Sadaf is the co-founder and Director of Kindle Project and co-creator of the Indie Philanthropy Initiative. She’s an activist and photographer who’s committed decades of work to environmental and social justice. Previously she served as Environmental Justice Manager at Tewa Women United. She brings her creativity, experience in facilitation, and passion for program design and experimentation to Kindle Project. Sadaf received her MA in Peace Studies from the United Nations University for Peace and her BFA in Photography from the College of Santa Fe. A photographer and multimedia artist, Sadaf’s work has included documenting Afghan refugee camps and the survivors of the 1947 partition in both India and Pakistan. Her work has shown internationally and is part of the permanent collection of the Albuquerque Museum of Fine Art.

Arianne began her work with Kindle Project in 2010 as the Communications Director. During that time she co-founded the Indie Philanthropy Initiative (IPI), which was created right here at Kindle Project! From 2019-2021, Arianne was the Co-Executive Director of EDGE Funders Alliance and now she continues her work in the field as a consultant with a special focus on facilitation of groups who are excited about transforming the field of philanthropy and themselves. Kindle Project clearly created a passionate funder organizer in Arianne, and in all of her work she continues to keep the Kindle fire lit with a practice of curiosity, deep relationship building, humour, and joy. Arianne received her MA in Peace Education from the United Nations University for Peace, and completed an honors degree in Religious Studies at Concordia University. She lives and works in Toronto, and loves teen drama TV series (shhh, don’t tell), storytelling, cooking complicated dishes with pomegranate molasses from her Egyptian roots, the perfect espresso, and the art of flȃneuring.

Sara is a passionate feminist, writer, and generalist with over 15 years of experience in communication, management, human resources, and development. Her work in various sectors includes non-profit, government, fashion, and tech. As associate director of NM Inter-Faith Housing, Sara was instrumental in landing a federal grant that lead to the building of the Siler Yard ACC, an innovative live/work housing development for low-income artists and their families. During her tenure at the City of Santa Fe’s award-winning MIX organization, Sara fostered networking opportunities for young professionals, and helped launch several successful start-ups. Sara’s specialties include strategic planning, project and people management, client relations, fundraising, writing, and editing. She holds a BA in Art History and is pursuing her MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. She loves to dance, travel, write, and eat candy.

Nellika has over 20 years of experience in international program management and implementation, primarily in conflict and post-conflict contexts. This has included Afghanistan, Syria (Turkey), South Sudan, Kosovo, Malaysia, and Mongolia with a variety of NGOs, USG agencies, and the UN. Her work has focused on fostering independent local media development, civic engagement, fair electoral processes (including investigation into allegations of electoral fraud), grassroots activism, and open and accountable political transitions. Much of her work has involved provision of tangible assistance during times of crisis. Nellika’s move to New Mexico, her experience in grants management, and her interest in local activism efforts in the U.S. brought her into the Kindle Project fold in 2016. She continues to manage Kindle’s grant and financial gift processes while managing implementation of some programs. She also continues to take on short-term assignments with international assistance efforts.

Pearl Lujan is an Advisor to the Indigenous Women’s Flow Fund. She has been a passionate activist and front lines funder for over 20 years, working in the areas of international development, philanthropy and grassroots native organizing. She worked as the Charitable Giving Manager at Lush Cosmetics, the Refugee/Immigrant Funder for the Province of Manitoba, and as an Advisor to the Indigenous-led Mino Niibi Fund at the Cultural Conservancy. She holds a Masters in International Dispute Resolution and a Bachelors in International Development, and has traveled to 53 countries. She currently lives, works and plays on the ancestral homelands of the Syilx People of the Okanagan Nation in Penticton, BC. She enjoys rock climbing, mountain biking and leading wilderness and international service trips.

Keil is a filmmaker, writer, and activist in his fifth year at Kindle Project. For over a decade he has been a core member of culture-jamming group the Yes Men, first as a documentary producer, then as Media Director of their creative-activism nonprofit, leading creative collaborations with dozens of international NGOs and activist groups. He worked for more than a decade as a screenplay ghostwriter and story editor, and won a NYFA Fellowship for Screenwriting/Playwriting.

Celia is a communications strategist, coach and facilitator. She cavorts with grassroots change agents, academics and donors who share her love for social justice, planetary healing and culture shaping. From the United Nations climate negotiations, to mass marches in the streets, to UC Santa Barbara’s Environmental Studies program and Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, Celia has trained thousands to become more irresistible spokespeople and public speakers. She has also committed to helping all who work for change to cultivate well-being, vitality, resilience and joy in their lives, and recently became a certified functional health and wellness coach. Celia sustains her activism through an alchemic mix of yoga, hula hooping, and practicing the art of non-attachment. Bred by New Yorkers and raised in Los Angeles, she alternatively chases her poodle across the majestic redrock landscapes of Southeastern Utah and the effervescent coastlines of Central California.

Sofia serves as Co-Executive Director at EDGE Funders Alliance. She was born and raised in Mexico City, where she currently lives with her husband and two daughters. She has a BA in Communications from Universidad Iberoamericana, and for many years worked in the film and advertising industry. She has been involved with philanthropy since 2007, when she joined Sacred Fire Foundation, first as Director of Grants and Partners, then as Communications Director, and later as Executive Director. A first-generation alumnus of EDGE’s Global Engagement Lab, Sofia also serves as board member at International Funders for Indigenous Peoples. Sofia has been a passionate advocate for the continuance of Indigenous traditional knowledge and hopes to effect social change by raising awareness about the values and perspectives rooted in these ancestral traditions and by upholding a vision for a just and interconnected world.

Kimi’s professional career includes 29 years of philanthropic and community development leadership and management. Her commitment to effective, creative community solutions addressing systems-change for social and environmental benefit has resulted in groundbreaking advancements in the quality of life for local and global communities. Kimi’s management expertise spans the full range of operational functions critical to advancing social change, including program development, management and evaluation, advancement of both permanent and non-permanent financial resources, effective leveraging of funds for increased resources, marketing, campaign management and advocacy. She has served as Program Director for New Cycle Foundation (29 years), Director, Development and Community Sustainability for New Mexico Community Foundation, Development Consultant and Board Director for numerous social and environmental justice non-profits, foundations and funder associations, and is a Research Associate with OTR Global and a partner with Vitali-T-Boost, LLC.

Adam has spent over two decades working in the philanthropic, investing and social profit fields. Through this work, he’s actively sought ways to help steward financial resources on an evolutionary journey towards the growth of new potential while supporting the capacity of communities, institutions, and others to generate true wealth and well being over time. This journey has led Adam into some strange and exciting frontiers of experimentation and creativity. As a regenerative practitioner, he strives to bring thinking aligned with living systems and a background in organizational development into the projects he engages with. Adam currently serves as the executive director of a family foundation.

Michael Johnson, Director of Advancement with the NDN Collective, is a citizen of the Three Affiliated Tribes of North Dakota and a relative of the White Earth Nation where his grandfather is a citizen. Michael graduated with distinction from The School of Liberal Arts at The University of Colorado Denver, majoring in Political Science and earning magna cum laude honors. Michael’s work over the last decade has engaged key stakeholders in Indian Country and beyond to create lasting relationships built on respect, reciprocity, impact, and success. A champion of Tribal self-determination, Michael has supported positive educational, health related, economic, as well as policy and litigation outcomes for Native communities around the country. Born and raised in Colorado, Michael currently resides in Littleton with his wife and two children.

Laura Livoti runs Spark Lab, providing philanthropic advising and nonprofit consulting, to which she brings 20 years of experience in the philanthropic sector and a lifetime of engagement with grassroots nonprofits and movement work for intersectional justice. Laura takes joy in designing programs like Native Voices Rising, while she served as the CEO of Common Counsel Foundation; a model strengthening organizations program, one part of which continues today as RoadMap, while she served as the Senior Program Officer at FACT; and the Armature Group, composed of a low-interest loan fund, a scholarship for artists, and grantmaking in support of reproductive justice, decarceration and youth, while running her consulting firm. She is skilled at organizational development and through Spark Lab supported the National Guestworker Alliance in advancing ResilienceForce. She is interested in customized evaluations and has created processes for LiveWire Independent News, while Directing the National Radio Project and forensically synthesizing a large amount of information through stakeholder interviews and surveys for an international client of Spark Lab. Laura has strong project management and facilitation abilities, which she utilized to advance the now proven concept of Integrated Voter Engagement, while serving as Chair of the FCCP Voter Engagement Committee. At Spark Lab, she has enjoyed helping clients endeavor to deploy all of their wealth to advance their goals through an integrated capital approach. In addition to the Kindle Project Steering Committee, Laura volunteers on the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Board of Directors, where she works with the team to advance progressive values through the arts.

Cate Coslor embodies imagination, insight, vision, and spirit. Born in Santa Fe, New Mexico to a country western singing cowboy father and an artistic mother of four, Cate has years of experience working and learning within the non-profit and funding world. Cate values creativity, collaboration, and is skillful at unraveling the multiplicity of viewpoints and dynamics around class and power inherent in the funding sector. In 2003, Cate co-founded Seeds of Justice, a funding collaborative that supports individuals and organizations striving for internal, interpersonal and systemic transformation. In 2008, she co-founded Kindle Project. She has been trained as a facilitator by Be Present, a community-based organization focused on building sustainable leadership for social justice, and has served on the organization’s Capacity Building Team for the last four years. In addition, from 2009-2010 she served as a board member for YES!. Cate is a talented musician, earning her degree in Music Production and Sound Engineering from Expressions: Center for New Media in 2001. She is a trained vocalist, composer, guitar and piano playing fool. Her compositions are whimsical and warm. Cate currently lives part time in Switzerland with her Swiss husband and devotes much of her energy to LapCat, a music collective that released its first album in 2011.

Elisa Keir is a multi-media artist, business manager and bookkeeper who has worked with non-profit arts and peace organizations for over ten years. She is also the assistant to the executive director at Creativity for Peace, an international organization that cultivates understanding and leadership in Palestinian and Israeli adolescent girls and women. Elisa studied fine arts at the Chicago Art Institute, owned and managed a music store in Chicago and has been in an array of exhibitions. Residing in New Mexico since 2001, she continues to embark on the ventures of following her heart, art and ethics.

Laura Loescher is a leadership coach, philanthropic advisor and a guide to individuals and organizations who are devoting their resources to inner and outer healing and transformation. Working in philanthropy for more than 20 years, Laura has been on the founding teams of more than a dozen philanthropic endeavors including Kindle Project, the Indie Philanthropy Initiative, Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy, Aepoch Fund, and Changemakers Fund. Most recently, she co-founded and directed the Conflict Transformation Fund, a philanthropic initiative that provides funding to progressive movement organizations that empower individuals and communities with the tools, skills, inspiration and agency to transform conflicts. When she is not engaged with humans and their work in the world, she is an eco-artist with a palette of soil and leaves and flowers. Laura’s Earth Altars and impermanent nature art are co-created with the natural world.