Prior to joining the Colorado Health Foundation in April 2017, Dr. Bynum helped launch a $100 million nonprofit community development financial institution (CDFI) to help support health care services and good jobs in communities in need. In his role today, he develops the Foundation’s impact investing strategy and manages a $70 million impact investment portfolio, which includes both nonprofit and for-profit program-related investments and the Foundation’s mission-related investments efforts.
As a trained physician and an experienced social impact investor, Dr. Bynum sees program-related investments (PRI) and mission-related investments (MRI) in the health care space as the perfect way to bring health care services and sustainable business models together to advance positive change. He is fueled by connection and impact, and relishes the opportunity to support Colorado communities through innovative investments that bring the Foundation’s mission to life. Dr. Bynum connects to this work on a personal level as well. Every day, he is driven to improve the lives of Coloradans, including those whose life experiences parallel his own growing up in Monroe, Louisiana.
Dr. Bynum is a published author in the Journal of Health Care Finance and currently an adjunct professor at the Colorado School of Public Health. He also serves on the boards of Colorado Access, a nonprofit Medicaid health plan serving half a million low-income Coloradans, and Grounded Solutions Network, a national nonprofit that builds strong communities by promoting housing solutions that will stay affordable for generations.
Frank Fernandez joined the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta in August 2020, where he leads one of America’s top 20 largest community foundations. The united power of his prior experience and the anchor institution’s 70 years of regional leadership combine as a force for good, championing equity across metro Atlanta. Frank builds upon the Foundation’s exceptional resources, leveraging a full range of assets – human, reputational and financial – to pursue equity of opportunity through servant leadership, sustainable change making and inspired philanthropy that ultimately fulfills the Foundation’s mission to increase the vitality of the region and the well-being of all residents.
Prior to joining the Foundation, he served for six years as the Senior Vice President for The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation where he led transformational revitalization of Atlanta’s Westside while simultaneously directing Blank’s community development, global giving, health access and social justice initiatives. A recognized leader on affordable housing, transportation and economic development, Fernandez’ 15 years in management positions in Texas prior to joining the Blank Foundation included eight years leading Green Doors, an Austin nonprofit devoted to transforming lives and neighborhoods and five years as Deputy Director of PeopleFund, a community development financial institution. His work has been honored with the 2005 Austin Livable City Vision Award, the 2008 Austin Under 40 Nonprofit Leadership Award and the 2012 Ernst and Young Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
Kenneth M. Jones II serves as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the MacArthur Foundation. Jones is a strategic thinker, proven financial leader, and visionary executive with international experience in Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Europe.
As Vice President and CFO, and as a member of the Foundation’s executive leadership team, Jones is responsible for all aspects of the finance, accounting, tax, audit, administrative services and facilities functions of the MacArthur Foundation. With the current finance team, Jones plans, implements, and evaluates the Foundation’s financial objectives and performance to support MacArthur’s priorities and programs.
“We are pleased to have Ken Jones join the MacArthur Foundation,” said MacArthur President Julia Stasch. “Ken is a seasoned leader with strong problem-solving and creative skills. His expertise and demonstrated ability to exercise sound, informed judgment will help advance MacArthur’s vision, values, and mission.”
Jones previously served as the Vice President and CFO at the Annie E. Casey Foundation. At Casey, Jones spearheaded policy changes and best practices that moved grant funds to nonprofits faster; provided staff the technology tools they needed; and adopted internal control, finance, and human resources protocols. Jones also helped lead efforts to promote and document workforce diversity.
“Ken Jones has a wonderful blend of innovative leadership, active curiosity, and practical sensibilities,” said incoming MacArthur President John Palfrey. “In addition to his contributions to for-profit and nonprofit organizations across multiple sectors, we will benefit greatly from his international experience and broad networks.”
Before joining Casey in 2008, Jones traveled extensively in Africa and Southeast Asia as CFO of Danya International, a public health and education organization, and Jhpiego, a nonprofit international health affiliate of Johns Hopkins University. Jones previously held corporate finance positions at Ford Motor Company, Pfizer Corporation, and Prudential.
Jones serves as a board member and treasurer of the Council on Foundations, and he is the Immediate Past Board Chair of the Association of Black Foundation Executives. Jones earned his bachelor’s degree at Boston University, a master’s degree at the State University of New York at Buffalo, and an MBA at the Sloan School of Management at MIT.
Mari Kuraishi is the president of the Jessie Ball duPont Fund, leading the Fund's efforts to create communities of belonging for the places and institutions that Jessie Ball duPont knew and loved by fostering inclusive growth and reducing structural and systemic barriers to resources and opportunity.
Prior to joining the Fund, Mari co-founded the groundbreaking crowdfunding philanthropy site GlobalGiving with Dennis Whittle, and served as President until 2018. GlobalGiving connects donors with grassroots projects around the world, providing a vetting platform for donors and training and education for nonprofits. Since 2002, GlobalGiving has connected more than 1.6 million donors to 32,453 projects in more than 175 countries around the world, generating more than $738 million in funding for their projects.
In 2011, Mari was named one of Foreign Policy’s top 100 Global Thinkers for “crowdsourcing worldsaving.” Prior to founding GlobalGiving, she worked at the World Bank where she created and managed some of the Bank’s most innovative loans and programs, including founding its innovation engine, the Development Marketplace. Mari currently serves on the boards of GlobalGiving, Mission Investors Exchange, DataKind, the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, and the Cummer Museum in Jacksonville, as well as on the advisory boards of the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University, the U.S.-Japan Council, and LISC Jacksonville.
In addition to her native Japanese, Mari also speaks Russian, Italian, and French. She earned an undergraduate degree in history from Harvard University and did graduate work in Russian and Japanese history and politics at Harvard and Georgetown Universities. Mari also completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.
Christine Looney is a member of the Inclusive Economies team at Ford Foundation. As the foundation's senior program investment officer she has managed Ford's $280 million Program-Related Investment Fund. In her role, she has initiated, structured, and monitored Ford's program-related investments across the foundation to align with and complement program strategies and goals.
Prior to joining the foundation in 2001, Christine was president of the Urban Business Assistance Corporation, a nonprofit consulting firm serving the minority business community of New York City. Previously, she was an assistant vice president and portfolio manager in the Fleet Financial Corporate Banking Group and an associate in Chase Manhattan's Structured Finance Group.
Christine serves on the advisory board of the CDFI Fund Assessment and Rating System, the steering committee of the PRI Makers Network, and the credit committee of the Living Cities Catalyst Fund.
Christine has an MBA in finance and management from New York University's Stern School of Business and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Holy Cross.
Dwayne Marshall currently serves an Advisor for the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga. He primarily provides counsel on current strategic investments, forging local community partnerships and aiding in the expansion of CFGC’s emerging impact investing program which is focused on supporting the local entrepreneurship ecosystem. Dwayne is an alumnus of several civic engagement and leadership development programs including the New Leaders Council, Atlanta Black Jewish Coalition, Aspen Institute Socrates Program and the Independent Sector NGEN Fellowship. He formerly served on the leadership committee for the Community Foundation Opportunity Network (CFON) and is actively on the board of the Lilian S. Colby Foundation. Mr. Marshall received his Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree with a concentration in Organization Management and Marketing from the Roberto C. Goizueta Business School at Emory University.
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Lisa Montez
Senior Counsel of Philanthropy and Impact Investments
Lisa Montez is Senior Counsel of Philanthropy and Impact Investments at Builders Vision. In this role, Lisa guides Builders Initiative’s use of philanthropic tools to maximize social impact and provide advice on spanning myriad legal matters related to compliance with the laws and regulations applicable to private foundations; formulation of governance and compliance policies; advising program staff with respect to grantmaking; and general corporate and transactional matters.
Cynthia Muller is the Director of Mission Driven Investment at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation based out of Battle Creek, Michigan.
In this role, she is responsible for driving the strategy and performance of the foundation’s $100 million mission driven investments portfolio. She also oversees the foundation’s $30 million program-related investment portfolio and managing strategic impact investment activities that address systemic barriers that create vulnerable conditions for historically marginalized communities and children. Cynthia came to the foundation in September 2016 as the program and portfolio officer where she was responsible for developing and managing strategic market rate impact investment activities; sourcing and deploying market rate investments to increase social change impact; analyzing solutions and trends; and developing relationships in the field.
Prior to joining the foundation, Muller developed and managed Arabella Advisors impact investing practice where she helped foundations and individuals understand the field of impact investing; develop strategies and structure investments to accomplish their social and environmental goals. During her tenure she oversaw deal sourcing and structuring of investments in health, education, microfinance, housing, and green technology—both domestically and internationally. Muller also led several evaluations of impact investment portfolios, and she regularly presented and blogged about trends and practices within the field.
Muller holds a Master of Business Administration from the Foster School of Business at the University of Washington and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Stanford University.
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Matt Onek
President and Chief Executive Officer
Mission Investors Exchange
Matt is the Chief Executive Officer of Mission Investors Exchange. He brings unique perspective to the organization’s work to grow the impact investing field, having championed mission investing within foundations, federal and local government, and in the private sector.
Matt has developed mission investing strategies for foundations and intermediaries, including the Walton Family Foundation, the Helmsley Charitable Trust, and the Aspen Institute. As Special Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff of the White House Domestic Policy Council, Matt coordinated a range of policy priorities in the Obama administration. Among them, he helped establish the White House Office of Social Innovation & Civic Participation and advanced policies supporting the impact investing movement. At Citigroup, Matt advised the Citi Foundation and designed investment partnerships between the private sector and philanthropy.
Earlier in his career, Matt served as Senior Counselor to the New York City Schools Chancellor under Mayor Bloomberg and as the first Director of the San Francisco Youth Commission.
Matt received his J.D. from Yale Law School and his B.A. from Stanford University. He lives in New York City with his wife, Kristen Kane, and their two children.
Elizabeth Carlock Phillips is a social entrepreneur and impact investor who serves as the executive director for Phillips Foundation, a private family foundation and catalytic capital platform that leverages its assets to maximize social, environmental, and financial value. She has executed Phillips Foundation’s Generational Grants portfolio to “move the dial” in Greensboro/Guilford County, NC; launched its Impact Investing Think Tank; and developed the Foundation’s Original Programs: Give As We Grow, Healthy Relationships Initiative, and RealityCheckIt, a social media campaign to connect caring people with community needs in real time. Elizabeth serves as a Governor-appointed Trustee of UNC Greensboro and is on the boards of the National Center for Family Philanthropy, Texas Women’s Foundation, The Dallas Foundation, and SMU’s Maguire Center for Ethics and Public Responsibility. She has received the Triad Business Journal's “Women in Business” award and has appeared in features for PBS, The Financial Times, Barron's, Bloomberg, Dallas Morning News, and Forbes.
Shanaysha Saulsserves as President and CEO of the Baltimore Community Foundation. In her role, Shanaysha leads the strategic direction and drives efforts to set the organization on a path for growth and collective impact for the betterment of the Baltimore region. She oversees how BCF influences the quality of life in Baltimore through its issue advocacy, philanthropic investments, and partnerships with the community and the public and private sectors.
Over the years, she has served in a number of civic roles locally and nationally. Shanaysha co-founded one of Baltimore’s first wholly new charter schools and served as the founding treasurer of a nonprofit focused on advocating for family-friendly community development in downtown Baltimore neighborhoods. In addition, Shanaysha formerly served as chair of the Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners. Her prior professional experience ranges from consulting on strategic direction and marketing for colleges and universities across the country to leading and teaching at the secondary and post-secondary levels in Baltimore and Washington, DC. Shanaysha currently serves as the chair of the nominating committee for the Accountability Implementation Board for the Blueprint for Maryland’s Progress, which oversees the state’s multi-billion-dollar investment in public education. In 2021, she was recognized by the Maryland Daily Record as one of Maryland’s Most Admired CEOs.
Shanaysha graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Maryland, College Park and has a Ph.D. from Duke University. She serves on several boards including the Mission Investors Exchange, Healthy Neighborhoods, the Central Maryland Transportation Alliance, and Maryland Philanthropy Network.
Debra is the Managing Director of Impact Investments and serves on the Executive Leadership Team at MacArthur, which has dedicated $500 million of its assets to impact investing. Debra’s group serves as a Foundation-wide resource, and engages deeply with selected teams to help develop strategy and devise impact investments that advance key goals. A former investment banker, Debra also leads the creation of new impact investment products and platforms that foster easier, more efficient, and more productive connections among multiple impact investors and social sector organizations.
She joined MacArthur in 1995, having worked at a Chicago-based child welfare agency. A frequent speaker and guest lecturer, Debra has also served on the United States Treasury Department Community Development Advisory Board and the founding board for the Mission Investors Exchange.
She earned a Master's degree from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a Bachelor's degree from Yale College, summa cum laude.
Susan Phinney Silver is the Mission Investing Director at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. She oversees the Foundation’s $180 million mission investing program, which targets a range of loan and equity investments in the fields of: environmental conservation, climate change, oceans/fisheries, U.S. health care access, international reproductive health and rights, children’s education and issues in the U.S., and local Bay Area initiatives.
Before joining Packard, Susan consulted with the MacArthur Foundation and California Community Foundation on their PRI programs, among other social investment and nonprofit clients. For 13 years previous to that, at The Development Fund in San Francisco, she led the creation of innovative financing programs that generated over $600 million in new private investment nationally from banks, insurance companies, and other corporations for funds targeted to: affordable housing, community economic development, and environmental clean-up. Earlier in her career, Susan was an overseas auditor for Catholic Relief Services in Africa, and a consultant with McKinsey & Company in New York.
She has an undergraduate degree from Princeton and an MBA from Yale School of Management. She enjoys exploring nature with her family, including hiking, camping, and kayaking.
