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Our founders, staff and advisors carried out a rigorous selection process to find changemakers whose work would benefit from a unique combination of supports.

Our advisors are a group of leading social changemakers who work across a variety of issue areas. With these experts, we carried out a rigorous selection process to identify a diverse cohort of fellows whose work would benefit from a unique combination of early risk-tolerant financial support, training, and peer learning. Many early stage nonprofits aren’t able to secure the finances they need to expand their work and their impact. We set out to change that by providing early support to the most inspiring leaders we could find.

With these advisors, we recruited almost 100 talent scouts from nearly all 50 states to nominate candidates for FNL fellowships. These talent scouts, established leaders in their regions, nominated candidates working on the ground in their communities largely unknown by traditional philanthropy.

We received written applications from 133 candidates, hailing from 39 different states. The evaluation process involved teams of reviewers interviewing more than 50 leaders, evaluating their work using a 6-part criteria scorecard and narrowing them down to a small group of finalists.

The advisors, staff and founders chose 13 start-up organizations (including one team of 2) to join FNL’s inaugural cohort of fellows, based on their performance throughout the application and interview process.

Leadership:

Alan and Kim Hartman
Alan and Kim Hartman
Founders

Read a message from the FNL founders.

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Simon Greer
Simon Greer
Managing Director

Simon Greer has been involved in progressive social change work for the past 30 years. He is the founder of Cambridge Heath Ventures.

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Sara Finkelstein
Sara Finkelstein
Program Director

Sara Finkelstein is the Program Director for FNL and Senior Strategist at Cambridge Heath Ventures.

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Advisors:

Megan Black
Megan Black
Advisor

Megan Black is the Common Good Program Director at Western States Center. She is a community organizer by training who focuses on navigating tensions generated by race, religion, and politics, with an emphasis on antisemitism and anti-Black racism.

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Carrie Brunk
Carrie Brunk
Advisor

Carrie Brunk works as a facilitator, educator and leadership coach for transformative personal and systems change through projects like Ridgeway Transformative Leadership and the Intercultural Leadership Institute.

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FHL – Alan van Capelle
Alan van Capelle
Advisor

Alan van Capelle is an innovative community leader who has dedicated his strategic thinking skills and commitment to community organizing in service of social justice and the greater good.

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Rob English
Rob English
Advisor

Rob has organized with the Industrial Areas Foundation, the largest and oldest citizen organizing network in the country, for over 25 years.

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April Headshot 2016
April Lawson
Advisor

April Lawson Kornfield leads the Braver Angels’ Debate and Public Discourse Program. April designed Braver Angels Debates and has grown the program from its first debate to serving over 1,000 participants per month.

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Evan Milligan
Evan Milligan
Advisor

Evan Milligan is the executive director of Alabama Forward, a statewide civic engagement table advancing efforts of nonpartisan organizations throughout Alabama to expand the voter base, protect voting rights, and make election systems as accessible as possible.

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Greg Nelson
Greg Nelson
Advisor

Greg Nelson is the Managing Director of a family office in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is an entrepreneur, advisor, investor, and youth sports coach, and previously served seven years in the Obama White House, including as Chief of Staff for the National Economic Council and Associate Director for Public Engagement.

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Satya Patel Head shot
Satya Patel
Advisor

Satya Patel is a venture capitalist and founder of the venture capital firm Homebrew. Since 2007, Patel has served as a board member of the KIPP Bay Area Schools.

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Marley Pearce
Marley Pierce
Advisor

Marley Pierce has served as an elementary special education teacher, outdoor environmental science guide, and program manager for a nonprofit focussed on inclusive democracy. She currently teaches U.S. History at a high school in the San Francisco Bay Area and holds a B.A. in Ethnic Studies from Brown University.

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Palak Shah
Palak Shah
Advisor

Palak Shah is the Social Innovations Director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, the nation’s leading organization working for the power, respect, and dignity of the 2.5 million nannies, housekeepers, and caregivers in the U.S.

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Mike Strautmanis
Mike Strautmanis
Advisor

As Executive Vice President of Civic Engagement, Mike Strautmanis oversees community affairs and strategic partnerships for the Obama Foundation. This position finds him in constant…

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Andy Hartman
Andy Hartman
Advisor

The youngest of the three Hartman children, Andy is currently pursuing a B.A. in Theatre with a minor in Dance and modules in Acting for Screen and Playwriting from Northwestern University. Andy is passionate about community service and advancing social justice efforts in all aspects of life.

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Katherine Hartman
Katie Hartman
Advisor

Katie Hartman is currently a lead special education teacher at The Shefa School in New York City. She holds a B.A. in English and a M.S.Ed. in Special Education and Elementary Education, both from the University of Pennsylvania. Katie is grateful and humbled to be part of the FNL team!

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Max Hartman
Max Hartman
Advisor

Max Hartman is currently a software engineer at Amazon Web Services. He holds a B.S.E. in Computer and Information Science and a M.S.E. in Computer and Information Science, both from the University of Pennsylvania. Max is inspired by the work of the FNL Fellows!

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