Immigrant & Refugee Funders Collaborative Retreat

Designed, facilitated, and hosted a two-day steering committee retreat across six foundations to align strategies and priorities and operationalize shared structure for the collaborative. Led funder briefings on heightened immigration enforcement and federal deportation policy, convening nonprofit leaders alongside government partners, including the Attorney General’s Policy Director.

Expanded a small learning network into a statewide funding ecosystem, growing engagement from 13 to 150 funders and active membership across 64 philanthropic institutions. Established and led a 9-member steering committee, advanced equity-centered philanthropic practices, and supported the hiring of dedicated staff for the first time in its 10-year history.

Managed the early scoping and development of the engagement, including identifying, vetting, and bringing on two external consultants to help support the process and strengthen the overall design and facilitation. Through a participatory approach centered on power-sharing and collective visioning, the process supported foundation leaders in aligning their funding strategies with the knowledge, leadership, and priorities of immigrant and refugee communities—strengthening the potential for long-term sustainability and meaningful systems change.