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Our Team

People Are Key to Our Strategy

We are a team of organizers and movement strategists. The deep field and technical expertise of our staff is key to our success.

Executive Leadership

  • Andrea Cristina Mercado

    President and CEO (she/her)

    Andrea Cristina Mercado is president and chief executive officer of the Equity Funds. She brings over two decades of experience in civic engagement, strategic campaigns, and leadership within multiracial communities, including her extraordinary work on behalf of Florida Rising Together and New Florida Majority Education Fund, where she spearheaded large-scale civic engagement programs that continue to grow the political power of Black, Latinx, and multiracial communities.

  • Jordan Estevao

    Vice President, Programs (he/him)

    Jordan Estevao is a longtime organizer who has led campaigns to advance racial justice, community economic development, affordable housing, community benefit agreements, and immigrant rights. He oversees all of our grantmaking and grantee-facing programs.

  • Jillian Murphy

    Chief of Staff (she/her)

    As an organizational steward, Jillian Murphy oversees our strategic direction and day-to-day operations in close partnership with leadership and staff. Since joining the Equity Fund in 2016, she has helped shepherd our partnerships across the country, build and expand our state and national strategies, and lead the development and creation of several of the Funds’ major initiatives.

Board of Directors & Advisors

  • Michelle DePass

    Board Chair (she/her)

    *President, DePass Paulson Advisors

  • Brady Walkinshaw

    Board Member (he/him)

    *Publisher and Founder, Noisy Creek

  • Carrie Doyle

    Board Member (she/her)

    *Program Officer, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

  • Jodeen Olguín-Tayler

    Senior Advisor (ella/she)

*Affiliation for identification purposes only

Staff

  • Adenike Adeyeye

    State Strategist (she/her)

  • Arianne Ortegaray

    Deputy Director, Development (she/her)

  • Atiba Khan

    Finance Manager (she/her)

  • Camille Catolico

    Senior Executive Assistant (she/her)

  • Clint Hayden

    Grants Administration Associate (he/him)

  • Colin Richardson

    Director, Grants Administration (he/him)

  • Eli Vargas

    State Strategist – West (he/him)

  • Fernando Cázares

    Program Officer (he/him)

  • E. Guilu Murphy

    Program Coordinator (she/her)

  • Harrison Wallace

    Director, Grants and Power Building (he/him)

  • Jeremy Schroeder

    State Strategist – Midwest (he/him)

  • Kendyl Crawford

    Program Officer (she/her)

  • Kenneth Gilliam, Jr.

    Program Officer (he/him)

  • Lis-Marie Alvarado

    Program Officer (she/ella)

  • Lydia D. Avila

    Deputy Director, Grants and Powerbuilding (she/her)

  • Malavika Sahai

    Philanthropic Organizing Coordinator (she/her)

  • Melody Thomas

    HR Director, People & Culture (she/her)

  • Michelle Billie

    Program Manager, Communications Accelerator (she/her)

  • Natalia Pereira

    Business Systems Manager (she/her)

  • Nicole Armstrong

    Finance Associate

  • Rachel Clift

    Marketing and Communications Manager (she/her)

  • Sandra E. Covarrubias Su

    Executive Assistant, Programs (she/her)

  • Shilpa Joshi

    Director, Policy Accelerator (she/her)

  • Sonum Nerurkar

    Federal Policy Strategist (she/her)

  • Suki Weissleder

    Program Assistant (she/they)

  • Victor Pimentel

    Operations Manager (he/him)