Smart Growth California

LAFC Steering Committee Members

Meet the Los Angeles Funders’ Collaborative

The Los Angeles Funders’ Collaborative works to support funder learning and collaboration to promote healthy, equitable and sustainable communities in Los Angeles County. 

Members

Lisa Craypo (Co-Chair)

the rosalinde and arthur gilbert foundation

Lisa has 20 plus years of experience in public health strategic planning, initiative design, philanthropic advising, program evaluation and research. Lisa’s expertise encompasses food and nutrition, built environment, community-based health promotion, public policy, and school health. Currently, she is a consultant for the health grantmaking portfolio at The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation.

Previously, Lisa played a leadership role at Samuels & Associates for 14 years. She successfully grew revenue, and provided leadership on project conceptualization and management. Lisa played a key role in designing and evaluating the groundbreaking $26.2 million HEAC initiative (The California Endowment) to reduce disparities in obesity and diabetes by improving food and physical activity environments. She pioneered new methodologies to assess the food environment, which have been adopted by researchers and advocates nationwide.

Lisa received her Master’s in Public Health from the University of California at Berkeley. She maintains a registered dietitian credential and holds an undergraduate degree in clinical nutrition, also from the University of California at Berkeley.

Gisele Fong (Co-Chair)

The California endowment

Gisele Fong is a Program Manager for The California Endowment’s on the Los Angeles regional and Inclusive Community Development teams. Within philanthropy and within community based organizations and coalitions, Gisele has worked for over a decade on health impacts from air and goods movement pollution, environmental justice, and supporting capacity building of communities to bring their vast wisdom of needs and solutions to decision making tables.

Gisele has served on numerous boards and commissions including the California Air Resources Board’s Environmental Justice Advisory Committee, Harbor Community Benefit Foundation, a community based performance arts organization, and a social justice oriented bilingual charter school.

Gisele earned her MA in Asian American Studies and PhD in History from UCLA, and is a resident of Long Beach. Gisele joined the Los Angeles Funders’ Collaborative steering committee in 2020.

Melissa Bond

COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH

Melissa Bond is the Director for the Resource Development Unit (RDU) within the Office of Planning, Integration, and Engagement (PIE) of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (DPH). In this role, she and her team are creating an infrastructure for the Department to meaningfully engage with the philanthropic sector to form public-private partnerships and further health equity. Prior to joining DPH, Melissa worked in the not-for-profit, public, and private sectors. She managed criminal justice efforts at the Los Angeles County Justice Care and Opportunities Department (JCOD) and San Diego City Attorney’s Office; advocated for women’s financial inclusion at the New York City Department of Small Business Services; and supported legislative action on issues of child welfare at a non-profit. Before turning her focus to public policy and social justice issues, Melissa was a litigator in New York City. She has a B.A. in Psychology and American Civilization from Brown University; J.D. from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law; and a M.P.A. from Columbia University.

Francisco Covarrubias

CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION

Francisco Covarrubias manages the community organizing collaborative and supports multiple initiatives within the CCF’s housing team, including the Program Related Investment Program, the Accelerating Permanent Supportive Housing Program, and the housing provider collaborative.

Prior to joining CCF, he directed the Tenant Organizing team at Inner City Law Center that empowered thousands of tenants to speak out against the slum conditions caused by unscrupulous landlords. Previously, Covarrubias worked on several labor organizing campaigns with workers in the service industry. He brings to CCF deep knowledge of government and constituent services, having worked for a state legislator.

Covarrubias earned a BA in sociology from Pomona College in 2010. He is a native Angeleno and enjoys exploring the many wonders of the city.

Ava Farriday

Water Foundation

Ava Farriday serves as a Program Associate at the Water Foundation, whose mission is to advance lasting solutions that secure safe water for people, restore and sustain freshwater ecosystems, and build climate resilience. In her current role, she currently focuses on grantmaking in partnership with LA County on behalf of the Safe Clean Water Program. Before coming to the Water Foundation, Ava formerly worked at Heal the Bay as a Watershed Program Coordinator also for the Safe Clean Water Program, working at the intersection of community engagement and stormwater capture. She received her bachelor’s degree in Anthropology and Geography from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, dove straight into the water world post-graduation, and hasn’t looked back since. A native Angeleno, she hopes to contribute to making the city she grew up in a more healthy and resilient place for all.

Alfredo Gonzalez

RESOURCES LEGACY FUND

Alfredo Gonzalez is Southern California Director at Resources Legacy Fund (RLF).
Alfredo leads efforts to broaden and diversify the constituency for environmental conservation with a specific focus on engaging communities of color and younger Californians.

Prior to working at RLF, Alfredo served as director of the South Coast and Deserts Region for The Nature Conservancy, where he managed various programs including a Los Angeles-based urban conservation project and oversaw large scale land protection and habitat restoration projects across the region. Alfredo previously served in senior government affairs positions for the Southern California Association of Governments and the County of Santa Clara, and was a policy analyst for Latino Issues Forum in San Francisco.

Alfredo received a BA in Communications from UC Berkeley and an MA in Public Administration from California State University, Los Angeles. Alfredo joined the Los Angeles Funders’ Collaborative steering committee in 2016.

John Guevarra

FIRST 5 LA

As a Program Officer at First 5 LA, John helps to develop and manage projects and advocacy efforts that benefit children and families in Los Angeles County. John brings together over 10 years experience working with government, non-profits, political, and philanthropic sectors to help create more livable and equitable communities.

At First 5 LA, John manages the Built Environment Policy Advocacy Fund, a multi-year grant and technical assistance program focused on improving neighborhood conditions for children 0-5 and their families in the Best Start communities. The fund focuses on three areas: transportation/mobility, parks and open space, and food security. John also helps guide the Link program, a pooled fund focused on improving and increasing parks and open space investments in Best Start communities.

John holds a Master’s in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of California, Los Angeles. He is a former board member of People for Parks and the YMCA-Hollywood, and a former youth basketball coach. He currently enjoys his time with his wife, son, and dog in South Pasadena. John joined the Los Angeles Funders’ Collaborative steering committee in 2020.

Frida Hatami

ROY AND PATRICIA DISNEY FAMILY FOUNDATION

Frida Hatami joined the Roy and Patricia Disney Family Foundation in 2015 as its first Grants Manager. She has been instrumental in overseeing the effort to formalize processes and procedures and to develop a state-of-the-art grants database. She is responsible for working with grantee partners, grant seekers, and Foundation staff to manage the grantmaking processes. Frida is also responsible for leading the Foundation’s emerging Environmental Justice portfolio, including identifying new partnership opportunities with organizations on the frontline of environmental fights and addressing capacity challenges of the field.
 
Frida brings many years of experience in philanthropy and the nonprofit sector, including her previous role at Annenberg Foundation, the California Endowment, and Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles. Frida holds a Master’s degree in Public Health from California State University, Northridge.

Angelo Logan

LIBERTY HILL FOUNDATION

Angelo has served as a leader in the environmental and climate justice fields for the last 22 years. He got his start as an organizer for Communities for a Better Environment in 2000 when they successfully fought the location of a polluting power plant in Southeast LA. Angelo became the principal co-founder of East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice in 2001, where he served as Executive Director until 2014, leading the organization’s growth from a “kitchen table” neighborhood group to a community institution with national impact on land use, transportation, and environmental initiatives. For the last eight years, Angelo has served as the Policy Campaign Director for a national coalition, The Moving Forward Network (MFN) housed at Occidental College, coalescing over 50 organizations across 23 states to address the environmental health, justice and climate impacts of Ports, freight, and the global goods movement industry.

Angelo currently serves on the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council, appointed as one of 4 Western Region representatives by the Biden Administration. He has also held appointments with the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) EJ Advisory Board, the Mobile Source Technical Review/Ports Workgroup of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the EV Infrastructure Strike Force of the Electric Transportation Community Development Corporation. In the nonprofit arena, Angelo has served as a Board member for the Harbor Community Benefit Foundation, Human Impact Partners, and Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs.

Yvette Lopez-Ledesma

Bezos Earth Fund

Yvette Lopez-Ledesma (she/her) is the Bezos Earth Fund Community Fellow. Previous to her role as Fellow, she served in various roles at both community-based and national non-profit organizations. From 2018-2024 she worked with The Wilderness Society, a national conservation organization, where she most recently served as Deputy Vice President of Community-led Conservation. She and her team worked on developing partnerships, programs and policy to ensure that communities in urban and rural places can access the benefits of parks, open space and public lands. From 2013-2018 Yvette served as Deputy Director of Pacoima Beautiful. She has also spent time teaching as a Lecturer in the Urban Studies and Planning Department at California State University Northridge (CSUN). She earned her BA in Urban Studies and Planning at CSUN and also earned her Master of Public Administration & Urban Planning. Mrs. Lopez-Ledesma has over 20 years of work and volunteer experience focused on her life’s purpose to advance park and trail equity and promote inclusive community engagement. She has served as a City of Los Angeles Planning Commissioner, San Fernando Valley Metro Service Council, the Burbank Sustainability Commission. She currently serves as a representative of L.A. County’s Third District on the Measure A Citizen’s Oversight Committee, and a Board Member of Save Elephant Hill, an organization dedicated to preserving open space in El Sereno. Yvette is also the Founder of Tias on Trails, a body positive hiking group/monthly meet-up for women in their señora era who enjoy spending time outdoors.

Thomas Yee

Community partners

Thomas is a Senior Program Director leading a portfolio of Intermediary programs. He has 20 years of experience and trusted relationships with community organizations, philanthropy, and the public sector across housing, health, climate and transportation. He has spent the last seven years with national intermediary organizations supporting individual leaders and collaborative teams across the country working towards local community investment, as well as expanding the LA County regional ecosystem for equitable smart growth and ensuring benefits for low-income communities of color. Thomas has a Master’s Degree in Urban Planning from USC.