicago, Cape Town, New Orleans, and New York. His background includes collegiate leadership development, historic preservation, and LGBT health and wellness. In addition to his LGBT-related work at Arcus, he has served the international/transracial adoptee and Korean-American communities as President of the Board of Directors of Also-Known-As, Inc., inaugural member of the Steering Committee for the Young Professionals’ Network at The Korea Society, and on the Community Grants Committee at the Korean American Community Foundation.

Arcus’ founding executive director, Linda was the first staff person at the Arcus Foundation, and helped establish the framework for the Foundation’s vision, grantmaking, and general operations. Currently, she is the senior program officer for the Great Apes Program, specializing in sanctuary support. Prior to joining Arcus, Linda 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.

Sebastian Naidoo is a communications and media specialist, having worked for 24 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, where his writing appeared 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 master’s degrees in Japanese and in journalism, and speaks English, Japanese, and Spanish.

Before she joined the Arcus Foundation staff, 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.

Prior to joining Arcus, Thomas was Chief Financial Officer and Vice President for Finance and Administration at the Heinz Center in Washington, DC, where he led a team comprising financial management, grants management, human resources, information technology, and administration. Before that, he served as Chief Financial Officer at the African Wildlife Foundation and, earlier, at the World Wildlife Fund. A Certified Public Accountant, Thomas earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia. He serves on the Boards of Netcentric Campaigns, the Sitar Arts Center, and The Peter Fox Project, of which he is a founding member.

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. 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 advertising/marketing 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. During her 10+ years in Southern California, she conducted her graduate studies at Antioch University, Los Angeles.

Lia Mandaglio Parifax is an attorney and social justice activist. She directs centralized Learning, Monitoring and Evaluation, and Knowledge Management at the Arcus Foundation and plays a legal and governance role. Prior to joining Arcus, Lia served as Managing Director, Global Initiatives at Out Leadership, an advisory firm specializing in LGBT business and talent development. In 2011, she co-founded Athlete Ally, a nonprofit advancing LGBTQI+ rights through sports. In this capacity and as a current trustee, Lia has strategized groundbreaking social justice initiatives in sports for which she was named to Vanity Fair's Hall of Fame by Congressman Barney Frank. Lia has been published in several leading peer-reviewed rhetoric and legal journals, including the American Bar Association’s Public Contracts Law Journal, the Italian American Bar Association’s Digest, the California International Law Journal, and the International Journal of Law in Context of Cambridge University Press. She has contributed to several opinion pieces in outlets like The Huffington Post and CNN, and she served as an editor of the book, Keys to College Studying: Becoming an Active Thinker, Prentice Hall (2nd ed.) Lia practiced structured finance law at Alston & Bird LLP in New York City, received her juris doctor from The George Washington University Law School, and graduated first in her class from Lafayette College.

Toyia Phillips serves as the Director of Administration for the Arcus Foundation. In this role, Toyia is responsible for the strategic oversight and execution of recruitment and talent management, implementing appropriate policies and procedures, and supporting leadership in building and maintaining the organizational culture. She is also responsible for the oversight of IT and the office and facilities management of the foundation. Most recently, Toyia served as the Director of Human Resources and Administration for Data & Society Research Institute. She holds a BA in Sociology and an MA in Public Administration and is a certified Professional of Human Resources (PHR). Toyia aligns strategy with people and culture and is committed to cultivating a diverse and inclusive workplace. A native Brooklynite, Toyia is a “professional foodie,” and enjoys spending her spare time experimenting with new recipes, exploring NYC’s unique culture, traveling as much as she can, and spending quality time with her family, partner, and sweet cat, CeeCee.

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.

Prior to joining Arcus in 2006, Cindy was director of Grantmaking at the Boston Foundation where she specialized in the areas of Health and Human Services, homelessness prevention, LGBT rights and HIV/AIDS. She also worked for more than six years on the staff of the Fenway Community Health Center. She currently serves as Chair of the Board of Funders for LGBTQ Issues and as a member of the board of Congregation Beit Simchat Torah. Past board membership includes Funders Concerned About AIDS, Massachusetts Health Council, Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, Gay Community News and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. In 2009, Cindy was appointed to the New York City Commission for LGBTQ Runaway and Homeless Youth. Cindy holds a JD from Suffolk University School of Law in Boston and is a published author of fiction and essays.

Glo comes to Arcus from the U.S. Government Accountability Office, where they served for six years as a senior analyst on federal environmental policy. Previously, Glo supported member-led campaigns at FIERCE! to build power among LGBTQ youth of color in New York City, helped lead anti-police brutality organizing in Atlanta, and facilitated organizing trainings and strategy sessions for various communities and organizations across the country. Glo enjoys hiking with their pit bull pups, trying out new vegan recipes, and road-tripping to the beach. They hold a doctorate in sociology of science and technology from Georgia Tech.

Bryan has more than 30 years of global experience in communications, brand management, and integrated marketing campaign development. He began his career at Strayton Advertising and Public Relations (later the Advanced Technology Division of Hill & Knowlton). Bryan held a number of executive positions in Marketing and Communications at Lotus Development Corporation and IBM Corp., including Vice President, IBM Americas, Vice President of Global Industry Communications, and Vice President of Marketing, IBM Lotus Software. He also launched IBM’s global alumni program and led the planning for IBM’s Centennial. He has served on the boards of Gay & Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, ACLU Massachusetts, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts and Harvard Magazine. Bryan earned a bachelor’s degree in European History from Harvard College in Cambridge, MA.

Marie has a strong background in administration roles gained in employment with a trade union, the legal sector, and higher education. She holds the Institute of Legal Executive Higher Professional Diplomas in land law and conveyancing from University of Westminster, London, as well as a BSc (Hons) in ecology and conservation from Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge.

Madi recently graduated from Ithaca College with a B.A. in Documentary Studies. She has a passion for environmental and social justice, enjoys being a part of a team and community, and believes that humans can coexist with one another and nature in a peaceful way. Madi’s most notable film, Walk on the Mountain, has recently been touring with the Banff Film Festival, and she is excited to bring her passion for film and activism to Arcus.

Alison holds a bachelor's of science in environmental studies from Manchester Metropolitan University and a master's of science in tourism and conservation from the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology at the University of Kent. She has worked in advocacy, development, and environmental positions since completing her master's in 1999, in Botswana, Gabon, South Africa, Uganda and the UK. She co-compiled and edited Voices of the San: Living in Southern Africa Today (2004), and has been the production coordinator and editor of the Arcus Foundation publication series State of the Apes since 2012. In her downtime, she is an avid potter and enjoys singing at informal sing-around sessions and as part of a choir.

Eileen Young has assisted with and managed the business operations of multiple growing startups. Prior to joining Arcus, she played key roles in fast-paced environments in all aspects of office administration and operations. She also brings experience in event organization.