United States

Isaac Gonzales has four years of experience in the field of providing re-entry services to a population that is at high risk and underserved. During this time, he obtained an Associate of Arts degree in Sociology, an Associate of Arts degree in Behavioral Sciences, and an Associate of Arts degree in Humanities. Currently, he is actively pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology at California State University of Los Angeles. In his capacity as a Case Manager and Community Health Worker at Homeboy Industries, he has been responsible for providing re-entry services to individuals who are marginalized and disadvantaged. Isaac is a highly experienced system management expert who has worked with Homeboy Industries, the Justice Care of Opportunities Department of Los Angeles County, and IBM to create a platform that connects persons to social services. Through this platform, a wide range of people whose lives are negatively impacted by social injustices will gain access to a variety of services. Isaac’s primary goal is to achieve the empowerment and inspiration of individuals, ultimately challenging and overturning preconceived ideas and beliefs.

Sally Holmes is a Development & Communications Specialist at Landesa, where she writes content to support strategic communications goals and seeks mission-aligned grant funding. Prior to her current role, she worked for a global health non-profit and a global education social enterprise. Sally also served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in rural Zambia focused on aquaculture capacity. She holds a Master of Public Administration in International Development from the University of Washington Evans School of Public Policy & Governance and a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Policy from Colby College. Sally’s professional interests include sustainable agriculture, marine conservation, and ethical storytelling.

Hayley Bisceglia-Martin has over ten years of experience working in international development. Since 2017, she has been working with One Acre Fund to raise funds for their mission to improve the harvests and livelihoods of rural smallholder farmers in East Africa. Prior to joining One Acre Fund, Hayley was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Ukraine and Samoa, where she worked to strengthen child literacy and help build local schools’ capacity. She has also volunteered her time with Americorps, at libraries as an adult literacy educator, and with programs designed to promote gender empowerment and HIV/AIDS awareness among youth. She is particularly interested in the intersection of gender and climate change, and ways we can leverage technology to support rural farm families.

Marisa Grimes has been working in the international development space for more than a decade, focusing primarily on serving smallholder farmers in East Africa with the trainings, tools, and inputs they need to increase their yields and access a stronger financial future. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree from George Washington University and a Master’s Degree in Social and Cultural Analysis from New York University. Currently, Marisa serves as the Program Director of Tubura Strategy at One Acre Fund Rwanda where she leads a team of more than 35 individuals to design the strategic direction and implementation plans for marketing, enrollment, product sales and impact training for more than 750,000 farm families across rural Rwanda. Previously, Marisa worked on expanding One Acre Fund’s geographical presence in both Rwanda and Tanzania to include hundreds of additional villages and new jobs, and led the Tanzania field-facing management team for several years. She also has volunteered as a secondary school English teacher, has started her own nonprofit, and serves on a young professional advisory board for a NGO focused on improving maternal health in Nepal. In addition to her core work functions, Marisa is passionate about the professional development of her direct reports, team members and colleagues and has dedicated time to create trainings, host pair walks, and prioritize opportunities for others to grow.

Alicia Caraballo is a development professional with ten years of experience in fundraising for social service non-profit organizations. Alicia earned her Bachelor’s Degree in English with a specialization in Professional Writing from Barry University in Miami, FL, where she was born. From there, she moved to New York City to study at New York University, where she earned her master’s degree in Fundraising and Grantmaking, and began her career as a fundraiser. In 2020, Alicia joined the movement to end youth homelessness and human trafficking at Covenant House, where she serves as the Associate Vice President of Institutional Funding. Alicia is passionate about strengthening vulnerable communities in Latin America, specifically children and youth, and raises critical funding to support Covenant House’s sites in Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. By building relationships with funders, Alicia has secured multiple six- and seven-figure grants for Covenant House in Latin America from institutions such as the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Maestro Cares Foundation, and the US Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Human Trafficking. Prior to joining Covenant House, Alicia raised institutional funding for social service organizations Jumpstart for Young Children, Inc., Selfhelp Community Services, and the UJA-Federation of New York. Alicia is 37 years old and currently lives in Washington, DC.

Kris Reinhardt is a digital health and data science specialist with experience in the humanitarian and international development fields. Kris holds a Master’s degree in Development Practice from Columbia University. Kris currently works for Médecins Sans Frontières or Doctors Without Borders (MSF). In her work with MSF, she has gained expertise in the field of digital health through supporting the development, implementation, and use of multiple digital health platforms. She has extensive technical and implementation knowledge of DHIS2, a health management information system for the collection, storage, and analysis of data. She also has worked on and supported projects to analyze data from Bahmni, an Electronic Medical Record platform. Prior to working for MSF, Kris worked for an inter-United Nations initiative focused on governance, policy, and planning for nutrition. She supported data projects for several countries with the objective to provide multi-sectoral and geographical data analysis around nutrition to impact policy and government planning for nutrition.

Lolade (Lolly) Durotoye has over fifteen years of experience in the nonprofit sector. She holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Health and Exercise Science from Wake Forest University, a Master’s of Science degree in Clinical Forensic Science from Drexel University, and a certificate in Global Health Delivery from Harvard University. In her current role as a Health Policy Advisor at Partners in Health (PIH) in Sierra Leone, Lolly provides technical guidance to the Ministry of Health (MOH) for the implementation of the National Health Sector Strategic Plan. She oversees program implementation, conducts policy analysis, and engages with stakeholders at a high level. Lolly also plays a leadership role as co-chair of MOHS’ Governance and Leadership group and the national representative body of health NGOs, serving as the liaison for the Ministry. Through her extensive experience, Lolly has acquired skills in scientific research, strategic planning, results-based project management, partnership development, and resource mobilization. Areas of particular interest to Lolly in the nonprofit sector include health policy development, program implementation, and partnership building for effective healthcare delivery.

Sophia Tiajoloff is the Director of Special Events at Fountain House in New York City where she has built an organizational infrastructure to engage diverse audiences in support of funding innovative initiatives, pilot programs, and evidence-based strategies for people living with serious mental illness. Sophia graduated from Vassar College with a degree in Psychology, focusing in neuroscience and cultural health, and a minor in Russian Studies. During her years at Fountain House, Sophia played a critical leadership role and spearheaded an organizational funding strategy, tapping into new key audiences to support the expansion from a local to national organization when operations grew from a $6M to $16M budget. During a time when public demand and engagement grew at the peak of the COVID-19 Pandemic, Sophia led a COVID-19 emergency response fundraising campaign, built an engagement plan recognizing long-standing donors and developed new pathways for a more diverse donor base to engage in public events. Previously, Sophia has volunteered at organizations at the intersection of youth education and disability rights. Her experiences fostered a commitment towards disability rights, social justice work and mental health reform.

Kelly Murillo has six years of experience in different industries including international development, financial services, healthcare, and nonprofits. She graduated with a double degree in International Business and Marketing from Florida Atlantic University in the U.S. She is originally from Honduras but has resided in the U.S. for the last ten years. She currently works as a Global Communications Manager at Operation Smile, where she has had the opportunity to lead and coordinate different global campaigns to bring awareness to causes she feels passionate about like, access to health care, health equity, and gender equity. She enjoys using her creativity and skills to help others, raising awareness on important issues, volunteering in her community, and bringing people together to work towards a common goal.

Megan McKinley hails from Ohio, United States of America, and has been living internationally since 2013. For her Undergraduate studies, she attended Long Island University’s Global College where her education took her out of the classroom and into the field of ten countries across five continents. Additionally, she holds a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification through the world-leading Project Management Institute. Megan believes that the best education is through experience and thus has made it her mission to work in organizations which break down barriers and provide alternative education opportunities to marginalized communities. Professionally, she has worked at Global Leadership Adventures, Guild Education, and is currently serving as a Banyan Impact Fellow in Chennai, India where she partners with Playquity, an early-phase NGO which focuses on providing gender equity programming in rural areas. Throughout her professional career, Megan has worked as a Program Manager, Education Coach, Advisor, and Project Lead. Through these experiences, she has realized she works best in diverse environments where she has the opportunity to collaborate with others and contribute her adaptability and organization. Megan is a firm believer that through daily choices, individuals hold the power to change the world.

Taylor Jackson is pursuing a master’s degree in Russian and Eastern European Studies at the University of Pennsylvania School of Arts and Sciences. She is committed to helping develop a positive and mutually beneficial relationship between the United States and Russia that is rooted in mutual respect and understanding. Her desire is to promote cross-cultural communication and assist, in any way that she can, in fostering an environment for open discourse and problem resolution between the United States and Russia. In addition to being a full-time student, she is also working at the Diversity Org as the Executive Assistant to the President of Global Partnerships. She handles research and outreach to Title 1 high schools, and she plays an active role in providing underserved students of color with professional development opportunities.

Katherine Mahon is the co-founder and CEO of Acquaint (acquaint.org), a nonprofit community of volunteers who overcome the “us and them” mentality through one-on-one conversations. She has four years of experience as a nonprofit leader and four years of experience as a 3D artist and animator. As of August 2022, Acquaint has recruited hundreds of volunteers from over 55 countries. Katherine’s role with Acquaint involves supervising employees and volunteers, building training programs, fostering partnerships, creating video content, managing social media and newsletters, fundraising, and overseeing operations. In 2018, Katherine co-founded HomeAgain VR, which was the predecessor to Acquaint. Until the pandemic, it focused on bringing virtual reality technology into assisted living, medical facilities, and other locations where people had limited mobility. The VR experiences provided an opportunity to explore meaningful and immersive spaces from home. Katherine gained experience building partnerships with various individuals and organizations, including King County (WA), the City of Phoenix, and over 50 facilities. HomeAgain VR recruited several dozen volunteers whose work included socializing with participants and helping them use the VR devices. Katherine was featured on Seattle’s King 5 News, specifically for HomeAgain VR’s work for people living with dementia. HomeAgain VR also created the beginnings of what would later become the Acquaint virtual platform. Katherine currently lives in Bellevue, WA, USA.