Amari manages the logistics, financials, and overall project management for the Amplify Fund. She works closely with and provides ongoing support to both the Amplify steering committee and grantees throughout our eight partner sites.

Before joining NFG in January 2020, Amari was the director of finance and operations at the Center for Innovation in Worker Organization at Rutgers University. She has worked at diverse centers and units at Rutgers University over the last 16 years and is passionate about social justice and immigrants’ rights. A seasoned convening planner and training facilitator, she was previously the administrative director at the Center for Women’s Global Leadership and has coordinated or led workshops related to ending human trafficking, mindfulness in education, and immigrants’ rights, among other topics. Amari has also served as a Spanish interpreter/translator at detention centers as part of the Flores Settlement Agreement and at various community events.

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in English from the College of New Jersey, a Masters in Adult and Continuing Education from Rutgers University, and a graduate certificate in translation and interpreting (English to Spanish), also from Rutgers University.

Pronouns: she/her

Courtney shapes, manages, and drives NFG’s fundraising to support the organization’s mission and national philanthropy network programming. She also leads NFG’s communications strategies to inspire members and the broader philanthropic community to move more money to racial, economic, gender, and climate justice.

An accomplished fundraiser who believes philanthropy is a tool for social change, Courtney honed her skills at several organizations, including Global Greengrants Fund, where she mobilized more than $10 million to propel grassroots environmental action. She joined NFG’s staff in July 2019 after working with the organization as a consultant via Moxy Group, a QPOC and women-led organization that she co-founded to partner with social justice and philanthropic organizations on fundraising, communications, and design projects. 

Courtney holds an M.A. in International and Intercultural Communications from the University of Denver and degrees in Ethnic Studies and American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin. She serves on the Board of Directors at the Chinook Fund, a Colorado-based grantmaker that seeds community-led, systemic change by mobilizing resources for and trusting in grassroots social justice organizations. She is also an Advisor to Their Kids, a socially conscious childcare collective expanding resources to support gender inclusion and empowerment. Courtney lives in Denver, CO where she gets up early for sunrise hikes and always has a pint of ice cream in her freezer.

Pronouns: she/her

Faron supports the growth and visibility of NFG’s newest working group, Integrated Rural Strategies. Started in 2017, the Integrated Rural Strategies Group (IRSG) focuses on bringing solutions from rural geographies to the national funder community.

Faron joined NFG in 2019 as a Senior Program Manager. His background is in advocating for workers' rights, philanthropic grant making, and non-profit management. Prior to joining NFG Faron was a founding member of IRSG as a Program Officer at the Unitarian Universalist Veatch Program at Shelter Rock (Veatch). During his time at Veatch, Faron oversaw its New York state and Environmental Justice portfolios. Faron has also served as the Executive Director of the Center for Third World Organizing, one of the country’s oldest and most storied racial justice organizations, and has served as a national organizing director for several unions

Pronouns: he/him

Lauren facilitates the day-to-day administration of NFG’s business operations and processes. Her work is primarily focused on leveraging internal systems and technologies to improve the efficiency and performance of membership and revenue processes.

Lauren joined NFG in 2018, inspired by the organization’s efforts to move resources and power to people of color and communities that have been systematically marginalized and disenfranchised. She has a background in education and public health advocacy, diversity efforts in STEM and healthcare professions, and workforce development. Prior to NFG, Lauren worked with the Corporation for National and Community Service, the Science Educational Equity Program, and the Greater Sacramento Urban League.

Lauren is currently working towards a MS in Statistics with an emphasis in applied applications. Her interest is in how social systems and spatial patterns influenced by zoning and land use policies affect health and social inequality.

Pronouns: she/her

Melody leads Amplify’s program work including grantmaking, capacity building and grantee learning in and across its eight places: Missouri, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Nevada, South Carolina, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and California (through the Fund for an Inclusive California (F4ICA).

Melody joined NFG in August 2018, inspired by Amplify’s belief that community power is the key driver of just and equitable development and to support people of color and low-income communities to build power and influence decisions about the places where they live. Driven by her commitment to racial justice and shifting power, she has served in various roles within the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors. Most recently Melody was the Deputy Director of Programs at The Inner Resilience Program, which focused on cultivating the inner lives of students, teachers and school communities. Previously, she served as the Director of Grantmaking and Capacity Building at the Funders Collaborative on Youth Organizing (FCYO) and as a Program Officer at the Edward W. Hazen Foundation. In these roles, Melody primarily supported youth-led community organizing and honed her skills in multi-issue collaborative grantmaking. Committed to creativity, she also managed jewelry design and production for women-led businesses in New York for six years. Melody is invested in supporting the inner transformation of people and the outer transformation of communities working for racial and social justice. She holds a BA in African-American Studies and Sociology from Wesleyan University. She is based in Brooklyn, NY.

Pronouns: she/her