Sol Marie Alfonso-Jones joined The New York Community Trust in 2009. She is a senior program director who manages the Trust’s competitive grantmaking programs on Long Island in the areas of education, youth development, and community and economic development.
With 30+ years of experience, Sol Marie leads strategic initiatives to ensure an accurate census count, develop regional solutions to racial/economic inequities, advance affordable housing, and support an inclusive and representative democracy. Previously, she worked at Sustainable Long Island, the Fight for Families Coalition, Sponsors for Educational Opportunity, and in Governor Mario Cuomo’s Office of Hispanic Affairs.
Sol Marie is an adjunct professor at Stony Brook University’s School of Social Welfare. She is on the executive committee of Engage New York, chair of the Funders Committee Census Initiative, a board member of the Regional Plan Association and the Funders Committee for Civic Participation, and a member of the Long Island Regional Economic Development Council and the Long Island Continuum of Care Governance Board.

Meredith (she/her) is a multidisciplinary organizational leader guided by equity, community and personal growth. She is a licensed attorney with nearly 20 years in the social sector spanning national and regional work in public policy, legal advocacy, strategic communications, cross-sector partnerships and engagement with diverse communities. Meredith is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism and the University of Washington School of Law.

May Yang is Director of Democracy Programs at the Minnesota Council on Foundations, where she leads statewide efforts to strengthen democracy and civic participation. She convenes the Minnesota Census and Democracy Partnership, a cross-sector network building lasting census and democratic infrastructure, and serves as Director of Press Forward Minnesota, supporting strong local news and information across the state. With more than a decade of experience, May brings people together to advance community-led solutions through policy, advocacy, grantmaking, and program development. Her work is grounded in equity and spans education, civic engagement, and the nonprofit sector

As Vice President of Advocacy & External Relations, Matthew L. Evans leads the Forum's comprehensive external engagement strategy, integrating policy advocacy, strategic communications, and partnership development to advance philanthropy's impact for the common good. With more than 17 years of experience in public policy, advocacy, and external affairs, he has been instrumental in expanding the Forum's influence and establishing it as a leading voice for the philanthropic sector.
Before joining the Forum, Matthew served as the inaugural Director of Public Policy and Special Projects at the Southeastern Council of Foundations (now Philanthropy Southeast), where he pioneered the organization's legislative and regulatory advocacy efforts. His career, shaped mostly in Washington, D.C. has included direct experience working with elected officials, corporations, and national associations, developing deep expertise in strategic advocacy and stakeholder engagement.
A recognized leader in the field, Matthew currently serves as Vice Chairman of the Nonprofit VOTE Board of Directors and is a member of the organization's Leadership Council. He also contributes his expertise to the Funders' Committee Census Initiative Leadership Team and the Charitable Giving Coalition Steering Committee. His previous service includes public policy committees for Independent Sector and the Council on Foundations.

Kiki Jamieson, Ph.D., is an entrepreneurial leader with 25 years of experience in philanthropy, nonprofits, and higher education, developing innovative and engaged partnerships to strengthen democratic practice and advance a diverse, inclusive, and just society.
Kiki provides strategic guidance to philanthropic and nonprofit organizations and their leaders. She is an expert in mission-forward and inclusive leadership, strategic planning and execution, nonprofit governance, organizational evolution, community engagement and organizing, coalition building, and structural analysis to advance advocacy and social change.
Until January 2024, she was President of The Fund for New Jersey, a private foundation that supports progressive public policy and multiracial democracy. She also taught at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs.
Before joining The Fund in 2011, Kiki directed the Pace Center for Civic Engagement and taught in the Politics department at Princeton University, and before that at the University of Pennsylvania, Haverford College, and Rutgers University. She was a visiting scholar at the Institute for Advanced Study. She is the author of Real Choices: Feminism, Freedom, and the Limits of Law.
She is a trustee of Bryn Mawr College and chaired its committee on investment responsibility. She has significant board experience and is past chair of the boards of the New Jersey Council for the Humanities and the Princeton Public Library. She earned degrees at Bryn Mawr College (A.B.) and Rutgers University (M.A., Ph.D.).

Gina Gallo is the Principal and Owner of Gallo Nonprofit Solutions, providing strategy and project consulting services to nonprofits and philanthropic institutions. She spent the early part of her career working in out-of-school time, followed by a decade in the United Way system, where she focused on collective impact projects, operations, strategy, and planning. Most recently, she served as a Program Consultant for Tampa Bay Thrives before founding her own firm. She has an Executive MBA from Quantic School of Business & Technology and a BA in International Affairs from The George Washington University. Gina is a Project Management Professional (PMP)®, a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP®), and is a Prosci Certified Change Management Professional. She loves to partner with people and organizations who are doing great work so they are able to maximize their resources, further their missions, and improve their communities.

David Martinez III (he/him/his) is Vitalyst Health Foundation’s Director of Strategic Community Partnerships. In this role, he oversees the foundation’s capacity-building and grant programs and Civic Health portfolio. This includes leading the Vitalyst Grants & Partnerships Team to build and steward community and partner relationships.
David is on the Steering Committee of the Arizona Together for Impact Fund, serves on the board of the Arizona Democracy Alliance, and is Vice Chair of the Funders Committee for Civic Participation (FCCP) Census Initiative. He is also a Community Advisor on the Council of Directors for the National Trust for Civic Life, an effort born out of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship.
He is a Flinn-Brown Fellow with the Arizona Center for Civic Leadership, a Young Talent Advisor for the Center for the Future of Arizona, an appointee to the City of Phoenix Fast Track Cities Initiative, and a Trustee of the Desert Botanical Garden. Before joining Vitalyst, David was a Project Manager with the Center for the Future of Arizona, Community Engagement Manager for St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance, and a lobbyist and organizer for the Arizona Students’ Association.
Born and raised in Marana, Arizona, and one of six children, David is a first-generation college student earning a Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education, Political Science, and Journalism from The University of Arizona. He served as Student Regent on the Arizona Board of Regents, worked at the UA Office of Institutional Equity, and was an intern with Congressman Raul Grijalva.
David currently lives in Central Phoenix and loves to travel and explore Arizona.

Christian strongly believes in the promise of America, and that begins first with California’s estimated 15 million Latinos. As the Vice President of Civic Power and Policy at LCF, Christian leads the foundation’s efforts to advance policy solutions that will improve the lives and political power of California’s Latinos.
Christian served as the Senior Governance Specialist at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) in Washington, D.C. During his tenure, he worked with the nation’s top political, corporate, and nonprofit leaders to develop the next generation of Latino leaders in policy. He also managed CHCI’s transition towards the use of impact metrics and led two successful strategic planning sessions with CHCI’s leadership. Prior to CHCI, Christian worked at the Aspen Institute for the College Excellence Program. He helped administer the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence Competition honoring the top performing community colleges in the nation. Dedicated to the advancement of Latino communities, Christian began his career as an AmeriCorps member where he served as a college counselor at Cristo Rey New York High School in East Harlem, New York.
Christian received a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from UC Berkeley and holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Georgetown University in International Politics. In his free time, Christian enjoys cooking, watching Dodgers baseball, and traveling.
If you’d like to invite Christian to speak at your event, please email him at: carana@latinocf.org.

Brandon McKoy is an established leader in public policy analysis and advocacy statewide and nationally. Prior to his current position, he worked as the Vice President for State Partnerships and Co-Leader of the State Fiscal Policy Division at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington, D.C.
Brandon is well known for his accomplishments from his time at New Jersey Policy Perspective, where he held several roles over the course of seven years, first as a State Policy Fellow through the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities’ program, next as a Policy Analyst, and then as Director of Government and Public Affairs, before assuming leadership of the organization as NJPP’s President from 2019 through late 2021. Throughout those years, he researched and promoted a variety of issues including the minimum wage, paid sick leave, equitable taxation, public budget processes, the legalization and regulation of cannabis, and much more. Returning to The Fund for New Jersey in 2024 served as a homecoming given that Brandon worked as a Program Associate at the organization and served as its first philanthropy fellow from 2012 to 2014.
Brandon completed his bachelor’s degree at The College of New Jersey and earned a master’s degree from the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University. He is a lifelong New Jerseyan and now resides in Hunterdon County with his family.

Amanda is the Chief of Staff at Seeding Justice and lives in Portland, OR. Hailing from the South Side of Chicago, Amanda was briefly a juvenile defender before leaving the formal practice of law to focus on education. She spent 15 years working in school districts, including as the Chief of Staff at Portland Public Schools, where she provided leadership and strategic support for key district policy initiatives.

Amanda entered the world of philanthropy as the Chief Impact Officer at the United Way of the Columbia Willamette. There, she led programming and strategic community investment in culturally specific and responsive organizations through grantmaking, convening, policy work, and volunteerism, and supported the 2020 Census "We Count Oregon" campaign.

At Seeding Justice, she supports community-led, community-driven grantmaking and the Center for Social Justice.

Alana brings a very strong commitment to racial justice as well as expertise in public policy, research, and data analysis. Prior to joining The Fund, Alana worked at Advocates for Children of New Jersey as both Health Policy Analyst and Kids Count Coordinator. She has experience covering topics including health care access, maternal and infant health, and childhood lead poisoning. Alana also co-led the statewide Census 2020 NJ campaign, a complex partnership that resulted in a more complete count of New Jersey residents. She received a B.A. from Bryn Mawr College and earned her Master of Public Policy (MPP) from the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University.