Faculty Biographies

Jara Dean-Coffey, Lead Facilitator
Principle and Founder, jdcPartnerships

For nearly 20 years, Jara has designed and implemented processes and tools that integrate strategic thinking with evaluative inquiry. Her efforts and those of jdcPartnerships support organizations in building their adaptive capacity and enhancing their mission-related impact. Clients include social, philanthropic, and public sector organizations of all sizes—from annual budgets of $250,000 upward to revenues of $1 billion. Jara’s work with leaders builds their organizational capacity to navigate the territory of information, impact, and decision-making.  She does this through strategy formation and planning, evaluation and group process design and facilitation. Increasingly, jdcP’s clients are organizations with an explicit social justice agenda and/or identity organizations committed to strengthening the voices of their community and aligning efforts to address issues of equity.

Jara holds a Master of Public Health degree from the University of California, Berkeley; a BA in Communications and Political Science from Temple University; and a certificate in Organizational Development and Evaluation from Fielding Graduate University. She sits on the Advisory Body of the Center for Evaluation Innovation. Follow her on twitter @jdeancoffey or read the blog To What End?

Judy Belk, Senior Vice President
Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors

Judy Belk is Senior Vice President for Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (RPA) overseeing three regional offices in Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles, where she is currently located. Judy has over 25 years of leadership experience in strategic planning, international giving, corporate social responsibility and family philanthropy. Throughout her career she has held senior management positions in government as well as in the nonprofit and corporate sectors.
Prior to joining RPA, Ms. Belk served as Vice President of Global Public Affairs for Levi Strauss & Co., reporting directly to the Chairman and CEO with responsibilities for both the company and foundation’s leadership in the global fight against AIDS as well as its economic development, environmental and anti-racism initiatives. She also managed the philanthropic programs for the former Mervyn’s Division of Target Corporation where she developed major initiatives supporting the arts and women.
Ms. Belk is a frequent writer and speaker on organizational ethics, race, and social change, and her work has been recognized with several state and national awards. Her articles have aired on National Public Radio (NPR) and appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post. She received her undergraduate degree from Northwestern University and a graduate degree from California State University, Hayward.
Ms. Belk currently serves on the boards of the National Center on Family Philanthropy, Southern California Grantmakers (SCG) and The Marlborough School, a Los Angeles-based independent school for girls. Past board service includes the Ms. Foundation for Women, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Northern California, the Head-Royce School in Oakland (CA) and the Berkeley Repertory Theatre.

Rosemary E. Fei, Principal
Adler & Colvin – A Law Corporation

Rosemary Fei is a principal at the law firm of Adler & Colvin, San Francisco.  Her firm represents nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations exclusively, and her practice spans the full range of nonprofit and tax-exempt legal issues, with emphasis on political advocacy issues and nonprofit corporate governance.  Ms. Fei is a member of the Exempt Organizations Committee, Tax Law Section, American Bar Association, and Co-Chair of its Subcommittee on Political and Lobbying Organizations and Activities; the former Chair of the Board of Redefining Progress and a former director of The Conservation Campaign, Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest, CompassPoint Nonprofit Services, and The Marine Mammal Center.  She also serves on the Public Policy Steering Committee of Northern California Grantmakers.  Before joining Adler & Colvin, Ms. Fei was a general business lawyer, a Federal election law compliance officer and budget director for the Dukakis Presidential campaign, and an attorney in the U.S. Department of State.  She received her undergraduate degree from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and she graduated from Harvard Law School in 1986.

David Greco, Vice President, Western Region
Nonprofit Finance Fund

David Greco is Vice President for the Western Region and manages NFF's Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles and San Francisco offices. He is responsible for leading NFF's lending, capital grants, asset-building programs, and customized consulting services in the Western United States. Mr. Greco brings more than 20 years of experience in building nonprofit programs and earned income ventures. Prior to joining NFF, he served as Vice President of the Youth Leadership Institute and built YLI's national training and consulting services helping to bring youth and adults together to create more just and sustainable communities. For five years, Mr. Greco served as Senior Marketing Manager at Jossey-Bass Publishers where he launched a new social leadership publishing line. Mr. Greco has also served as the Corporate and Foundation Relations Manager for the National Wildlife Federation, and Director of Programs for the Horatio Alger Association working with economically disadvantaged youth. He is the author of "Nonprofit Financial Management" featured in "Nonprofit Management 101: A Complete and Practical Guide for Leaders and Professionals."

Mr. Greco is active in the community and serves in a number of volunteer positions including the San Francisco Chapter of the Sierra Club, Full Circle Fund, and a Board Member for Next Step Homes, a national affordable housing network. Originally from Philadelphia, Mr. Greco earned his M.A. in Political Science from Villanova University and B.S. in History & Politics from Drexel University.

Lin Ishihara
Senior Program Officer
W. Clement & Jessie V. Stone

Lin Ishihara has been Senior Program Officer at the W. Clement & Jessie V. Stone Foundation since 2006.  A family foundation, Stone focuses its grantmaking on early childhood development, youth development and education in four geographic areas:  Boston, Chicago, New York and the San Francisco Bay Area.  In 2012, the Foundation will make grants totaling $4.3 million.

Prior to joining the Foundation, Lin held leadership positions with several youth-focused organizations including the Richmond District Neighborhood Center and San Francisco School Volunteers. Currently, she is co-chair of the NCG’s Family Philanthropy Exchange and a member of the Social Impact Exchange Education Working Group.  Lin has served on numerous Advisory Councils including the Hope San Francisco Education Task Force, San Francisco Afterschool for All Initiative, the Beacon Young Adolescent National Advisory Group, the San Francisco Beacon Steering Committee and the Boards of Japanese Community Youth Council and Nihonmachi Little Friends.

Diane Parnes
Trustee
Silicon Valley Venture Partners (SV2)

Diane Parnes’ 25-year professional career spans the private, public and independent sectors including work in the fields of arts and education, civic and corporate engagement as well as capacity building for nonprofits and philanthropic institutions. She has served as a development, marketing, and executive director at four regional nonprofit institutions, has been a national corporate grantmaker as well as a leader of a prominent multi-generation family foundation based in Silicon Valley, California.

Diane is currently a trusted Philanthropy Advisor to individuals, businesses, multigenerational family foundations and donor giving circles as well as a coach and consultant to nonprofit community-service organizations. Most recently, Diane served as Executive Director of the Sobrato Family Foundation’s private and supporting foundations for 11 years. Under Diane’s leadership, the organization received the Silicon Valley Outstanding Foundation Grantmaker award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), and the International AFP’s award as National Outstanding Foundation for their “People & Places” community investment framework and strategy. The Silicon Valley AFP has also honored Diane for her outstanding work and contribution to philanthropy as an individual. In 2010, the Silicon Valley Business Journal named Diane as one of the top 100 “Women of Influence.”

She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Northern California Grantmakers as well as serving on their Strategic Planning, Governance and Family Philanthropy Exchange Steering Committees, she is a Board member and recent Education Grant Leader of the Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund (or SV2, a donor engaged philanthropy organization and strategic partner of Social Venture Philanthropy International) and a Board member of the Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits. In 2011, Diane completed a 10-year tenure on the nationally respected CompassPoint Nonprofit Services Board of Directors where she served as Chair and Vice Chair for 6 years and she also served on the Nonprofit Finance Fund Bay Area Advisory Committee for 5 years.

Diane has been featured as a presenter at numerous nonprofit and philanthropy conferences and trainings including:  Association of Fundraising Professionals, Association of Small Foundations, Center for Excellence in Nonprofit Management, Council on Foundations, CompassPoint Nonprofit Services, East Bay Community Foundation, The Family Foundation Giving Network, The Foundation Center, Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, Grant Managers Network, Nonprofit Centers Network, Northern California Grantmakers, Philanthropedia, The Philanthropy Incubator, PRI Makers Network, San Diego Grantmakers, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, Silicon Valley Corporate Community Relations Consortium, Silicon Valley Corporate Volunteer Network, Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund (SV2) and the Stanford Social Innovation Review.

Diane is a graduate of the University of the Pacific Conservatory of Music & School of Business, Boston College Carroll School of Management Center for Corporate Citizenship, the Center for Excellence in Nonprofits Leaders’ Institute, Stanford University's Graduate School of Business Executive Education Program for Philanthropy Leaders and Harvard Business School’s Governance for Excellence Executive Education program. She has earned certification as a Professional Fundraising Executive from the Association of Fundraising Professionals and is certified as a Next Generation and Multigeneration Philanthropy Consultant from 21/64, a division of the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies. She also earned an advanced certification as a Corporate Community Relations Executive from Boston College Carroll School of Management.

Jeff Perlstein
Director of Strategic Engagement
ZeroDivide

Jeff Perlstein is Director of Strategic Engagement at ZeroDivide and  is responsible for field-building activities that strengthen technology’s role in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors. He is also responsible for strategic communications, as well as policy development and implementation.
Prior to ZeroDivide, Jeff worked for more than 10 years at the intersection of community transformation, nonprofit management, and media and technology. In 1999, he initiated the global media project, Indymedia.org, now in 32 countries and more than 85 cities. As the Executive Director of Media Alliance, he co-founded two national coalitions: the Media and Democracy Coalition and the Media Action Grassroots Network (MAG-Net). Recently, Jeff’s emphasis has been on the role of philanthropy in fostering cross-pollination amongst these sectors: both as program director of Grantmakers in Film + Electronic Media and as a consultant. Jeff received a BA in Psychology and a BA in Sociology from The Johns Hopkins University, with a minor in Women’s Studies.

Tiffany Price
Director of Assistance & Advising
Mitchell Kapor Foundation

Tiffany Price (Director of Assistance & Advising) brings experience in education grantmaking and a background in education policy research and evaluation. This includes a knowledge of qualitative and quantitative research methods, small school reform, charter school reform, teacher learning and development, and other issues relating to K-12 education. She serves on the board of the Grants Managers Network and is a member of Northern California Grantmakers' Family Philanthropy Exchange Steering Committee. Tiffany holds a Master's degree in International Comparative Education from Stanford University and a Bachelor's degree in Chemistry and International Studies from Emory University. Tiffany also designs and makes jewelry as a hobby.

Jennifer Ratay
Program Officer
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

Jennifer Ratay directs the Hewlett Foundation’s Organizational Effectiveness program, a grants program that strengthens the organizational health and impact of Hewlett grantees. Since joining the Foundation in 2007, she also has worked closely with President Paul Brest and the Foundation’s leadership team to improve institution-wide planning, evaluation, and learning systems. Additionally, she manages grants aimed at improving the effectiveness of the philanthropic field.

Formerly, Jen served as associate director of the Public Management Program at the Center for Social Innovation within the Stanford Graduate School of Business. She also served as Stanford MBA Admissions Officer overseeing the recruitment of nonprofit and female applicants. Jen has been a fellow at The Pew Charitable Trusts, consultant to the Aspen Institute, and legislative aide to former U.S. Representative Marty Meehan, for whom she managed energy, environment, and international relations initiatives. Earlier in her career, she focused on aligning international trade and environmental policies while working at the National Wildlife Federation, Worldwatch Institute, and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in Geneva, Switzerland.

Jen graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Dartmouth College with a B.A. in government and environmental studies and earned an M.P.A. in international development from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. She currently serves as an Ashoka U advisor and as a lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where she co-teaches an MBA course, Critical Analytical Thinking.

Ted Russell
Senior Program Officer
The James Irvine Foundation

Ted Russell was appointed Senior Program Officer for the Arts in December 2005. Previously, Ted was Director of Marketing at Montalvo Arts Center, where he developed and implemented comprehensive marketing strategies that helped generate $4 million in revenue. Prior to that, he served in a variety of marketing capacities as Audience Development Manager for the San Francisco Symphony, as Annual Fund Director at the La Jolla Playhouse, as Managing Director of the Malashock Dance & Company in San Diego and as Director of the Jazz at the Wadsworth series at the University of California, Los Angeles. In addition, Ted has successfully developed and implemented media and marketing plans for Listen.com, as Senior Manager of Online Marketing, and for SFGate.com as Marketing Director. Ted has served as a board member and committee chair for the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and the Joe Goode Performance Group, and is the former Co-Chair of Northern California Grantmakers’ Arts Loan Fund. Ted currently serves on the boards of the Independent Television Service (ITVS) and Children’s Arts Guild. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in mechanical engineering from Yale University, and an M.B.A. in arts management from Anderson Graduate School of Management at UCLA.

Colburn S. Wilbur
Trustee
The David and Lucile Packard Foundation

Cole Wilbur is a Trustee and former President of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. He was the CEO of this Foundation for 23 years.   Prior to that, he served as executive director and CEO of the Sierra Club Foundation, ran a computer center and was in banking. He was a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foundations (1999-2000), and in 1999 received the Distinguished Grantmaker Award from the Council on Foundations.  In 2005 Cole served as Interim President and CEO of the Council on Foundations.

He currently serves on the boards of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Colorado College, the Institute for Global Ethics, Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, and Philanthropic Ventures Foundation.  He is on the advisory boards of the Sierra Club Foundation, the Entrepreneurs Foundation, and the American Land Conservancy. His past board affiliations include the Council on Foundations, the Foundation Center, Northern California Grantmakers, Peninsula Grantmakers, the Global Fund for Women, the Peninsula Conservation Center, and the University of San Francisco Institute for Nonprofit Management.
Cole received both his undergraduate and MBA degrees from Stanford University and is a co-author of The Complete Guide to Grantmaking Basics.