Shawn Escoffery is the Chief Executive Officer of the Roy and Patricia Disney Family Foundation where he leads a small team and a family board committed to social justice and advancing equitable practices in philanthropy. RPDFF invest in innovative solutions and community leaders to build a more just and sustainable world in which all people thrive. Shawn manages a $6-8 million annual grantmaking budget and an endowment approaching $160 million. Since joining the Foundation 2018, Shawn has led the organization through a strategy refinement process, created a fellowship for someone who is formerly incarcerated, and launched an Impact Investing portfolio with a 10% carve-out of the endowment. The Foundation now focuses on Criminal Justice Reform, Environmental Justice, and Affordable Housing Preservation with a trust-based approach centered in place and that emphasizes lasting partnerships as well as capacity building. Shawn leads an impact-investing program primarily focused on investing with a racial and gender equity lens while seeking to use capital to support first time fund managers and challenge “risk” perceptions.

Prior to joining RPDFF Shawn Escoffery directed the Strong Local Economics program at the Surdna Foundation – a nationally focused family foundation with over $1 billion dollars in assets. In this role, Shawn worked to support the development of robust and sustainable economies that include a wide range of businesses, equitable economic policy and access to quality jobs. With an annual budget of $9.2 million, the program aims to create opportunities for upward economic mobility among communities that have experienced historical barriers to opportunity, including low-income people, communities of color, women, and immigrants. As the foundation developed a mission related investing and impact investing portfolio, Shawn was also responsible for deploying an additional $10 million dollars in (debt and equity) aimed at addressing access to capital challenges facing minority and women owned businesses.

Before joining philanthropy, Mr. Escoffery served as the Deputy Director of the New Orleans Neighborhood Development Collaborative (NONDC), a community organizing, planning and housing development organization, focused on post-Hurricane Katrina neighborhood revitalization. As an urban planner with over 20 years of experience, Shawn has been responsible for designing workforce development programs serving lower income communities, developing financing strategies for affordable housing developments and coordinating resident engagement efforts.  Throughout his career, he has managed projects and people effectively to produce positive outcomes for communities.

Shawn holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and English Literature from Rutgers University and a Master’s of City and Regional Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a concentration in Housing, Community, and Economic Development. He also holds certificates in Communications and International Relations, Urban Redevelopment and Effective Leadership from Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pennsylvania and Duke University, respectively.

Felicia Brannon (she/her) is a higher education advocate, community leader, and mentor. She served as the Executive Director for Local Government and Community Relations at UCLA for over a decade. Her career in government and community relations spans over 29 years of service and includes tenure in the non-profit, public, private, and academic sectors. Early on, she worked for then U.S. Congressman Victor H. Fazio, analyzing and advocating for legislation that improved the quality of life for those living in California’s 4th Congressional District. Later in her career, she focused on improving infrastructure at the local and state levels of government while working for the City of Culver City and Long Beach Transit. Subsequently, Felicia was recruited to serve as the Executive Director for Local Government and Community Relations at UCLA.

Geof Rochester is a recognized thought-leader across corporate sustainability, CSR, NGO management, philanthropy, and social entrepreneurship. Founder of GRC Advising, he advises nonprofit, social enterprise and corporate brand leadership on marketing strategy and social purpose. Past and current clients include Day One, Purify Fuel, American Farmland Trust, AppHarvest, Ziggie.com, and MindSpark Learning. Rochester holds distinctive and dynamic experience with the world’s leading conservation NGO, media companies, and consumer brands.

Rochester has served in global roles. As Managing Director and Chief Marketing Officer of The Nature Conservancy, he directed the organization’s marketing, membership and visibility strategies. At TNC he pushed the organization to broaden its impact beyond traditional audiences for environmental support by going after mega-brand partners and securing unusual collaborations with companies like Macy’s, Subway, Harley Davidson, Univision, Globo, Tencent, and a host of other leading global organizations. Rochester previously held the positions of Executive Vice President for Marketing at World Wrestling Entertainment, and Senior Vice President for Marketing at Showtime Networks. Earlier in his career, he served in senior marketing positions with Comcast Communications, Radisson Hotels International, and Procter and Gamble.

Rochester is highly sought after for his insights and opinions, his guidance, inspiration, and heart. He has served on several advisory boards including EcoAmerica, MMGY Global, Wharton IGEL, Sonoma County Winegrowers, the Georgetown University Alumni Association and the Sustainable Ocean Alliance. Born in Barbados and raised in Brooklyn, he earned his bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Kathryn Mengerink leads a team of ocean experts in developing and implementing marine spatial planning. She brings both her PhD in marine biology and law degree to bear in undertaking this effort. When not at the La Jolla office, you can typically find Kathryn at one of the Waitt Institute project sites around the world, either in a meeting or in the water. Working globally, the Waitt Institute, a San Diego-based non-profit, works in partnership with Governments to achieve marine protection and blue economy growth through marine spatial planning.

From 2006 -2016 Kathryn served as Director of the Ocean Program at the Environmental Law Institute. Under her leadership, the Ocean Program launched law and policy projects related to regional ocean management, coastal zoning, fisheries management and enforcement, aquaculture, ocean and coastal restoration, offshore energy development, marine protection, Alaska Natives rights and ocean management, environmental DNA, deep seabed mining and more. From 2007-2016, Kathryn served as a Lecturer Scripps Institution of Oceanography, where she taught ocean law and policy and served as an advisor to the Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation. She holds a B.S. in Zoology (Texas A&M University), Ph.D. in Marine Biology from SIO (UC San Diego) and a J.D. with a certificate in Environmental Law from University of California, Berkeley.

 

Hilary Cherner is a managing director and Arabella’s head of client services. She leads the firm’s advisory and fiscal sponsorship services, which includes the management of the New Venture Fund, the Windward Fund, the Hopewell Fund, and the Sixteen Thirty Fund. As a member of the executive team, Hilary facilitates collaboration across teams and projects and helps enhance operational models, leading to continual improvement of the firm’s client service delivery and impact for our donor partners.

Hilary joined Arabella in 2007 as its fifth employee and has worn many hats to shepherd it from startup to leader in the sector. During her tenure, she has led philanthropic strategy development, impact evaluation, and implementation of multiple grant-making funds on issues including global health and development, education, conservation, and women’s equality. Hilary has steered her teams through growth in the number and diversity of projects, as well as through the acquisition of Blueprint Research + Design, Inc. She plays a critical role in building staff members’ skills and firm efficiencies, as well as service innovations, ensuring Arabella’s work is rigorous and impactful. Hilary has a passion for effective philanthropy and, in particular, how advocacy and cross-sector partnerships can lead to greater good. She is currently focused on Arabella’s evolving approach to applying principles of equity to its internal culture and work with donors.

Hilary spent the decade prior to Arabella working in the nonprofit and public sectors. Most recently, she served as an Emerging Leader Fellow for the US Department of Health and Human Services, where she developed evaluation measures for the Community Food and Nutrition Program, managed grant reviews for the Administration of Children and Families, and conducted monitoring and evaluation for Head Start grantees. Hilary holds a BA in sociology from the University of Colorado and an MA in public affairs with a concentration in nonprofit and public management from Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Hilary lives in the Seattle area with her husband and rescue dog.

Dr. Stephanie Wear is a marine scientist leading the Betty and Gordon Moore Center for Science at Conservation International. The Moore Center is a leader in developing cutting-edge research and tools that enable governments, communities, businesses and others to identify, value and protect nature. Prior to joining CI, Dr. Wear spent 21 years leading a range of strategic initiatives spanning oceans, human health, and climate change and served as a global spokesperson at The Nature Conservancy. Stephanie joined the Board of Directors at the Aquarium of the Pacific in 2021 and is also a visiting scientist at the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability and the Duke University Marine Lab. Throughout her career, Dr. Wear has focused on researching and developing new strategies to reduce threats to ocean ecosystems, paying special attention to how the fates of the environment and people are intertwined.

Since beginning her conservation career in 2001, she has co-founded an organization that works to address sewage pollution, conducted global analyses on human health and the environment, worked with local communities to establish marine protected areas, developed strategies to address global drivers that threaten coral reefs, designed and led a global learning network for conservation practitioners, conducted research on the impacts of pollution on ocean systems, and become a recognized media spokesperson on a range of conservation issues.

As part of her commitment to a healthy planet, Dr. Wear has worked to raise awareness about important environmental issues. Her ability to connect with wide audiences helps her convey important topics to the general public. As a result, Dr. Wear has become a recognized spokesperson for conservation. She has appeared on numerous media outlets, including NBC Dateline, NBC Today Show, NBC Nightly News, CBS Evening News, Fox News, Time Magazine, Success Magazine, and as a guest on The Martha Stewart Show. She was the host and executive producer of the Discovery+ series “Eat Ugly” and she has also appeared as an expert contributor on Disney’s movie, “Oceans,” and in the BBC series, “The Power of Nature.”

Stephanie is based in North Carolina.