The 2024–25 Cohort
This second pilot, done in collaboration with the PEAK New England Chapter, is a yearlong program whose goals are to cultivate peer learning between mentors and mentees and provide opportunities for participants to grow their professional networks.
Mentors
Colin Baylor, Grants Management Officer, Mass Cultural Council
Andrea Berman, Grants Manager, Future of Life Institute
Lindsey Carver, Senior Grants Officer, Health Resources in Action
Dan Darbandi, Senior Grants Associate, Borealis Philanthropy
Annie Duong-Turner, Director, CSR, American Student Assistance
Margaret Egan, Principal, Egan Consulting
Eric Esteves, Executive Director, Boston Main Streets Foundation
Susan Fulton, CFO, Endowment for Health
Amy Hampe, Senior Program Officer, Richard and Susan Smith Family Foundation
Holly Irish, Grants Manager, Maine Health Access Foundation
Roland Kennedy, Jr., Director of Grants Management, Carnegie Corporation of New York
Lisa Tacker, Philanthropy and Grants Management Consultant
Niina Wirgentius, Grants Data Manager, Fidelity Foundations
Mentees
Elizabeth Allaby, Grants Coordinator, Maine Community Foundation
Jacqueline O. Berkowitz, Executive Director, Jeffrey P. Ossen Family Foundation
Christianna Connery, Grants Officer, William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund
Jing Cox-Orrell, Philanthropy Program Manager, American Student Assistance
Diana Diaz, Program Associate, Ceres Foundation
Kristen Dunphey, Senior Manager, Grant Strategy and Administration, Share Our Strength
Erin Fitzgerald, Senior Analyst, Assessment and Advisory Services, Center for Effective Philanthropy
Vivian Foung, Senior Grants Management Officer, The Boston Foundation
Trish Golesic, Impact Associate, World Centric
Caitlin Healy, Technical Grants Analyst, Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation
Brianna Lawless, Program Officer, Manton Foundation
Jennifer Lawrence, Executive Director, Hideo Sasaki Foundation
Bridget Miskell, Senior Finance and Operations Manager, Wagner Foundation
Maia Moore, Senior Program Officer, Partners of the Americas
Windy Pham, Social Impact Manager, Macy’s
Emma Relle, Senior Analyst, Center for Effective Philanthropy
Joe Rodriguez, Grants Management Assistant, Barr Foundation
Faouzi Talabi, Program Assistant, Richard and Susan Smith Family Foundation
Shannon Thornhill, Grants Management Associate, Pilot House Associates
Sonya van der Meer, Grants Manager, Imago Dei Fund
Talia Wujtewicz, Grants and Contracts Coordinator, Nia Tero Foundation
The 2021–22 Cohort
The first pilot program, done in collaboration with the PEAK Northeast chapter, engaged 21 mentor-mentee pairs who met one-on-one and as a cohort to support one another in their career trajectories, troubleshoot challenges, share resources and ideas, and discuss ways PEAK can improve mentorship opportunities moving forward.
Mentors
Nadia Alia, Director of Operations, The Tow Foundation
Pallavi Bharadwaj, Program Manager, SEG
Douglas Black, Vice President, Finance, Astraea Foundation
Nikki Carpenter, Grants and Contracts Manager, Merck
Roshani Desai, Grants Management Coordinator, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Margaret Egan, Principal, Egan Consulting
Katie Farrow, Community Impact Leader, SEFCU
Shibani Gambhir, Chief Operating Officer, FORE
Mary Kadzielski, Consultant, Philanthropy.io
Liza Lagunoff, Director, Grants Budgeting and Management, The New York Community Trust
Adam Liebling, Director of Grants Management, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Priti Mehta, Managing Director Foundation Operations, Investors Foundation
James Mendez, Human Resource Administration Assistant, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Christopher Percopo, Director of Grants Information and Management, The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust
Khanh T. Phan, Grant Program Manager, Lavelle Fund for the Blind
Bonnie Rivers, Director, Grants Management, JPB Foundation
Nicholas Schiavo, Chief Financial Officer, The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust
Silvana Serafimovska, Grants Manager, Surdna Foundation
Suzanne Shea, Grants Manager, The Ford Foundation
Katie Shragge, Grants Manager, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
Ursula D. Stewart, Grantmaking Industry Advisor, Salesforce.org
Mentees
Haian Abdirahman, Archivist, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
Kelsey Andersen, Grants Analyst, Citi Foundation
Thomas Batson, Program Assistant, Grants Management, Trinity Church Wall Street
Dawn Byrnes, Grants Administration Manager, Asian Cultural Council
Joanna Castro, Director of Programs, West Harlem Development Corporation
Fei Chin, Grants Manager, Foundation for a Just Society
Zenia E. Dacio-Mesina, Grants and Portfolio Manager, World Education Services Mariam Assefa Fund
Cheavanese Diedrick, Program Officer, Racial Justice, Trinity Church Wall Street
Elizabeth Flores-Amaya, Director, Community Impact, Women’s Sports Foundation
Jacqueline Gifuni-Koutsouris, Program Associate, Partners for Health Foundation
Christine Lee, Program Financial Analyst, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Jenna London, Queens Arts Fund, Grants Program Manager, Queens Council on the Arts
MariaClaudia Lora, Deputy Grants Administrator, Research to Prevent Blindness
Laura Martinez, Program Coordinator, MADRE
Megan McLean, Grants and Program Administrator, Maimonides Fund
Abigail Osei, Assistant Vice President, The Starr Foundation
Scarlett Rodriguez, Grants Analyst, Citi Foundation
Adela Ruiz, Program and Grants Manager, NBA Foundation
Sydney Schwartz, Program Associate, Ms. Foundation for Women
Joan F. Springs, Senior Associate, Grants and Contracts Management, Living Cities
Rebekah Tonthat, Grants Administrator, Joyce and Irving Goldman Family Foundation
PEAK Staff Support
For any questions regarding PEAK’s pilot mentorship programs, please contact PEAK Senior Community Engagement Manager Altinay Cortes at altinay@peakgrantmaking.org.