Archives: Bios

Kalpana Simhan is the Associate Director for Grants Management at Democracy Fund, an independent foundation working to ensure that our political system is able to withstand new challenges and deliver on its promise to the American people. In this role, she ensures that the foundation’s grantmaking operations reflect philanthropic best practices and oversees the administration of all of Democracy Fund’s grants.

Kalpana met Democracy Fund through her work at Mozilla, an organization dedicated to keeping the internet a global public resource, open and accessible to all. As the Grants Manager for Mozilla Foundation, she established the policies and processes that allowed Mozilla to grow as a grant maker. Kalpana comes to grantmaking after close to two decades of experience as a grant seeker. She raised money and managed programs for leading international women’s rights and development organizations including Vital Voices, Inclusive Security, and ActionAid. In 2008 she was the recipient of a fellowship from American India Foundation, which allowed her to embed with Dr. Reddy’s Foundation in Hyderabad, India. As a fellow, she helped Dr. Reddy’s Foundation win a World Bank grant to pilot a nutrional health initiative for children of mobile migrant laborers. Closer to home, Kalpana was the Director of Development for Apna Ghar, a Chicago-based agency that provides critical services to immigrant survivors of gender violence. During her time at Apna Ghar, she was able to diversify the organization’s revenue by bringing in new foundation and corporate donors.  Kalpana’s experiences as fundraiser drive her commitment to grantmaking operations that center the needs of grantees.

Kalpana holds an M.A. with Distinction in International Education and Development from the University of Sussex and a B.A. in International Affairs from The George Washington University.

Lorran Lewis is the Team Coordinator for the Governance Program.

Prior to joining the Democracy Fund team, Lorran served as the Director of Operations for Authentic Campaigns and was the Executive Assistant to the Department of Criminal Justice at Color Of Change. She also served as a field and digital organizer on multiple presidential campaigns.

Lorran chose Democracy Fund because she believes in the necessity of empowering citizens to know and engage in their democracy — and where better to support this work?

Omayma El Ella is the Project Associate  for the Just and Inclusive Society Project at Democracy Fund, an independent foundation working to ensure that our political system is able to withstand new challenges and deliver on its promise to the American people. Omayma supports the Just and Inclusive Society Project in its mission to protect vulnerable and impacted communities facing the brunt of racism and hate. Omayma supports strategy development and grantmaking, and provides expertise and guidance to grantees and more.

Omayma join us from the UK and was the senior lead on Muslim leadership development and public engagement grant-making at the Aziz Foundation, a philanthropic organization based in London. She has over 8 years’ advocacy, policy, organizational development, and research experience in relation to international humanitarian aid and development, conflict sensitivity, civil society space, and facilitating trainings and knowledge-share. She has predominantly worked in the UK Muslim civil society space, engaging in, amongst other things, global advocacy efforts concerning counter-terrorism measures and its impact on aid, and strengthening Muslim civic engagement. Her humanitarian and advocacy work have taken her to Sri Lanka, Libya, Lebanon, the Central African Republic, and Bosnia.

Omayma holds an M.A from the School of Oriental and African Studies in Near and Middle Eastern Studies, and has a B.A in War Studies from Kings College London.

Ebony West is a Program Associate at Democracy Fund, an independent foundation working to ensure that our political system is able to withstand new challenges and deliver on its promise to the American people. In her role, she supports two of the Election Program’s strategies: Pro Voter Reform, which seeks to create a more equitable election system and supports communities defending their voting rights, and Voter-Centric Election Adminstration, which focuses on equipping local election officials with the data, tools, and connections needed to ensure voters’ voices are heard.

Prior to joining Democracy Fund, Ebony was a Program Associate at Triangle Community Foundation in Durham, NC. While there, she worked to establish and strengthen relationships with nonprofit organizations in the region. In addition, she managed the Community Development program and the Sudden and Urgent Needs Fund. She also oversaw community and nonprofit research for the Foundation and developed opportunities for community learning and convening. Finally, she brings previous experience in civic engagement, grassroots organizing, coalitions, and campaigns working on issues including equitable elections, access to higher education, LGBTQ+ rights, economic and reproductive justice.

Ebony graduated from East Carolina University with a BA in political science and a BS in communications. She also holds a Masters of Public Adminstration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Kareem is a law clerk at Democracy Fund, an independent foundation working to ensure that our political system is able to withstand new challenges and deliver on its promise to the American people. As a law clerk, Kareem works to ensure Democracy Fund stays compliant with all legal requirements and to provide support to the organization’s general counsel.

Kareem holds a J.D. from American University Washington College of Law.

Donna Stevens is the receptionist at Democracy Fund, an independent foundation working to ensure that our political system is able to withstand new challenges and deliver on its promise to the American people. Donna started as a temporary office assistant and transitioned to a full-time receptionist in April 2020 and supports the Operations and Grants teams. Besides making guests feel welcome, she oversees the day-to-day responsibilities for the front office, assists with grant applications, and facilitates all Democracy Fund contracts.

Throughout her career, Donna has pursued opportunities that align with her passion for helping others and her belief that it is everyone’s duty to give back to their community. Before coming to Democracy Fund, she was a Front Office Associate at America’s Promise Alliance. In that role she introduced a new inventory process and organized all literature needed for workshops, meetings, and events at the organization. Donna quickly adapted to the organization’s “call to serve’’ and volunteered at Boys & Girls Clubs of America in Alexandria, Virginia once a month. It didn’t take long look for the staff to notice her organization skills and attention to detail, and she was unanimously voted to be the chairman of the Sunshine Committee. Prior to working at America’s Promise Alliance, Donna worked as a dental assistant at a clinic that provided grants to cover the cost of treatment for low-income patients.

Donna holds an associate degree in communications and public relations and is studying to become a publicist. Her ultimate goal is to create a nonprofit that provides assistance to single moms.

Lauren Strayer is Managing Director for Communications and Network at Democracy Fund, where she oversees communications, philanthropic partnerships, and the Voter Study Group. She develops and manages strategies that elevate the Fund’s voice, grow the field’s philanthropic resources, and advance a rigorous public opinion research agenda.

Lauren brings more than 15 years of experience in social change and media to Democracy Fund. Previously, Lauren was an independent consultant specializing in campaigns, brand, and strategy for non-profit and philanthropic enterprises. At various points in her career, her clients have included the UAW, Inside Philanthropy, the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute, and Free Press, among others. She held leadership roles in communications and giving at Demos, where she focused first on grants for Demos and The American Prospect and later on media outreach and campaigns for a range of economic and democracy reform issues.

Prior to Demos, Lauren was a producer at Air America Radio, a political fundraiser, and the executive director of a small think tank. She is a co-editor of Change For America: A Progressive Blueprint for the 44th President, which was published in collaboration with the Center for American Progress and SourceBooks. She is also co-author of the Newmarket Press anthology Defend Yourself! How to Protect Your Money, Your Health, and Your Rights in 10 Key Areas of Your Life.

Lauren earned an MBA from Georgetown University and holds a B.A. in political science and economics from the University of Michigan. She is a Change Leader Fellow with Grantmakers for Effective Organizations.

Meredith Bird is the Communications Coordinator at Democracy Fund, an independent foundation working to ensure that our political system is able to withstand new challenges and deliver on its promise to the American people. As the team coordinator, Meredith assists with content strategy and development, website management and analytics, and project management. In addition, she identifies opportunities to enhance the team’s efficiency and inter-department collaboration.

Prior to joining Democracy Fund, Meredith worked at Global Impact, where she facilitated access to workplace giving programs for 100+ international relief and development NGOs, including CARE, Doctors Without Borders, Heifer International, International Rescue Committee, and World Vision. As the Charity Services Manager, she transformed the partner vetting and public sector application processes, leading to a direct increase in charity partners’ acceptance rates to the largest workplace giving programs in the world. She also provided front-end website development and internal process design for Growfund, an innovative philanthropic service created by Global Impact.

Since 2018, Meredith has served as a marketing strategy consultant at Purposely, a mission-driven Canadian tech startup that connects nonprofits with volunteers, and is now connecting individuals impacted by COVID-19 with neighbors who are able to provide assistance.

Meredith graduated from Georgetown University with an M.A. in conflict resolution, with a focus on international political economy and political systems. She graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in history and Asian studies from the Cook Honors College at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She speaks Mandarin Chinese and French, and is currently learning Korean and Spanish.

Yasmeen Ajdari is the Grants Associate at Democracy Fund, an independent foundation working to ensure that our political system is able to withstand new challenges and deliver on its promise to the American people. As a member of the Operations team, she is responsible for supporting Democracy Fund’s investment and grants management systems in order to streamline and innovate the grantmaking process to increase firm impact.

Prior to joining Democracy Fund, Yasmeen worked as a Program Associate on the Managed Organizations team at Arabella Advisors. In this role, she provided financial, consulting, and operational support to hosted projects at the New Venture Fund, Hopewell Fund, and Windward Fund, all 501(c)(3) public charities, and the Sixteen Thirty Fund, a 501(c)(4). Yasmeen’s portfolio included projects concerning climate reform, women’s rights, and political advocacy.

She was also a 2014 Baltimore corps member with Teach For America and later worked on staff for the organization as an Operations Director for the Philadelphia institute team. In this role, she planned the logistics and operations behind large-scale projects and systems, including distribution of national curriculums and materials for over five hundred corps members and thousands of students in the Philadelphia area.

Yasmeen graduated from Catholic University with a bachelor’s in philosophy pre-law. She also holds a master’s in the Science of Education, Policy from Johns Hopkins University and is currently pursuing her MBA from the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University.

Winny Chen is the Strategy and Learning Manager for the Governance Program at Democracy Fund, an independent foundation working to ensure that our political system is able to withstand new challenges and deliver on its promise to the American people. She helps guide the development of program strategies and works with the Governance Program team to refine, develop, and assess the progress of programs and grantmaking.

Winny brings extensive experience in management consulting, advocacy, and public policy. Prior to Democracy Fund, she was a Manager at Monitor Deloitte, where she advised federal agencies and social sector organizations on enterprise strategy, strategic planning, performance measurement, and communications. She also served as a Senior Associate in the Crimes Against Humanity Program at Human Rights First and as a Policy Analyst on the National Security team at the Center for American Progress.

Winny earned a Bachelor of Arts from Georgetown University and holds a Master’s degree in Security Studies from Georgetown’s Walsh School of Foreign Service.