• Conway Collis

    President & CEO

    As founding President/CEO of GRACE/End Child Poverty CA, Collis led GRACE and End Child Poverty CA from inception in 2013 through 2021. He led the 2018 development and implementation of a comprehensive evidence-based child and family poverty plan for California. $4.8 billion per year of the funding recommendations have been adopted, resulting in over 290,000 children and families moving out of poverty in California and an additional 115,000 out of deep poverty in 2019-20.

    Collis formed the End Child Poverty CA Coalition, co-chaired by Dolores Huerta with 173 organizations as members, to support advocacy for these and subsequent child and family poverty proposals.

    Collis was previously Senior Counsel and Chief Public Policy Officer for the Daughters of Charity Health System where he created and guided enactment of state non-tax revenue legislation and required federal approval that has provided $40 billion to serve Medicaid patients in CA.

    As an elected member and Chair of the California Tax Board, he directed reform of the state sales and income tax bureaucracies, sponsored successful measures including the Taxpayers Bill of Rights, tax code enforcement of laws against discriminatory practices, and childcare tax credits.

    Previously he was a Counsel on the U. S. Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare working on domestic social programs and related issues.

    He is currently Senior Advisor to GRACE/End Child Poverty CA and President of CaliforniaTomorrow, focused on the development and funding for comprehensive place-based anti-poverty programs and funding for anti-recidivism organizations.

    Collis was the founding Board Chair of the National Foster Youth Institute from 2012-2021, now serving on the Board, co-chaired the CA Lifting Children and Families Out of Poverty Task Force and chaired the State Senate Bi-Partisan Task Force on Homelessness.

    He is a graduate of Occidental College and Stanford Law School.

  • Naomi Jefferson

    Vice President, Finance & Development

    Naomi is the founder of NEJ Consulting LLC, a boutique development firm. Prior, she was Vice President at Capital Strategies where she served as a lead national fundraiser for Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s historic re-election, as the national finance director for then-Congresswoman Karen Bass, and as the finance director for an Independent Expenditure (IE) effort to successfully elect Karen Bass as the first woman Mayor of Los Angeles. In addition, Naomi fundraised for other notable clients including: Speaker Emeritus Nancy Pelosi & the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), Democratic House Leader Hakeem Jeffries, U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock, and House Majority PAC (HMP).

    Naomi also spent several years as the Northeast & Abroad Finance Director at the DCCC, and as an philanthropic advisor to several high net-worth donors. She began her career working for the first woman mayor to be elected in Manchester, New Hampshire: Joyce Craig.

    A proud graduate of the University of Edinburgh, Naomi holds an M.A. in International Relations. She currently resides in Los Angeles with her partner Alex and their adopted cat.

  • Anthony Foster

    Director of Programs

    Anthony Foster is Associate Director of the Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles. He comes to the Fund after serving at two of Los Angeles leading non-profit organizations. He was most recently Director of Major Gifts at the Community Coalition in South Los Angeles, where he helped lead special projects, event curation and a diversified major gifts program. Anthony previously worked on a boys and men of color initiative at the Liberty Hill Foundation. A native Angeleno, Anthony holds a Master’s in Social Entrepreneurship from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor’s in Sociology from the University of California, Berkeley. In his free time, he enjoys cycling across the Los Angeles area.

  • Brettany Tucker

    Director of Administration & Strategic Initiatives

    Brettany Tucker, is a Senior Coordinator at the Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles.  Previously, she worked in philanthropic strategy consulting, and non-profit technical assistance and grant-making capacities in New York, Ohio, and her home state of California.  Brettany’s an avid researcher of how innovation and entrepreneurship can be scaled at the nexus of the private, public, and non-profit sectors.  During her graduate studies, Brettany engaged in a 10-day market research trip to Rwanda, while spearheading a go-to-market strategy and positioning for a community-owned agribusiness.  Prior, as a Fulbright Scholar in Colombia, she conducted research across urban cities and rural towns to measure the correlation between happiness and monthly incomes of respective citizenry.

    A proud polyglot, Brettany is Bilingual in Spanish, proficient in French, and conversational in Mandarin.  She holds an MPA from Cornell University and a BA in Economics from FIU.

  • Maria Ochoa

    Operations Manager

    Maria Ochoa is a seasoned Operations Manager with more than 20 years of experience in the non-profit sector. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Aquinas College and a Master’s in Leadership Studies from North Central College, which has equipped her with strong leadership skills, expertise in community development, and a deep understanding of advocacy.

    Maria’s work has focused on providing critical support to non-profit organizations that share her commitment to social justice. Guided by her core values of compassion, dignity, transparency, respect, and diversity, she has earned a reputation as a respected leader in the non-profit sector. Her expertise in organizational management, strategic planning, and program development has been instrumental in helping these organizations achieve their goals.

    Maria’s passion for empowering marginalized communities and promoting equity has been a driving force in her career. She has worked tirelessly to build strong partnerships with stakeholders, develop effective policies and procedures, and ensure that all members of the community have access to essential resources and services.

    Maria Ochoa is an accomplished Operations Manager with a wealth of experience in the non-profit sector. Her expertise, dedication, and passion for social justice have made her a respected leader in her field. She is committed to promoting equity, empowering marginalized communities, and building a more just and equitable society.

  • Deidre Lind

    Advisor

    Deidre Lind is an award-winning philanthropic leader with effective, impact-driven results.  Ms. Lind served as the founding President of the Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles created to build a diverse array of public/private partnerships focused on innovation and impact.  Ms. Lind has built her career over two decades leading corporate responsibility and philanthropy programs, including serving for a decade as Mattel’s chief global social impact strategist where she launched their two-percent pre-tax profit annual commitment, and delivered the Company’s first global sustainability assessment. Ms. Lind has served as the President of a private foundation and consulted with a number of corporate clients and government entities. She currently serves on the Boards of Directors of Southern California Grantmakers and the Social Impact Fund.

    A native of Los Angeles, Ms. Lind received her BA from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Masters degrees in both  Social Work and Public Administration from the University of Southern California.