Having worked in philanthropy and grassroots organizing and advocacy for over 20 years, Faron brings deep knowledge of the community organizing, advocacy and political strategy. He is known for inspirational thought leadership and pioneering new and exciting projects. 

Faron joined NFG in 2019 as a former member leader and a founding member of the Integrated Rural Strategies group (IRSG), NFG’s rural power building project. Faron currently leads NFG’s Program Team, NFG’s National Convening, and oversees all of NFG’s programs and the development and evaluation of all new NFG programs including establishing a space for Midwest funders to organize around infrastructure. 

Prior to NFG, Faron served as a Program Officer at The Unitarian Universalist Veatch Program at Shelter Rock, where he managed their New York State and Environmental portfolios. Faron has also served as the Executive Director of the Center for Third World Organizing, one of the oldest and most storied racial justice organizations in the country and was an organizing director for several large unions at the national and local levels.

Pronouns: he/him

Courtney shapes, manages, and drives NFG’s communications strategies to inspire members and the broader philanthropic community to move more money to racial, economic, gender, and climate justice. She’s also NFG’s lead on membership engagement and works to ensure that foundations and their staff are benefiting from and co-conspiring with the NFG network. 

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. Prior to that, she served as the Director of Partnerships at Global Greengrants Fund, where she mobilized more than $10 million to propel grassroots environmental action. 

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 served on the Board of Directors at the Chinook Fund from 2015-2020. She is currently a volunteer grantmaker at the Another World is Possible Fund, which directs rapid response grants to social justice organizations in Colorado that are fighting for a just response to COVID-19 in the short-term and a visionary future for our world in the long-term. 

Pronouns: she/her

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 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 holds a MS in Statistics with an emphasis in applied applications and data science. 

Pronouns: she/her

Neda builds program infrastructure and provides logistical coordination for dynamic NFG programs that facilitate connections amongst funders and movement leaders. They support Funders for a Just Economy (including the Building Power in Place project) and the Democratizing Development Program. 

Neda’s experience has honed their skills in strategic community engagement, detailed program coordination, dynamic facilitation, and thoughtful curriculum development to build momentum in the movement toward liberation. Having joined NFG in September 2018, their previous work includes youth leadership programming, organizing with queer and trans youth of color, and social justice education and domestic violence training for youth, volunteers, and advocates.

Neda is an organizer with Survived & Punished, a national project to end the criminalization of survivors of domestic and sexual violence. They completed their studies in Political Science and International Studies at the University of California at San Diego. When Neda isn’t immersed in planning the details of something, they are probably out enjoying the sunshine.

Pronouns: they/them, she/her

Renata is responsible for overseeing the Amplify Fund’s evaluation, which aims to understand the Fund’s impact on grantees and on philanthropy. Prior to joining NFG in 2021, Renata managed evaluation projects at Open Society Foundations as a Program Officer for the Open Places Initiative and as a Learning Officer for Open Society – U.S. She also has experience conducting evaluations for the NYC Leadership Academy, NYC Department of Education, Philadelphia School District, Chester County School District, and City Year Philadelphia. It is the application of evaluation findings that really motivates Renata, and that drew her to this position at NFG.
 
At Amplify Fund, Renata also supervises communication consultants. Through funder communication, the Fund seeks to shift how philanthropic institutions think of economic development, racial justice, and local power-building. Renata’s experience with strategic communication comes mainly through labor organizing, although the ability to speak to multiple audiences is an inherent part of evaluation as well.
 
Renata holds a bachelor’s degree from Swarthmore College and two master’s degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and Teachers College, Columbia University. She currently lives in Philadelphia.

Pronouns: she/her

Stephan is Lakota of the Kul Wicasa Oyate located in Lower Brule, South Dakota. He is humbled to support NFG’s Integrated Rural Strategies Group toward achieving its purpose of strengthening multiracial rural organizing infrastructure — particularly that led by and serving rural Black, Indigenous, and people of color.
 
Stephan joined NFG’s staff in 2021 with a wide range of professional and lived experiences that have allowed him to be dynamic in managing logistics and infrastructure development. Having lived in rural communities his entire life, Stephan is passionate about the work occurring through IRSG. Prior to joining NFG he was a Wildland firefighter working deeply in both fire suppression and prescribed fire implementation in land management. He is the former Executive Manager for the Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples. He earned a bachelor’s in science from the University of South Dakota. In his free time, Stephan creates pieces of art that uplift Indigenous Identity and affirm its place in the world through personal works called High Rez Wood Company.
 

Pronouns: he/him