Introducing: 2019 Spark Grantmaking Leaders!
Spark’s mission is to advance gender equality by engaging the next generation in accessible forms of philanthropy. We define “engaging” by making it easy for young people to give, lead, and learn within our community. Spark is a platform for Spark members to develop their leadership skills through high-touch volunteering.
For example, Spark Members can take on the role of Grant Advocate – a one-time skill building opportunity that connects you with a women-led grassroots project (possibly on another continent), learning about best practices in global grantmaking, and a chance to practice public speaking by pitching the grant applicant in front of your peers.
Spark members are crucial for our grantmaking program. Members apply to lead our grantmaking process annually, receiving the skills and leadership training needed to advance gender equality through philanthropy and within their own careers. Last year, Spark received numerous applications to lead many aspects of our grantmaking program. After careful consideration, our board chose five members to lead our Vetting and Investment Committees based on their commitment to philanthropy and the gender equality movement.
Please join us in congratulating them and we hope you’ll give them a warm Spark welcome at the next Investment Committee!
-
Victoria Rodarte
Investment Committee Chair
Victoria is the Immigrant Rights and Education Equity program assistant at the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund. In her role at the Fund, she partners with program officers and grantees on key initiatives and grantmaking. She is passionate about expanding access to citizenship and increasing civic engagement among underrepresented communities. Victoria's work is also driven by her desire to see more young people of color in philanthropy. Victoria holds a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of California, Berkeley. She is originally from Bell Gardens, CA and now lives in Oakland. She enjoys reading, baking, watching insane amounts of Netflix, and looking out for the latest spots for tacos and cocktails.
Fun Fact: Despite some hard years, she is a dedicated Lakers fan. -
Michelle Brumwell
Investment Committee Vice Chair
Michelle Brumwell is passionate about finance, financial literacy, and economic empowerment. She is currently the Team Lead of the San Francisco payments team of Freelancer.com, and she previously worked at LendingHome and at the JPMorgan Private Bank. She also volunteers for the social impact program, YCore, and currently resides in San Francisco.
Fun Fact: She loves to cook and once helped a brunch pop-up in the city! -
Olivia Kim
Vetting Committee Chair
Olivia is currently an associate at a private equity firm in San Francisco, and serves as Vetting Committee Chair for Spark. Prior to her job in private equity, Olivia held roles in investment banking and digital advertising. She is passionate about women in business and increasing access to capital for female entrepreneurs and community leaders. She has an undergraduate degree from Barnard College of Columbia University where she studied Economics and Political Science. In her free time, Olivia loves to do yoga with her mom and read murder mysteries books.
Fun Fact: All the females in her immediate family have attended a women's college -
Melanie Guhit
Grants Pipeline Manager
Melanie is originally from Hawaii, but has lived in the Bay Area for the past 13 years. She currently works as a Certified Financial Planner Practitioner at Denver-based RIA firm Mercer Advisors, where she enjoys helping people plan for their future and meet their goals. In previous roles, she worked at Creative Planning as a Financial Planner, with JP Morgan Chase as a banker on their Private Client team, and Whittier Trust Company where she helped manage large trusts, private foundations, and donor advised funds. In this role, she coordinated approximately 300 grants per year with non-profit organizations across the United States.
Fun Fact: She has a strong love for marine life and is an Advanced Open Water diver. -
Luz Perez
Grants Pipeline Manager
Luz is a Scientist in a biotech startup. She was inspired by Spark’s mission of advancing gender equality after seeing the underrepresentation of women of color across STEM fields. She previously mentored underrepresented elementary school students through GeneAcademy, a program led by Genentech. As a 2018 Organizing for Action Fellow, she was mentored with grassroots tactics to create opportunities of participatory democracy at a community level. Luz holds a Bachelor’s Degree from University of California, Berkeley.
Fun Fact: She got her first pet when I was 12, and it was a white lab mouse. His name was George. -
Karolina Athanasopoulou
Pro Bono Committee Co-Chair
Karolina is from Greece and had studied Civil Engineering at the National Technical University of Athens. She holds a Masters degree from University of California, Berkeley and is working in Construction Consulting as a Program Manager. She previously lived in Dubai for 5 years where she was also involved with local charity and non-profit organizations. She is working on improving the process and project execution. Being from Greece, Karolina loves the beach and the summer.
Fun fact: Karolina once "accidentally" acted in a short "movie" play. She was helping out a friend, who was the director, and they ended up winning the competition. As a result, she has a fake "Oscar"!