Oct 8, 2021
Esteemed community and colleagues,
The work that we do at G4GC to support movements that center girls, femmes, and gender-expansive youth of color is essential. And the impact that we have on our communities and in the lives of girls* of color is nurtured by the talent and generosity of our team, so it is with great pleasure that I share some exciting new additions and internal changes.
Our G4GC team is growing!
First and foremost, I invite you to join me in welcoming two wonderful additions to our team: Nneka Nwaifejokwu, our Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships, and Mariah Gill, our Office Manager. Nneka will focus on expanding and deepening our relationships with co-investors, and developing a membership infrastructure to support our donor organizing and education work with peer funders. Mariah’s work will focus on caring for and curating an office space as a philanthropic home for movements that center girls, femmes, and gender-expansive youth of color, and building a team culture rooted in community healing and wellness. Both join our team with a deep commitment to support the liberated futures of girls of color, and expertise in movement. Get to know a little more about them below!
Nneka Nwaifejokwu
Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships
Nneka (she/her) is a black Nigerian woman whose life is energized by the desire to see people live and be loved in their truest form. She has worked to mobilize resources to support social justice movements, communities, and organizations for over a decade. She has been responsible for creating and executing pivotal strategic development plans and interventions that stabilize movement work and center community.
Nneka is guided by the idea that movements will begin to have the agency to thrive once they’re equitably resourced and connected to those with lived experience. This belief informs her commitment to centering and lifting those who have first-hand knowledge and have been directly affected by structural violence. Using that belief as a north star, you can often find her teaching and training on topics that center community in philanthropic conversations and give people with lived experience a seat at the decision-making table.
She is a proud alumna of Winston-Salem State University (Go Rams!) and holds a Masters in Public Affairs and Nonprofit Management from Baruch College. Nneka calls Nigeria home and currently resides in Brooklyn, on the traditional territory of the Canarsee tribe.
Mariah Gill
Office Manager
Mariah (she/her) is an educator, youth advocate, feminist, and plant enthusiast.
Prior to joining G4GC Mariah worked as an adolescent health educator in Brooklyn, field manager for the LGBTQIA+ community in Manhattan, and a youth counselor in Harlem and the Bronx. Mariah has spent 5+ years encouraging young minds to dig into their imagination and embrace all ideas, dreams, and talents—reminding them that no dream is too big. Mariah recognizes that our girls are the future and we must continue to advocate, uplift, and support them in their journey.
Mariah is of African American descent and Choctaw Indian descent. She was raised in Houston, Texas and graduated from Sam Houston State University with a Bachelors in theatre management. She currently lives in Brooklyn, NY, lands originally protected by the Canarsee people. Her home is filled with plants, as she finds joy in nurturing and caring for living things, and watching them grow and prosper.
Internal changes to reflect our growing infrastructure!
We have some exciting internal shifts to announce as well. Many of you have been in community and collaborating with Maheen Kaleem, who joined G4GC in August 2020 as Deputy Director, and has been at the center of our growth and impact. To reflect our growing infrastructure, her title has changed to Vice President of Operations and Programs. Maheen’s leadership, her deep connection to movements, and relationships with grantees across the nation have been critical to our positive impact in communities across the country, and U.S. territories.
Dominique Fulling’s title has also changed, to better reflect the additional responsibilities within the infrastructure of our organization that she’s taken on. Dominique is now Manager of Technical Support, Special Projects, and Office of the President. Dominique’s expertise with administrative roles across sectors, combined with her passion for uplifting girls of color make her an essential part of our team, and many of you will be familiar with her deft scheduling expertise, and thoughtful follow-through. Please join me in congratulating Dominique.
To reflect the role and impact that Kyndall Osibodu has had on our engagement with our youth, she is now our Director of Organizational Health, Operations, and Learning. Kyndall has demonstrated significant and important leadership in building the youth engagement strategy, continuing to think about how we operationalize our values in practice and policy, and developing opportunities for us to be a learning organization. As our team and infrastructure continue to grow, we are grateful to have Kyndall embrace this new leadership role.
We continue growing: Join our team!
Currently we are in the process of hiring a Manager for the Holding a Sister Initiative, who will lead the visioning, creation, and implementation of the Holding a Sister Initiative, a partnership between Grantmakers for Girls of Color and the Black Trans Fund, at Groundswell Fund, to mobilize resources for work that centers and is led by trans girls and gender-expansive youth of color. They will also create a container for critical dialogue and movement building to advance justice for trans and gender-expansive girls of color. Stay tuned for updates about this exciting new initiative. Visit our G4GC Careers/Opportunities page.
Open Call for BGFF grants through October 30th
We are still energized by our first anniversary celebration of Black Girl Freedom Fund and the #1Billion4BlackGirls campaign on September 15th! Our open call for applications to the BGFF is open until October 30th, and is open to organizations that center the leadership of Black girls and gender-expansive youth. If you know of Black women and femme-led organizations working with Black girls in support of their liberated futures, send them the information page, and the simple application link so they can fill it out!
In the near future we will have some exciting announcements. If you don’t already follow us on our platforms, please take a moment to do that so you don’t miss important announcements: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn. As always, thank you for your continued support and commitment to abundantly resourcing and uplifting girls of color.
With deep gratitude,
Monique W. Morris,
Ed.D., President and CEO
Grantmakers for Girls of Color