Luz A. Vega-Marquis,
President and CEO
Luz A. Vega-Marquis has led Marguerite Casey
Foundation since December 2001. As President and CEO,
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.
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Herb Williams, Executive Assistant to the President & CEO/Board of Directors Liaison
Herb Williams joined Marguerite Casey Foundation in January of 2006 in a transitional capacity; he jointly served Luz Vega-Marquis, President & CEO of Marguerite Casey Foundation, and Ruth Massinga, recently retired President & CEO of Casey Family Programs. In May 2006, Mr. Williams formally joined the Foundation as Executive Assistant to the President & CEO, and Liaison to the Board of Directors. Prior to joining the Foundation, Mr. Williams was Ms. Massinga's Executive Assistant at Casey Family Programs for 16 years. He was involved in the initial setup of Marguerite Casey Foundation and has assisted the Board of Directors since the Foundation's inception. For over 24 years, Mr. Williams has made a career of directly assisting top executives. He is Chapel Organist for St. Mark's Cathedral in Seattle, where he has been an active member for nearly 30 years. Mr. Williams holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Central Washington University, with an academic background encompassing music and library science.
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Kathleen Baca, Director of Communications
Kathleen Baca joined Marguerite Casey Foundation in February of 2006 as Director of Communications. Ms. Baca is responsible for the strategic development and management of communications with the press, grantees and other key stakeholders. She oversees the implementation of the Foundation’s communication plan and message development. Ms. Baca has more than 20 years experience in media, public affairs and public relations. For over ten years, she was a reporter in the San Francisco Bay Area where she covered local communities. Ms. Baca was the head of her own Public Relations firm in San Francisco, held the position of Public Information Officer for the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department under Governor Bill Richardson, and has worked extensively with community groups to develop and execute effective media strategies and campaigns. A native of New Mexico, Ms. Baca holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and English from the University of New Mexico.
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Cheryl Milloy, Evaluation & Research Officer
Cheryl Milloy joined Marguerite Casey Foundation in July of 2008 as Evaluation & Research Officer. Dr. Milloy is responsible for managing the evaluation and learning activities for the Foundation. She has over 15 years of experience as an evaluator and analyst of programs and policies. Previously she conducted applied research and evaluated programs with the Washington State Institute for Public Policy and Urban Policy Research. Dr. Milloy has an undergraduate degree in Political Science and Public Policy from Swarthmore College, and holds a Ph.D. in Human Development and Social Policy from Northwestern University.
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Stephen Sage, Chief Financial Officer
Stephen Sage joined Marguerite Casey Foundation in May of 2008 as Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Sage is responsible for oversight of investment management, internal control, financial planning and compliance, and overall financial guidance for the Foundation.
Mr. Sage has thirty years of experience in business management and accounting. Prior to joining the Foundation, he was Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for KickStart, a social enterprise that helps people in east Africa out of poverty. He began his career with a Big 4 accountancy firm and has held executive positions with a Fortune 500 company, state government and privately held business. In 2001, he moved to the nonprofit sector and has served as CFO for ICDDR,B, an international health research institute in Bangladesh; Buckhorn Children and Family Services in eastern Kentucky; and KickStart.
He has held officer positions and advised Board of Directors of several nonprofit organizations: the first health maintenance organization in Louisville which focused on serving lower income populations, a multidenominational private school, a Big Brothers Big Sisters affiliate, and Hearth to Hearth Ministries which operates orphanages in east Africa. A native of Louisville, Kentucky, Mr. Sage is a Certified Public Accountant with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from University of Southern Indiana.
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Jennifer Gianni-Haubry, Finance Manager
Jennifer Gianni-Haubry joined Marguerite Casey Foundation in April of 2007. As the Foundation’s Financial Manager she provides support to all staff relating to Accounting functions, procedures and policies. Originally from Brooklyn, New York, Mrs. Gianni-Haubry settled in Washington in 1996. She holds a Bachelors of Arts degree in Accounting as well as a Masters of Business Administration from Saint Martin’s University.
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Alice Ito, Program Officer
Alice Ito joined Marguerite Casey Foundation
as a Program Officer in November of 2004. Prior
to joining the Foundation, Ms. Ito conducted
education, research, and oral history interviewing
at Densho a nonprofit organization that documents
and educates about principles of democracy and
the experiences of Japanese Americans incarcerated
by the U.S. government, without due process of
law and on the basis of their ancestry, during
World War II. Prior to Densho, she directed the
grant programs at the Social Justice Fund Northwest
(formerly known as ATR, A Territory Resource),
a foundation supporting organizations working
for social, economic, and environmental justice
in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming.
Ms. Ito is a co-founder of nonprofit organizations
including the Nonprofit Assistance Center in
Seattle and the Asian Women’s Shelter in
San Francisco. She has served as a board member
for philanthropic and other nonprofit organizations
including the Family Leadership Fund, National
Network of Grantmakers, and Women’s Foundation
of California. Ms. Ito has provided training
and consulting services to nonprofits for over
20 years. Born and raised in Washington State,
she is a grandchild of immigrants. She is a graduate
of Stanford University, and attended the program
in Public Policy at Claremont Graduate School
in California.
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Cynthia Renfro, Director of Programs & Evaluation
Cynthia Renfro joined Marguerite Casey Foundation in September of 2003. Ms. Renfro is responsible for overseeing the Foundation ’s core grantmaking activities. Prior to joining the Marguerite Casey Foundation, Ms. Renfro served as a program officer at the Beldon Fund and a consultant to the Iraq Peace Fund of the Tides Foundation. Before joining the Beldon Fund, she staffed the Turner Foundation in Atlanta, as a program officer and then program director, where she helped manage approximately $25 million in payouts to over 400 environmental organizations each year. Ms. Renfro started her nonprofit career working for Ralph Nader's Essential Information/Multinational Monitor, advocating for corporate accountability, human rights and the environment both domestically and internationally. Ms Renfro has been a board member for National Network of Grantmakers and the Environmental Leadership Program, as well as a participant in the Social Justice Fund Northwest’s grants committee. She currently works with several affinity groups, including the Social Justice Infrastructure Funders and the Gulf Coast Funders for Equity. A graduate of the University of California at Los Angeles, Ms. Renfro received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and spent a year in the graduate program at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
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Peter Bloch Garcia, Program Officer
Peter Bloch Garcia joined Marguerite Casey Foundation in December of 2006. As Program Officer, Mr. Bloch Garcia's responsibilities include identifying, developing and soliciting grant proposals, conducting site visits and preparing grant recommendations. Prior to joining the Foundation, Mr. Bloch Garcia served as Associate Program Officer in the research and evaluation department of the education division of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Before entering the philanthropic field, he worked as a secondary-level classroom teacher. Mr. Bloch Garcia helped create and serves on the board of two new nonprofit organizations: the Latino Community Fund of Washington State, where he is president of the board, and CollegeCorps, an overseas internship program for undergraduates with financial need. He is also involved locally with the People of Color in Philanthropy network and the Social Justice Fund Northwest. Mr. Bloch Garcia holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and a Master of Public Administration degree from the Evans School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington.
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Chad Jones, Program Officer
Chad U. Jones joined the Marguerite Casey Foundation as Program Officer for the Deep South in January of 2010. Before joining the Foundation, Chad worked as a freelance consultant, a Program Director at Building Partnerships USA, and a Program Associate at the New World Foundation in New York City, New York. He is on the board of directors of Resource Generation and of Stone Circles at the Stone House, a center for strategic action and social justice in rural North Carolina. He was an Association of Black Foundation Executives (ABFE) Connecting Leadership Fellow in 2007-2008 and a Coro Fellow in Public Affairs at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota from 2000 - 2001. Chad was born in Denver, Colorado, received his Bachelor of Arts in Economics and History from Macalester College, and supports gardening, small farmers and the public library.
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Ericka Smith Cox , Program Officer
Ericka Smith Cox joins the Marguerite Casey Foundation as a Program Officer in January of 2010. Prior to joining the Foundation, Ms. Smith Cox served as Executive Director of SCOPE – a non-profit organization in South Los Angeles that applies innovative workforce development strategies toward eradicating the root causes of poverty. Ms. Smith Cox has fifteen years of experience in community organizing, movement building, program management, policy and organizational development. As Director of Community Outreach for SEIU she organized a large coalition to win public policies that improve the lives of working families. Ms. Smith Cox’s grantmaking experience includes four years as a member of the Liberty Hill Foundation’s Environmental Justice Community Funding Board, and as co-founder of Workplace Hollywood – a non-profit organization she created in partnership with DreamWorks movie studio to award grants to community based training providers that connect low income communities with jobs in entertainment. Ms. Smith Cox directed major policy campaigns as Legislative Deputy to Los Angeles City Councilmember Ruth Galanter and has managed political campaigns for candidates seeking local, state and federal office. She has provided training and consulting for non-profits, organizational alliances and foundations. Ms. Smith Cox holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from the University of California, San Diego.
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Kathleen Roe, Grants Administrator
Kathleen Roe joined the Marguerite Casey Foundation in May of 2007 and is the Foundation's Grants Administrator. A Seattle native, Ms. Roe is passionate about nonprofit work and volunteerism. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from the University of Washington.
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Vanessa Tanner, Graphic Designer and Web Manager
Vanessa Tanner joined Marguerite Casey Foundation in May of 2007 as a Graphic Designer and Web Manager. Prior to returning to the United States for her secondary education, she had lived in several countries on five continents. Ms. Tanner received a Bachelor of Science from Boise State University in Computer Information Systems and Network and Telecommunications with minors in Marketing and International Business. She comes to Seattle after working for a web advertising agency in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
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Lauren Johnson, Administrative Specialist
Lauren Johnson joined Marguerite Casey Foundation in April of 2008. As Administrative Specialist she supports the Director of Communications, maintains the foundation’s social networking sites, researches, writes and edits materials, tracks media coverage, organizes events and promotes the efforts of the Equal Voice for America’s Families Coalition, including producing the weekly electronic Action Alerts. Ms. Johnson graduated from the University of Washington with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications.
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Nathan Sorseth, Human Resources Assistant
Nathan Sorseth joined Marguerite Casey Foundation in March of 2007 and serves as operations assistant in the Foundation office. A recent transplant to Seattle, Mr Sorseth is an active member of the local theater and arts communities. Originally from the Portland area, he holds a BA from Southern Oregon University and an MFA from the University of Delaware.
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Piilani Pang, Administrative Specialist
Piilani Pang joined Marguerite Casey Foundation in uly of 2007, bringing a wide range of administrative and communications support to the Director of Programs and Evaluations. She has more than 12 years experience in the non-profit field, including her responsibilities as a Program Director for the Family Independence Initiative in Hawaii. She has spent time with Hawaii Medical Service Association, the American Cancer Society and United Way. She has a Bachelors of Arts degree in Journalism and an MBA, both from the University of Hawaii. Ms. Pangi is co-chair of the Asian American/Pacific Island in Philanthropy Puget Sound Chapter.
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Claudia Rowe, Public Information Officer
Longtime social issues journalist Claudia Rowe joined Marguerite Casey Foundation in October of 2009 as Public Information Officer. She is a former reporter at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and frequent contributor to The New York Times. Ms. Rowe, who focused much of her 18-year reporting career on race and juvenile justice, has been nationally recognized for her work. In 2008 she received a Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism and in 2009 was honored by Harvard University’s Neiman Center with a Taylor Award for Fairness. At the Foundation, she writes stories and profiles for the Equal Voice online newspaper, blogs on issues of interest to Marguerite Casey families, and corresponds with media around the country. A native of New York City, she moved to Seattle in 2003 and holds a bachelor’s degree in literature from Bennington College.
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Sunny Hong, Administrative Assistant
Sunny Hong joined Marguerite Casey Foundation in September of 2009. As Administrative Assistant in the Programs & Evaluation Department she supports the Program Officers for the Midwest and Southwest regions, as well as the Home State Fund. Born in Seoul, South Korea, her family immigrated to Seattle, Washington when she was a small child, and she considers the Pacific Northwest her home. Although new to the philanthropic world, she brings with her 12 years of administrative and project coordination experience with Vulcan Inc., Walt Disney Imagineering, and Showorks Entertainment Group. A graduate of Full Sail University, she holds a degree in Recording Engineering.
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