We’re builders. We’re conveners. And we’re the líderes of Latinx Philanthropy.

Efrain Escobedo

Chair

Vice President, Civic Engagement & Public Policy
California Community Foundation

Efrain Escobedo is the vice president in charge of civic engagement, multisector collaboration and public policy at California Community Foundation, responsible for promoting collaboration and advocacy efforts across the nonprofit, public and private sectors to address community problems. Escobedo is recognized nationally and locally as an active leader and expert in Latino civic engagement and elections policy. He has worked extensively with academia, civic and community organizations, as well as with elected officials in developing research, strategies and program to increase voter participation.

Prior to joining CCF, Escobedo was the manager of governmental and legislative affairs for the Registrar of Voters in Los Angeles County, the largest election jurisdiction in the nation with more than 4.5 million registered voters. There, he worked with elected officials to enact numerous initiatives aimed at making the voting process easier for Angelenos, including the electronic delivery of sample ballots and the authorization of online voter registration. Escobedo also served as senior director of civic engagement for the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund, where he led the development of innovative voter contact strategies and technologies that have helped to engage more than one million young, newly registered and infrequent Latino voters across the country.

Escobedo earned his bachelor’s degree in American studies and ethnicity from the University of Southern California and is a recent graduate of the Los Angeles County Executive Leadership

Hilda H. Polanco

Treasurer

Founder and CEO, FMA

As Founder and CEO, Hilda has led FMA to become the go-to capacity builder that foundation and nonprofit leaders seek to address nonprofit financial management issues.

A nationally recognized and sought-after leader in the field, Hilda serves the sector in many ways. She was a founding member of the selection committee of the New York Nonprofit Excellence Awards, established by the New York Times and the Nonprofit Coordinating Committee. She has served as an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s Department of Health Policy and Management and is on the faculty of Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation’s Board Leadership Training Series as well as Annenberg Foundation’s Alchemy+ Board Development Training Series, and Columbia Business School’s Executive Education program.

When not speaking publicly or leading FMA’s team, Hilda provides direct capacity building, training and coaching services to foundations and nonprofits throughout the country.

Hilda served on the NYC Human Services Council’s special commission to study the closure of high-profile human services organizations. She also serves on the Board (as Audit Committee Chair) for Acelero Learning, an organization that works with local communities to support high quality Head Start programs.

Additionally, she serves on the National Advisory Board of the Harvard Journal of Hispanic Policy and is a member of Hispanics in Philanthropy and the National Network of Consultants to Grantmakers.

Hilda’s other public service duties include being a frequent speaker at the New York State Society of CPA’s annual Nonprofit Conference. She has presented at the AICPA National Not-for-Profit Conference and Private Foundation Summit as well as the AICPA Not-for-Profit Financial Executives Forum in San Francisco.

In 2016, Hilda was recognized as a Leap of Reason Ambassador for being a nonprofit thought leader and practitioner. Her previous honors include SmartCEO magazine’s New York Brava! award for Top Female CEO, the Social Entrepreneur Award from the National Association of Women Business Owners-New York City, an award from WHEDCO for outstanding leadership in the field of nonprofit finance, and the Latina Excellence Award in Community Service from HISPANIC Magazine.

Hilda graduated from New York University with a B.A. in Accounting. She holds the Certification in Control Self-Assessment from the Institute of Internal Auditors awarded to practitioners who can provide guidance on risk, controls, and business objectives. In addition, Hilda holds the Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) awarded by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). The CGMA demonstrates management accounting expertise, determination and commitment to achieving sustainable business success.

Christine Switzer

Vice Chair

Vice President, Philanthropic Strategies, Fidelity Charitable

Christine Switzer is vice president of philanthropic strategies for the Private Donor Group at Fidelity Charitable, where she is responsible for providing philanthropic guidance to a portfolio of high net worth philanthropists by developing solutions and strategies to maximize their philanthropic goals.

Christine has over 20 years of experience in the philanthropic and non-profit sectors and in innovative grantmaking and programs. Previously, she served as philanthropic advisor to the Faraway Foundation and It’s Time Network. Before that, she served as a development director at the Global Fund for Women and the International Museum of Women, director of corporate and foundation relations at the University of California (UC), Berkeley Law School, director of UC Berkeley Extension’s International Programs and Business & Technology programs, director of alumni relations at the University of Virginia’s School of Business and as a consultant for the Inter-American Development Bank’s Multilateral Investment Fund. She was also a management consultant at Accenture in Washington D.C., France and the Netherlands, and worked for the U.S. Embassy in Paris and Madrid.

She guides individuals and families through their philanthropic journeys and helps them align their personal and family values with their philanthropic priorities. She enjoys helping donors create meaningful, strategic and impactful philanthropic plans, and connecting donors who share similar goals. She has experience in the following areas: education, human rights, gender issues, arts and culture, entrepreneurship, health, environmental issues and impact investing. Christine is a graduate of the University of Virginia and has a Master’s Degree from the Fletcher School at Tufts University, where she studied international development and education with a focus on gender equity. She also studied at the Sorbonne and at the Institut de Sciences Politiques in Paris.

Christine is half-Mexican and is fluent in Spanish and French, and proficient in Italian and Portuguese. She is passionate about social change and inclusive philanthropy, gender equity, economic empowerment, impact investing, providing opportunities for the Latino community, and helping donors achieve their philanthropic goals.

Elizabeth Campbell

At-Large Officer

Executive Vice President, Programs and Communications Rockefeller Brothers Fund

Betsy Campbell is executive vice president, programs and communications at the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, providing leadership to the Fund’s program and grantmaking activities in the United States and internationally. Her responsibilities also include oversight of grants management and communications activities that support the Fund’s overall mission and program goals. Ms. Campbell began her career at Save the Children working with small enterprise and credit programs in Latin America and Africa. She served for 12 years at the Ford Foundation, as a program officer in the Rural Poverty and Resources program, as director of Community and Resource Development, and as senior director and deputy to the vice president for Asset Building and Community Development. Prior to joining the RBF in 2007, Ms. Campbell lived and worked in La Paz, Bolivia, where she provided consulting services to emerging foundations and a variety of environmental and community development organizations.

She currently serves on the governing council of the European Foundation Centre and the board of Hispanics in Philanthropy. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Ms. Campbell holds a Master of Arts in international relations from Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor of Science in foreign service from Georgetown University.

Hector Mujica

At Large

Regional Manager,
Google.org

Hector leads Google.org’s philanthropic programs for Canada and Latin America, as well as US Hispanics efforts across the United States. His previous experience includes investment banking at Oppenheimer & Co, constituent casework with Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and bilateral relations in the Economic Section of the US Embassy in Tokyo.

Hector holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Business from Florida International University, a Professional Certificate on Social Entrepreneurship from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and a Master of Public Affairs from the Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley. Outside of work, Hector serves in several advisory boards, including the Oceanic Global Foundation and the Impact Canada Advisory Committee, part of the Privy Council Office of Canada. Hector is originally from Fort Lauderdale, Florida and now resides in Oakland, California.

Glenda Monterroza

Ex-Officio

Community Health Manager
Kaiser Permanente

Glenda is a public health and philanthropy professional in the Bay Area having over a decade of experience working in Foundations and health care organizations. Her work is at the intersection of data, public health, and partnerships. In her current role in Community Health for Kaiser Permanente Northern California she oversees grantmaking in the healthcare safety net and economic opportunity. Her experience working across various Foundations has included executing grants and contracts, communications including writing blogs and op-eds, and core grant operations functions. In her prior role at Blue Shield of California Foundation she was responsible for executing the grant making process across the Foundation’s initiatives as well as providing programmatic support. In addition, Glenda worked on learning & evaluation at the California Endowment, where she contributed to various evaluation projects and provided analytical and grantmaking support for the Endowment’s Building Health Communities initiative. She has worked on various health equity issues such as healthy eating/active living, access to health care and mental health services, education systems transformation, and building community power. Glenda holds a master’s degree in public health from the University of Washington and a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology and Spanish from UC Santa Barbara.

Icela Pelayo

Board Member

Program Officer W.K. Kellogg Foundation
Battle Creek, MI

Icela Pelayo is a Program Officer in the Office of the President at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) working on the foundation’s efforts on racial equity and community engagement to support thriving children, working families and equitable communities. She serves as a strategic partner to community leaders of multi-sector, community collaborations implementing Truth, Racial Healing Transformation (TRHT) efforts and leads the strategy and coordination for WKKF’s National Day of Racial Healing.

Previously, Icela served in various roles at the New Mexico Public Education Department, including Acting Deputy Cabinet Secretary of Teaching and Learning. She also served as Director of Bilingual Education and federal Title III (English Learner) Programs where she led the program development, implementation, and evaluation of comprehensive state policy to support bilingual and multicultural education and emerging bilingual students. When New Mexico became the 5th state in the US to adopt a State Seal of Bilingualism-Biliteracy, she convened a statewide stakeholder task force, authored state regulation and policy guidance, and led statewide implementation. Since 2015, 3,300+ students have earned the state seal in 20+ languages.

Icela serves as Secretary on the Board of Family Engagement Lab. She was recently a Fellow in Hispanics in Philanthropy Líderes program and previously a Pahara Institute NextGen Fellow. Icela earned her PhD from the University of Southern California in K-12 Urban Education Policy, focusing on the intersection of policy, teaching, and learning of emerging multilingual students. Her doctoral research centered on culturally responsive evaluation of bilingual education programs and led an evaluation team to study culturally and linguistically responsive pedagogy for educators working in multicultural school settings. She earned an MA in elementary education at Loyola Marymount University while working as a public school teacher in South Los Angeles. Icela earned a BA in political economy and Spanish literature from the University of California, Berkeley. She is a first-generation college student and daughter of Mexican immigrants.

Jonathan Jayes Green

Board Member

Philanthropic Consultant
Maryland

Jonathan Jayes-Green (they/them) is an activist, philanthropic strategist and believer in a free and just world. Jonathan is an independent consultant supporting nonprofits and philanthropic entities aligning their strategies and practices towards racial justice and power-building.

Jonathan most recently served as the Vice President of Programs at the Marguerite Casey Foundation, managing the foundation’s core grantmaking portfolios supporting local organizers across the country working towards racial, social and economic justice. They also served as the founding Executive Director of the UndocuBlack Network and Senator Elizabeth Warren’s National Latinx Director during her 2020 Presidential Campaign.

Jonathan serves on the boards of the eBay Foundation, Hispanics in Philanthropy and Funders for LGBT Issues. 

Julio J. Copo Terrés

Secretary

Of Counsel | Consejero
Mañón Quintana Abogados

Julio is an attorney with more than fifteen years of experience in Administrative Law, specifically in the areas of Public Procurement, Human Rights, Regulatory, Health, Consumer Protection, Compliance and Anti-Corruption, as well as in relation to Non-Profit Organizations, focusing his practice on advising and representing companies in the pharmaceutical, medical device, food and beverage, luxury retail and automotive sectors.

He graduated from Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico City, obtained a Master’s degree in Administrative Law from Universidad Panamericana, Mexico City, and a Master’s degree in International Human Rights Law from the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, United States of America. He is a professor of Public International Law at the Law School of Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico City.

In the professional field, he served as a Junior Attorney at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in San José, Costa Rica, as well as Senior Associate in the area of Administrative Law at one of the largest Mexican law firms in the country, where he designed and implemented the firm’s pro bono program and had a professional exchange with the firm FRORIEP in Geneva, Switzerland, focusing on business, human rights and impact investment.He is an active member of the Mexican Bar Association, where he was the founding coordinator of the Health Commission and a Board member for the Mexican Bar Foundation for the period 2013 – 2017.

Derived from his experience in Non-Profit Organizations, he is a member of the Board of Hispanics in Philanthropy (“HIP”), a non-profit organization based in California, United States, Board member for Appleseed Mexico, Board member for Friends of The Mexican Museum, Board member of the Malinalco Community Foundation, a member of the Legal Committee of the Mexican Center for Philanthropy (“CEMEFI”) and a reviewer of the Pro Bono Standards Mexico.

He is the author of several articles in specialized journals, noting the investigation developed for Impunidad Cero, regarding financial irregularities in the Seguro Popular.

Marco Davis

Board Member

Marco A. Davis joins CHCI as President and CEO of the institution with more than 20 years of experience in leadership development, academic achievement, community advocacy, and civic engagement. Davis comes to his new position after being a partner at New Profit, a national nonprofit venture philanthropy, where he led Capitalizing Diverse Leaders and Organizations—an effort to create a more equitable social sector, and served as organizational lead on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Davis served in the Obama Administration as Deputy Director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics and as the Director of Public Engagement for the Corporation for National and Community Service. Previously, he was Director of Global Fellowship and Regional Manager for Latin America at Ashoka’s Youth Venture and led leadership development for UnidosUS (formerly the National Council of La Raza), creating the Líderes Initiative.

Davis serves on the boards of Education Leaders of Color (EdLoC) and Independent Sector, and represents CHCI on the boards of the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA) and the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility (HACR). He was a Pahara-Aspen Education Fellow and Hispanics in Philanthropy NGen Lideres Fellow, and is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and an alumnus of Yale University. A New York native, Davis, now lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife and daughter.

Maria del Socorro Pesqueira

At-Large Officer

Maria del Socorro Pesqueira was appointed President of the Healthy Communities Foundation in May 2017. The Foundation’s mission is to improve the health and well-being of individuals, families and communities in over 20 communities in western Cook County by promoting health equity, quality and access. As an award-winning visionary leader, she is a sought-after speaker addressing local, national, and hemispheric audiences on a wide variety of topics ranging from private/nonprofit partnerships, health disparities, immigration reform, women and family issues, violence prevention, and the future of philanthropy.

Prior to joining the Healthy Communities Foundation, Maria served as President to Mujeres Latinas en Acción. Preceding her time at Mujeres, Maria led The National Museum of Mexican Art’s Development and Marketing team.

Her civic and community involvement includes appointments to the United States Congressional Commission for a National Women’s History Museum, Illinois Children and Family Services Advisory Commission, Illinois Partners for Human Services, Community Memorial Foundation, Aetna Medical Advisory Board, and The Chicago Network. Her awards consist of being named a Chicago Community Trust Fellow in 2015, 1 of 50 Women of Influence by Chicago Business Journal in 2016, the Excellence in Community Service award by MALDEF in 2015, the Making a Difference Award by Chicago Women in Philanthropy in 2013, selected to AJC Project Israel Interchange for National Latino Opinion and Policy Leaders in 2016, and named one of “Forty under Forty” by Crain’s Chicago Business.

Maria is the eldest daughter of Mexican immigrants and a graduate of the Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government Executive Program; St. Thomas University, Mini-MBA in Nonprofit Management; and DePaul University, B.A. Latin American Studies. Maria and her husband David are proud parents of their son David Ollin.

Raul Moas

Board Member

Miami Program Director Knight Foundation
Miami, FL

Raul Moas is the Miami Program Director at Knight Foundation where he leads the foundation’s initiatives in building a more dynamic and robust community of entrepreneurs and startups.

Most recently, Raul served as the Managing Director of Miami Angels, Florida’s largest angel investor collective which brings together exceptional entrepreneurs and accredited investors to fuel success. Beyond simply providing capital, Miami Angels collaborates with founders to ensure they have access to best-in-class resources, advisors, and follow-on funding.

Prior to joining Miami Angels, Raul served as the Executive Director of Roots of Hope, an international non-governmental organization focused on youth empowerment in Cuba. At Roots of Hope Raul led the creation of programs like StartUp Cuba, which supports emerging entrepreneurs from the island in gaining valuable and practical skills, and social ventures like
Discover Cuba, a B-Corp subsidiary which has facilitated hundreds of socially conscious trips and family reunifications.

Raul is passionate about Greater Miami and deeply involved in making his community a better place. As a founding member of the Global Shapers Miami Hub, the young professional arm of the World Economic Forum, Raul focused on promoting equitable development in Miami. Raul serves on the boards of Endeavor Miami and the Beacon Council, Miami-Dade County’s economic development agency. Raul is a CPA in the State of Florida.

Sam Zamarripa

Board Member

CEO, Intent Solutions

Samuel Zamarripa: Entrepreneur, author, and former public official. He is currently the CEO of Intent Solutions, Inc based in Atlanta, Georgia. He is also Chairman of Mundo Hispanico Digital Network which is America’s #1 independently owned Spanish-Language Digital Media Company.

His first novel, The Spectacle of Let – the Oliet and Obit was published by Floricanto Press in May 2017, with a companion novel The Spectacle of Let – the Soul of a Miracle, published in April 2018 also by Floricanto Press. His genre is commonly described as speculative fiction or contemporary magical realism.

He has a long history of public services and was the first Hispanic to serve in the Georgia state senate, representing the 36th District in eastern Fulton County, Georgia. Zamarripa served two terms in the state senate of Georgia representing the City of Atlanta, where he served as the secretary of the State Economic Development Committee and a member of the committee on Insurance, Science & Technology, and Transportation.

Zamarripa is a director of Assurance America Corporation and Chairman of the Compensation Committee. In 1998, Zamarripa co-founded United Americas Bank, NA of Atlanta where he served as a Board Member until 2009.

Zamarripa is a Trustee of the Annie E. Casey Foundation of Baltimore, Maryland, and a lifetime Trustee of Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York. He is the founder of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials and its former chairman. He is a past member of the board of directors of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) and is currently a member of the Board of Counselors for The Carter Center of Atlanta.

Zamarripa holds a BA from New College of Florida and a Masters of Public Administration from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York.

Shawn Escoffery

Board Member

Executive Director,
Roy and Patricia Disney Family Foundation

Shawn Escoffery is the Executive Director of the Roy and Patricia Disney Family Foundation. RPDFF invest in innovative solutions and community leaders to build a more just, equitable and sustainable world in which all people thrive. Shawn manages a small staff, a $5 million annual grantmaking budget and an endowment approaching $130 million. Prior to joining RPDFF Shawn Escoffery directed the Strong Local Economics program at the Surdna Foundation – a nationally focused family foundation with over $1 billion dollars in assets. In this role, Shawn worked to support the development of robust and sustainable economies that include a wide range of businesses, equitable economic policy and access to quality jobs. With an annual budget of $9.2 million, the program aims to create opportunities for upward economic mobility among communities that have experienced historical barriers to opportunity, including low-income people, communities of color, women, and immigrants. As the foundation developed a mission related investing and impact investing portfolio, Shawn was also responsible for deploying an additional $10 million dollars in (debt and equity) aimed at addressing access to capital challenges facing minority and women owned businesses.

Before joining philanthropy, Mr. Escoffery served as the Deputy Director of the New Orleans Neighborhood Development Collaborative (NONDC), a community organizing, planning and housing development organization, focused on post-Hurricane Katrina neighborhood revitalization. As an urban planner with over 15+ years of experience, Shawn has been responsible for designing workforce development programs serving lower income communities, developing financing strategies for affordable housing developments and coordinating resident engagement efforts. Throughout his career, he has managed projects and people effectively to produce positive outcomes for communities.

Shawn holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and English Literature from Rutgers University and a Master’s of City and Regional Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a concentration in Housing, Community, and Economic Development. He also holds certificates in Communications and International Relations, Urban Redevelopment and Effective Leadership from Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pennsylvania and Duke University, respectively.

Tony Mestres

Board Member

Prior to serving as President of Truveta, Tony was President and CEO of Seattle Foundation, one of the largest community foundations in the country and one of the largest grantmakers in the Pacific Northwest. Under Tony’s leadership, Seattle Foundation redefined its role as a civic leader, shining a light on community needs and developing cross-sector initiatives to drive racial and economic equity throughout the region. He provided strategic counsel and support to Seattle Foundation’s 1,200 individual, family, and corporate philanthropists and oversaw the investment of more than $250 million in charitable grants annually.

Prior to joining Seattle Foundation in 2014, Tony had a 22-year career in high technology, largely at Microsoft, where he was the vice president responsible for worldwide sales and marketing of the Windows product line.

Tony is recognized for his servant leadership approach in driving organizational change and his expertise in building partnerships with the private and public sectors as well as with community and philanthropic leaders. He currently serves on the boards of the Seattle International Foundation and Hispanics in Philanthropy. Previously, Tony served on the boards of the Washington Roundtable, the Council on Foundations, and is president emeritus of the board of trustees of the Kindering Center, a nonprofit that serves and supports children with special needs and their families.
A graduate of Phillips Academy Andover, Tony received his Bachelor of Arts in History from Dickinson College, which in 2017, recognized him with a Distinguished Alumni Award for Professional Achievement. In 2019, Tony was among the nonprofit executives selected for The NonProfit Times’ Power & Influence Top 50 and was also named their Influencer of the Year. He has also been recognized as one of Global Telecoms’ 40 Under 40 Most Promising Executives.

Elisa Arévalo

Emeritus Member

Vice President, Latino Remittance Marketing Manager
Wells Fargo Bank

Elisa Arévalo is currently the Latino Remittance Marketing Manager for Wells Fargo’s Regional Banking Partnership team. She has over twenty-five years of banking experience with special emphasis in ethnic segment marketing. Elisa joined Wells Fargo in 1977 after completing her Master’s Degree in Business Administration from U.C. Berkeley.

In 1981, she was the first Vice President and manager of the Wells Fargo Foundation. During her ten year tenure with the Wells Fargo Foundation, she along with Luz Vega and Herman Gallegos founded Hispanics in Philanthropy in 1982, in response to the lack of Hispanics in the field of philanthropy and the need to create awareness of Hispanic issues to the philanthropic community.

She has been a board member of New Economics for Women, the only Latina founded community development corporation in Los Angeles since 1991. In 2003, she joined the board of directors of the Pan American Health and Education Foundation in Washington, D.C.

Elisa was born in Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico, and resides in Oakland, California.

Diana Campoamor

Emeritus Member

Founder of Nuestra America Fund (NAF)

Diana is the Founder of Nuestra America Fund (NAF), an initiative focused on documenting Latino leadership and best practices in philanthropy. NAF also supports individual and institutional donors that have an interest in strengthening Latino influence in US policy towards their countries of origin.

Prior to NAF, Diana served as President of Hispanics in Philanthropy (HIP) for nearly 27 years. At HIP, she grew a small network of funders, from a volunteer group of advocates into a transnational philanthropic network. HIP, under her leadership, invested over $40 million in small Latino nonprofits and leaders.

Under Diana’s tenure, HIP was recognized with the Kellogg Foundation’s National Leadership in Action Award in 2007 and received the prestigious Scrivner Award for Creative Grantmaking in 2008 for its groundbreaking Funders’ Collaborative for Strong Latino Communities.

Her book of essays, Nuevos Senderos: Hispanics and Philanthropy, published by Arte Publico Press in 1999, remains one of the few anthologies to portray Latinos as givers and leaders in philanthropy. Her editorials focusing on policy issues have been published by the New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and others.

Diana has served as a trustee of the Council on Foundations, Independent Sector, the Inter University Project for Latino Research, BRAVA for Women in the Arts and Horizons Foundation, and Planned Parenthood for the Western Hemisphere. She has been listed as one of the 100 most influential Latinos by Latino Leaders Magazine, who also awarded her their prestigious Maestro Award for Philanthropy. She’s also received honors from the New America Alliance, The San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, the Latino Economic Development Corporation, the Latin American Research and Service Agency (LARASA), and Procura in Mexico. She received a BA from the University of Florida and an MA from the University of Miami.

Herman E. Gallegos

Emeritus Member

Retired Corporate & Foundation Director

For over fifty years, Herman Gallegos has successfully undertaken important and challenging work seeking the betterment of Hispanics and other minorities ranging from community-based organizing in the Mexican American barrios of the Southwest to pioneering work with nonprofits, philanthropy and the boardrooms of corporate America.

As a civil rights activist in the early 1950’s with Cesar Chavez, Gallegos was active in the formation of the Community Service Organization (CSO), a self-help group organized to promote citizenship and naturalization classes, non-partisan voter registration campaigns, programs aimed at improving neighborhoods, and advocacy to end unwarranted actions by police and immigration officials.

In 1965, with Dr. Ernesto Galarza and Dr. Julian Samora, Gallegos served as an Urban Affairs Consultant with The Ford Foundation for purposes of assessing and recommending ways the Foundation might initiate philanthropic support for vital Hispanic concerns. As a result of this work, in 1968, The Ford Foundation made significant grants to establish what are now the National Council of La Raza and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund/ Gallegos went on to serve as the Council’s first Executive Director.

In 1969, Gallegos co-authored, with Dr. Samora and Dr. Galarza, a book entitled, Mexican Americans in the Southwest. In 1975, he produced the seminal study, U.S. Foundations and Minority Group Interests, which advocated greater philanthropic support for Hispanics and other minorities. In 1991, he co-edited with Dr. Michael O’Neill, Hispanics in the Non Profit Sector.

Since 1974, Gallegos has served as one of the first Hispanics elected to serve on various corporate and philanthropic boards including: Pacific Bell; Pacific Telesis Group; SBC Communications Inc.; UnionBanCal Corporation; Transmetrics Inc. and, by presidential appointment, The Student Loan Marketing Association.

Past philanthropic boards include The Rockefeller Foundation; The Rosenberg Foundation; The California Endowment; The San Francisco Foundation; The Hogg Foundation; The Poverello Fund; the National Campaign for Human Development.

Gallegos is a Trustee Emeritus of the University of San Francisco; Emeritus, Board of Overseers, The University of California, San Francisco; Hispanics in Philanthropy and The National Council of La Raza.

Gallegos is a graduate of San Jose State University and The University of California, Berkeley.

Luz A. Vega-Marquis

Emeritus Member

President & CEO
Marguerite Casey Foundation

Luz A. Vega-Marquis has led Marguerite Casey Foundation since December 2001. As president, she manages the Foundation’s investment portfolio, leads its effort to disburse approximately $30 million in grants annually and spearheads the organization’s focus to positively impact families, youth and children.

Prior to joining the Foundation, Ms. Vega-Marquis served as executive director of the Community Technology Foundation of California (CTFC), a community foundation based in San Francisco. She was instrumental in developing the strategic framework of CTFC’s grants program as well as energizing the CTFC vision of bringing information technology to under-served communities throughout California. Ms. Vega-Marquis’ nonprofit experience includes four years as vice president and chief operating officer at the National Economic Development and Law Center, an organization committed to providing technical, law and business expertise to distressed communities nationwide. Her career also encompasses 17 years at the James Irvine Foundation, where she served as director of grants programs, senior program officer in charge of northern California office and program officer.

A leader in her field, Ms. Vega-Marquis has contributed widely to the philanthropic community. A founder of Hispanics in Philanthropy, she has served on numerous boards including the Council of Foundations, Northern California Grantmakers, The Women’s Foundation and Katalysis Foundation. She currently serves on The California Wellness Foundation board of directors. A graduate of the University of San Francisco, Ms. Vega-Marquis received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Modern Languages and earned a Masters degree in Latin American Studies from Stanford University.

Miguel Bustos

Emeritus Member

Senior Director, Center for Social Justice
Glide Foundation

Miguel was born and raised in the Mission District of San Francisco. He attended St. Peter’s Elementary School on 24th and Florida Streets and Archbishop Riordan High School. He holds a Bachelors Degree in Political Science for Holy Names University and a Masters in International Peace and Conflict Resolution from the School of International Service at the America University in Washington, DC.Most of Miguel’s career has been as an appointed official to local and national elected officials: first as Policy Advisor for President Clinton and Vice President Gore at the White House; Deputy District Director for Congresswoman Barbara Lee; Director of Boards and Commissions for San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom; and most recently Director of Intergovernmental Affairs for Mayor Ronald V. Dellums.His nonprofit and philanthropic career highlights include: serving as Executive Director of the California Latino Civil Rights Network (Latino Network). The only statewide organization that focuses on the threats to civil rights aimed at the Latino community in California; serving as Program Officer for the Marguerite Casey Foundation (MCF). As a member of the MCF team his responsibilities included researching and evaluating potential grantees, working with Latino, Native American, Asian, African-American and LGBT communities and organizations, and analyzing and educating grantees on public policy. His regions included California, the Southwest, US/Mexico Border and Native American reservations and communities; and working as Community Relations Advisor at the California Community Technology Foundation of California (Now known as Zerodivide).Previously, Miguel was Senior Vice President, Community Relations and Outreach Regional Director at Wells Fargo in San Francisco, California. He also served as the Senior Program Manager for the Americas for the Levi Strauss Foundation. He managed grantmaking in the Foundation’s global giving areas of HIV/AIDS, asset building and workers’ rights in the regions of Latin America and Canada. He was also responsible for HIV/AIDS grantmaking domestically in the United States and LS&Co.’s Community Involvement Teams in Latin America and Canada.Miguel loves his city and still lives in his childhood home in the Mission District of San Francisco.

Cecilia Garza

Director Donor Initiatives & President's Fund, Wellspring Philanthropic Fund

Cecilia Garza directs the Donor Initiatives & President's Fund at Wellspring Philanthropic Fund, where she has worked since 2009.  She supports Wellspring’s donors, next gen donors, and President with the incubation and launch of new philanthropic initiatives and supports multi-issue philanthropic interests.  With over 20 years of experience in human rights, including 13 years in philanthropy, Cecilia has a track record with strategic planning and implementation, grantmaking experience in the U.S. and internationally, and across various operational functions in philanthropy, etc.  Cecilia served as the Chief Operating Officer at Perspective Fund, a grantmaking initiative that funds and partners with impact-oriented media makers and held several positions with international organizations and nonprofits in New York, including Human Rights Watch, the Coalition for the International Criminal Court, and the United Nations. Prior to moving to the U.S., Cecilia worked at the Comisión Estatal de Derechos Humanos de Aguascalientes in her home-country -- México. Cecilia is a 2018 alumna of Hispanics in Philanthropy's Líderes Fellowship.  

Eli Velasquez

Founder & CEO, Capital Stack Investors and Founder & Managing Partner, Investors of Color   

Eli is founder & CEO of Capital Stack Investors, a global innovation and venture advisory firm. He is also founder & Managing Partner of the Investors of Color, a U.S. network of Black, Latinx and Asian accredited investors syndicating investments into early stage companies and emerging funds.  He also serves as a Principal and Capital Advisor to the University City Science Center Health Fund, investing in healthcare innovation with global impact.  He is an angel investor and serves on the Board of the Angel Capital Association, Hispanics in Philanthropy, and Capital Advisor to the Stanford Latino Business Action Network.

Manuel J. Santamaria

Vice President, Community Action, Silicon Valley Community Foundation

As vice president, Manuel oversees the Community Action department, which includes Movement and Power-Building, Leadership Investment and Capacity Building as well as the LatinXCEL Fund. With Manuel’s leadership, these teams further SVCF’s role in addressing the region’s most challenging problems and improving communities and our quality of life. Manuel joined SVCF in 1999 and has held a variety of roles, including Grantmaking Director, Senior Program Officer in early learning and education, and immigrant integration. Prior to his work with SVCF, he led initiatives for a network of family resource centers, developed school and community education programs for children and adults, and has worked with local organizations that advocate for the protection of immigrant rights and financial inclusion and equity for the most vulnerable in our community. Manuel is currently a member of the board of directors of the Asset Funders Network, is co-chair of the Bay Area Asset Funders Network, past board secretary of the Mission Asset Fund, past treasurer of Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants (GCIR) and co-chair of the California Immigrant Integration Initiative. He has a bachelor's degree in international relations and a master's degree in public administration.

Midy Aponte

Chief Experience Officer, Spitfire

Midy is a chief experience officer at Spitfire Strategies, a public interest communication firm, and is based in Dallas. She is a communication strategist and generalist by trade – and a futurist at heart. Her career spans the public and private sectors, including litigation communication, rapid response, coalition management, development and campaigns, and organizational planning. She is nationally recognized for her ability to develop strategies that are creatively conceptualized and smartly implemented and which can be scaled appropriately. She is also a skilled brand strategist with a long track record of integrating executive visibility and thought leadership strategies to build brand awareness for organizations as they aim to drive national narratives on important issues.

Maribel Cifuentes

Portfolio Director, The Colorado Health Foundation

Maribel Cifuentes is a health philanthropy leader with 25+ years’ experience leading teams in fast-changing organizations, tackling complex adaptive problems and developing multifaceted programs and strategies to improve health. Over the last two decades, she has worked in clinical settings, academic medicine, health services research, evaluation and learning, and in the field of philanthropy to discover solutions, remove barriers and create the necessary conditions to achieve health equity in partnership with communities who have less power and privilege. She has conducted and published original research and holds content expertise in the areas of integrated primary care and behavioral health, healthcare delivery system and payment reform, affordable housing and food access and security. Maribel is a Portfolio Director at The Colorado Health Foundation, where she directs a $25M portfolio of social determinants of health investments and a team of program officers working to bring health in reach for all Coloradans. Maribel holds a nursing degree from the University of Colorado. She is from Guatemala City and brings her full and colorful lived experience as an immigrant, indigenous woman, wife and mother to all her professional and personal endeavors.