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Our Team

Anna Fink headshot

Anna Fink

Executive Director

Anna joined Amalgamated Bank in 2016 as the First Vice President of Philanthropy after leading the Wyss Foundation’s Women’s Equality Program in the U.S. and Latin America and amassing over fifteen years of experience in grass roots organizing, public policy and philanthropy. She is the Founding Executive Director of the Amalgamated Foundation. 

Anna has served as the Senior Advisor to the President of the AFL-CIO on innovation and philanthropy; Senior Program Officer at the New World Foundation where she founded the LIFT Fund, a collaborative fund dedicated to supporting the future of worker representation, and as a consultant and organizer in community, philanthropy and labor.

Anna serves on the board of The Workers Lab, the Workers Defense Project and the Women Effect Fund. 

Athena Jackson

Athena Jackson

Finance Manager

A seasoned banking professional, Athena serves as the Finance Manager and is responsible for the daily financial transactions and reporting of the Foundation.

Prior to joining the Foundation, Athena enjoyed a 20+ year tenure at Amalgamated Bank where she held several positions including Vice President and Branch Manager of the Washington DC office.  She managed both small business and retail account portfolios as well as daily branch operations.

Athena brings a sharp attention to detail, transactional capabilities, and a years of exceptional customer service to her role and enjoys translating her skillset to serve grassroots and philanthropic communities.

Photo of Cristina Chavaz

Cristina Chavez

Philanthropic Services Manager

Cristina leads the Philanthropic Services team who is responsible for day-to-day servicing and operations of all funds – including contributions, contracts, grant reporting and proposal management. Her role serves as an important point of communication with our donors, funders, and fund managers.

Prior to joining Amalgamated Foundation, Cristina was the Development Manager at Deeds Not Words where she oversaw all fundraising needs and grant writing. Cristina also held a variety of positions at Jolt Texas, Dell Medical School, and Boys and Girls Club of America. She is a grant reviewer for the Austin Community Foundation and a hotline volunteer for the Lilith Fund.

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Destiny Robinson

Grants Administrator

Destiny is a key member in providing operational and administrative support for grants and contract administration as well as client service work of Amalgamated Foundation – moving millions of dollars every month to organizations advancing social change. Destiny is the connector in communicating and coordinating with donors, funders, fund managers, and grantees to ensure the Foundation’s grantmaking process runs smoothly and efficiently as well as leading efforts in tracking the scale and impact of the Foundation’s grantmaking.

Destiny is a co-founder and the Community Outreach Coordinator for Good Trouble Cooperative. Prior to joining Amalgamated Foundation, she held legal administrative positions at Covington & Burling and Arnold & Porter.

Eric Shih

Eric Shih

Director | Aligned Capital

Eric leads the Foundation’s Aligned Capital program, which focuses on unlocking philanthropic, public, and private resources to advance innovative, long-term strategies for community wealth, grassroots power, and social change. His portfolio at Amalgamated Foundation includes impact-first investments, independent revenue generation, integrated capital strategies, new fund exploration, federal/public programs, and bank partnerships.
Eric brings two decades of professional experience across grassroots organizing, social enterprise, and technology. He previously served on the board of the Chinese Progressive Association in San Francisco and received the Halcyon Fellowship and Voqal Fellowship for social innovation. Eric earned his M.A. from the University of Michigan and B.A. from Stanford University.

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Erin Gleason

Managing Director

Erin joined Amalgamated Bank in 2015 as Vice President and then First Vice President in 2018. Prior to the Bank, Erin was the Head Trader at Avenir Corporation and held key positions at Pfizer managing portfolio operations, decisions, analysis, and global IT finance and strategic planning.

Erin has served as a Development Volunteer at Health Actions Promotion Association.

Maisie Blaufuss

Maisie Blaufus

Philanthropic Services Associate

Maisie serves as a Philanthropic Services Associate, serving on the Philanthropic Services team which manages all day-to-day servicing and operations of funds. Maisie manages all incoming contributions and grants, the enrollment and establishment of new funds, daily fund management, and donor services.

Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Maisie joined the Amalgamated Foundation team after several years working political campaign operations and climate accountability.

Maisie has served as a girls’ cross country and track coach at a local high school and remains involved in local progressive advocacy.

Photo of Soma Sharan

Soma Sharan

Director | Donor Engagement

Soma leads the Foundation’s exploration, development, and implementation of strategies to grow and manage the Foundation’s portfolio of individual donor advised funds (DAFs) in addition to building creative approaches to connect, engage, and cultivate relationships with financial and philanthropic advisers; develop partnership DAF programs with small public charities; and direct outreach to contributors to Foundation initiatives and collective funds. Soma serves as the senior point of contact for donor services including customized contributions, impact investments, specialized grantmaking services, and areas of compliance.

Prior to joining Amalgamated Foundation, Soma was the Senior Philanthropy Officer of Donor Advised Funds & Giving Circles at Liberty Hill Foundation. She is a Gates Scholar, an APIA Social Innovation Fellow, and the Founder of Her Future Fund. Soma is a NextGen board member of a private family foundation and serves on the board of an orphanage in India. She is passionate about facilitating intergenerational conversations in philanthropy and utilizing DAFs to move money to grassroots organizations.

Tiffny Hays

Tiffny Hays

Operations Manager

Tiffny Hays has worked in the giving sector for more than 15 years, primarily focusing on how to move more resources to nonprofits through efficient administrative practices. As the Operations Manager, she oversees the systems that enable us to do our best work.

Before joining the foundation, Tiffny managed global health grants and overhauled grantmaking systems at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. With degrees in Communication and Education, she has taught at the University of Idaho and in her local school district. She has served on the board of several non-profit organizations and was on the committee responsible for establishing the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial, a national historic site in her hometown, completed in 2017.

Board of Directors

Priscilla Sims Brown Headshot

Priscilla Sims Brown

Board Chair

Priscilla Sims Brown is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Amalgamated Bank. Ms. Brown is a multi-national board director and C-suite executive with 30 years of financial services experience. Prior to joining Amalgamated Bank she was the Group Executive for Marketing and Corporate Affairs at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, where she focused on rebuilding trust and pride in the bank with direct responsibility for end-to-end marketing, branding, stakeholder insights, government and public affairs, and environment and social policy.

Prior to Commonwealth Bank, Ms. Brown held senior positions at AXA Financial, Inc., Sun Life Financial, and Lincoln Financial Group. She has advised several digital startups and served as the Chief Executive Officer of Emerge.me, a digital health insurance broker.

For the past three years, she served as a member of the Board of Trustees of Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (‘TIAA’), a US Fortune 100 financial services firm with over $1.2 trillion in assets under management. She served on the TIAA Investment, Nominating and Governance, and Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility committees, as well as Trustee and CEO selection subcommittees.

Anna Fink headshot

Anna Fink

Executive Director

Anna joined Amalgamated Bank in 2016 as the First Vice President of Philanthropy after leading the Wyss Foundation’s Women’s Equality Program in the U.S. and Latin America and amassing over fifteen years of experience in grass roots organizing, public policy and philanthropy. She is the Founding Executive Director of the Amalgamated Foundation. 

Anna has served as the Senior Advisor to the President of the AFL-CIO on innovation and philanthropy; Senior Program Officer at the New World Foundation where she founded the LIFT Fund, a collaborative fund dedicated to supporting the future of worker representation, and as a consultant and organizer in community, philanthropy and labor.

Anna serves on the board of The Workers Lab, the Workers Defense Project and the Women Effect Fund. 

Donna Daniels Headshot

Donna Daniels, PhD

Donna has served as Vice President and General Manager at Iconoculture, a global market research company, and led a consulting practice advising for-profit and nonprofit leaders on strategy, marketing, and communications. She is a former professor of cultural anthropology and African American Studies at Duke and Columbia Universities, Dr. Daniels pairs her scholarly knowledge of Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) communities with the practical work of building a regenerative economy and is currently Vice President of Integrated Capitals and Communities at the Heron Foundation.

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Dorian T. Warren

Dorian Warren is Co-President of Community Change, and co-chair of the Economic Security Project. A progressive scholar, organizer, and media personality, Dorian has worked to advance racial, economic, and social justice for over two decades. He previously held the position of vice president at Community Change. He taught for over a decade at the University of Chicago and Columbia University, where he was co-director of the Columbia University Program on Labor Law and Policy. He also worked at MSNBC, where he was a contributor and host, as well as the executive producer of “Nerding Out” on MSNBC’s digital platform. He serves on the boards of Working Partnerships USA, the Leadership Conference Education Fund Board, the National Employment Law Project, and The Nation magazine, among others.

Headshot of Ian Fuller

Ian Fuller

Ian is a co-founder and partner of WestFuller Advisors, a financial and wealth management firm that provides advice, strategy, and investment management for values-aligned global individuals, families and institutions.

A specialist in evidence-driven, global wealth advisory and planning, strategic investment management, and philanthropic giving; he works closely with people and institutions to empower wealth with purpose. Ian is a believer in the promise of money and financial systems to drive a flourishing democracy and economy. He also co-leads the firm's commitment to support efforts building: a just and equitable society, public purpose finance for All, and community infrastructure and assets. As an activist and finance nerd, he is the board chair of Common Justice and serves as the treasurer/finance chair for many social justice organizations, including: Color of Change, The Workers Lab, Proteus Action League, and the Amalgamated Foundation.

He received both a B.S. in Economics and an M.S. in International Affairs/Global Finance from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology/New York University; and holds a Chartered Financial Consultant designation; the Series 7, 66, 24 securities licenses. He lives on the Lower East Side of New York City with his family where he can often be found with a glass of red, a good book or training for the next adventure race.

Luna Yasui headshot

Luna Yasui

Luna Yasui is a Senior Program Officer on the Civic Engagement and Government team at the Ford Foundation, and supports young organizers and leaders seeking transformative and innovative solutions to inequality. She draws on over 20 years of experience advocating for racial and gender justice in ways that center the experience of communities most impacted by inequality, with a focus on people of color, women, immigrants, and LGBT people.

Prior to joining the foundation, Luna worked at the Open Society Foundations, where she managed a portfolio focused on advancing gender justice, LGBT rights, and low-wage worker rights.

Before joining philanthropy, Luna served as an organizer and policy advocate at a number of social justice organizations, working on issues ranging from language rights and voter protection to workforce development. Trained as an attorney, her legal work focused on protecting low-wage workers’ rights and promoting economic opportunity, first as an attorney with the Immigrant Day Labor Project of the National Employment Law Project, and later as a staff attorney at Bay Area Legal Aid, where she represented individuals on public assistance who were facing legal barriers to employment.

Luna earned a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law, where she was a public interest fellow, and a BA from Brown University.

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Morris Pearl

Morris Pearl currently serves as Chair of the Patriotic Millionaires, a group of hundreds of highnet-worth Americans who are committed to making all Americans, including themselves, better off by building a more prosperous, stable, and inclusive nation. The group focuses on promoting public policy solutions that encourage political equality, guarantee a sustaining wage for working Americans, and ensure that millionaires, billionaires, and corporations pay their fair share of taxes.

Previously, he was a managing director at BlackRock, one of the largest investment firms in the world. His work included the Maiden Lane transactions and assessing governments’ potential losses from bank bailouts in the United States and in Europe. Prior to BlackRock, Morris had a long tenure on Wall Street where he invented some of the securitization technology connecting America’s capital markets to consumers in need of credit. He is a CFA Charter Holder, a member of the CFA Institute, the New York Society of Securities Analysts, and on the board of Verified Voting and The Center for Political Accountability. Morris lives in New York City with his wife Barbara where he enjoys spending time with his two adult sons and riding his bicycle around the city.

Headshot of Roxana Tynan

Roxana Tynan

Roxana Tynan joined LAANE in 2001 and served as deputy director for six years until assuming the position of executive director in February 2012. She has spent her entire career advancing the cause of social and economic justice. She was the guiding force behind LAANE’s groundbreaking Community Benefits Program, which has pioneered a new model for economic development in Los Angeles and across the country. She negotiated many of LAANE’s Community Benefits Agreements as well as the Los Angeles Superstore Ordinance, which has successfully limited Walmart’s expansion efforts in Los Angeles.

Roxanna has been instrumental in the expansion of LAANE’s work and impact over the past decade. She has also played a leading role in developing LAANE’s community organizing department, mentoring dozens of young organizers and creating one of the region’s most effective grassroots recruitment and advocacy programs. Prior to joining LAANE, Roxanna served as economic development deputy to L.A. City Councilmember Jackie Goldberg, working to encourage responsible economic growth. During her tenure with Councilmember Goldberg she helped negotiate the country’s first Community Benefits Agreement, which ensured living wages for hundreds of workers on the Hollywood and Highland development. She also worked with the Yucca Corridor Coalition to fight slum conditions and successfully advocate for the city to build affordable housing and public parks. Roxanna also worked as an organizer for the Hotel and Restaurant Employees Union in Las Vegas and Los Angeles for four years. A graduate of Yale, she is bilingual in English and Spanish. She lives with her husband and two children in Highland Park.

Photo of Steven Cole Schwartz

Steven Cole Schwartz

As Vice President of Programs, Steven is responsible for developing and implementing an ambitious grantmaking, leadership, and power-building strategy to advance health equity in Washington. Steven is recognized for moving philanthropy toward greater investment in people and communities and supporting community leaders to become increasingly influential advocates and drivers of change. Most recently, he served as the executive director of The Partnership Funds, a funding collaborative dedicated to winning greater democracy and equity—from New Mexico to Minnesota to Virginia and beyond. As the founder of his own consulting firm, a senior leader at the Tides Foundation, and an early staff member at Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, Steven has earned a reputation as an entrepreneurial, collaborative leader.

Steven serves on the board of the Alliance for Youth Organizing. He loves to travel for work and for fun—around the state, country, and globe. Steven, his husband, and their dog are especially excited to explore Washington State after their move from Washington, D.C. Steven studied theology and philosophy at Creighton University.

Headshot of Keith Mestrich

Keith Mestrich

Emeritus Chair

Keith is the former CEO of Amalgamated Bank. A 25-year veteran of the labor movement with Workers United, UNITE HERE, UNITE and the AFL-CIO, he started at Amalgamated as Director of the bank’s Washington D.C. office. Keith is a Fellow of the inaugural class of the Finance Leaders Fellowship Program and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of The Roosevelt Institute, Democracy Alliance, Progressive Congress, Sidney Hillman Foundation, Capital and Main, The Workers Lab, Working America Education Fund, The Public Utility Law Project, Hot Bread Kitchen and the Remember the Triangle Fire Coalition. He serves on the Advisory Boards of Girls Who Invest and The
Patriotic Millionaires, and is a Trustee on the Consolidated Retirement Fund.

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