Board Update
Dear Friends of Alliance for Girls:
To say 2020 was a consequential year is certainly an understatement; its reverberations will be felt for decades to come. While I still believe, with Dr. King, that “the arc of the universe bends towards justice,” there is no doubt that there are many forces working with malevolent intent to bend the arc backwards, to maintain power at the cost of integrity. Yet they will lose, because millions of us each pursue justice in our own lives and work. The girl’s champions AFG supports are creating this new narrative, one voice at a time. While Alliance for Girls couldn’t prevent the invasion of the Capitol, we can help seed a new generation of female leaders who will move us beyond the political binary. We model equity, we invite love, and the world moves—slowly but inevitably—toward justice. Alliance for Girls is in the midst of a period of extraordinary growth under the leadership of Founding ED Emma Mayerson and our dedicated and talented staff. Behind them is a Board that embodies both passion and competence and works diligently to protect and defend our mission and vision. I want to let you all know about a few changes on our Board. First, I’m pleased to report that Raquel Donoso and Lori Nishiura MacKenzie have been re-elected to new three years terms. Lori, cofounder of Stanford’s Women’s Leadership Innovation Lab, is a leading thinker on DEI nationally and a strong influence in AFG’s strategic growth. Raquel, a long-time leader in both non-profits and philanthropy, has taken on the role of Treasurer and will be supporting staff in the budget, audit and compliance parts of our work. Linda Calhoun, ED of Career Girls, has effectively chaired our Governance Committee, recruiting and supporting our Directors, and this year is joining the Executive Committee as Vice-Chair. I’m excited to have Linda as a partner in leading our Board. I also want to thank AFG Director Shaune Zuzanyika, Operations Director at the Tides Foundation, for agreeing to chair AFG’s Audit Committee, and AFG Director Michael Gomez for chairing the Investment Committee. This year, alas, we have also said adieu to two of our early Board members, Jan Medina and Elisabeth Charles. Each woman brought unique perspective and fearless engagement to their work at AFG, and we all are the richer for it. Finally, I want to thank each of you, our members, partners, supporters and friends. Your commitment to justice, equity and democracy keep us motivated in this work. We honor you and are humbled by and proud of your support.
In Solidarity,
Mark Gunther
Chairman, Board of Directors