A New Era of Leadership
Stupski Foundation is excited to announce that six new members are joining its board of directors. With deep roots in the San Francisco Bay Area and Hawaiʻi and decades of experience leading community-based organizations and philanthropic institutions advancing racial equity and systems change, the new board members will provide the Foundation with critical guidance through the final chapter of the spend down.
They will join current board members, Maida Lynn and Jim Wiggett, and serve through the end of Stupski’s spend down journey. Thomas Layton, longtime board member and trusted advisor to the Foundation, retired from the board at the end of 2022.
Meet Stupski’s new board members:
- Deborah Alvarez-Rodriguez, executive director, La Cocina
- Sam Cobbs, CEO, Tipping Point Community
- Marisa Castuera Hayase, managing director of Hawai‘i programs, Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation
- Pia Infante, senior fellow, Trust Based Philanthropy Project
- Keoni Lee, CEO, Hawaiʻi Investment Ready
- Richard Tate, executive vice president, The California Wellness Foundation
“We are truly fortunate to have these six respected leaders join our board at this phase of the spend down,” said Jim Wiggett, who remains board chair. “With their strategic insights and expertise in community leadership, spend down operations, and organizational development, we will be able to redistribute the foundation’s assets in ways that have lasting impact.”
The board plays a critical role at Stupski. Its function isn’t one of traditional strategy and grant approval. The board acts as a thought partner to identify ways to dismantle systemic barriers and harmful philanthropic power dynamics. It empowers staff to redistribute wealth back into communities of color so staff can act on the wisdom of community leaders who know where investments are needed most. The incoming board members will add their distinctiveness to that role through their collective wisdom, activism, and community-based leadership and philanthropic experience.
As she joins the board, Marisa Castuera Hayase shared,
“I am inspired by the opportunity to support community leadership and systems change. As someone with an intergenerational family commitment to the places where the Stupski Foundation is spending down, I feel honored to work in service of local leaders and visionaries who are building pathways to an equitable, just, and vibrant future. As it spends down, Stupski can make a lasting difference not only through its grants but through a continued commitment to learning with humility and sharing lessons learned.”
See what motivates the other incoming board members to join the Foundation’s spend down journey:
“Each of these leaders brings something that we need to lean into to realize philanthropy’s true potential,” reflected Glen Galaich, CEO. “They are champions of racial equity, trust-based partnership, and restorative justice. I am excited to learn from and partner with them to show what is possible when you do things differently in philanthropy.”
Together, the Foundation’s board and staff are committed to redesigning philanthropy and working in solidarity with community partners to create inclusive and just systems of health, education, and food for all.