Our Leadership

The people who carry Common Ground's work.

Our team brings together decades of combined experience across community philanthropy, frontline service, public health, and operations. They are practitioners and researchers, organizers and operators, all rooted in the conviction that lasting change is built by communities themselves and supported by patient, principled institutions.

Executive team

Senior leadership.

Dr. Camille Okonkwo

President and CEO

Twenty years across community philanthropy and public health policy. Previously SVP at the Ford Foundation and founding director of the Camden Communities Initiative, where she helped build a multi-funder pooled investment in neighborhood economic mobility.

David Park

Chief Operating Officer

Operations leader with 15 years scaling national nonprofits and the systems that hold them together. Previously COO at the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), where he led a multi-year overhaul of grants infrastructure.

Dr. Rashida Williams

Chief Program Officer

Community development researcher and practitioner. Former senior fellow at the Urban Institute and director of programs at Robin Hood. Her work focuses on translating community-defined priorities into durable funding strategies.

Michael Anderson

Chief Financial Officer

Eighteen years in nonprofit and foundation finance. Previously CFO at the Heron Foundation, where he led a fully mission-aligned investment portfolio, and senior auditor at KPMG. CPA and chartered financial analyst.

Dr. Lisa Chen

Director of Research

Community impact researcher with publications in JAMA Public Health and Stanford Social Innovation Review. PhD from Harvard Kennedy School. Builds participatory research designs that center community knowledge alongside academic methods.

Jonathan Reyes

Director of Partnerships

Former community organizer turned funder. Twelve years building grassroots-to-foundation pipelines for the California Endowment, with a focus on rural and immigrant-led organizations often missed by larger funders.

Senior staff

The team driving the work forward.

SW

Sarah Walker

Director of Communications

Communications

AJ

Andre Johnson

Director of Evaluation

Evaluation

PI

Priya Iyer

Director of Grants Management

Grantmaking

CM

Carlos Mendez

Senior Program Officer

Education

AB

Aisha Bashir

Senior Program Officer

Health

BO

Brian O'Connor

Senior Program Officer

Economic Mobility

LP

Linda Park

Senior Program Officer

Civic Strength

DR

Diego Ramirez

Director of Convening

Convening

RF

Rebecca Foster

General Counsel

Legal

ML

Marcus Lee

Director of Technology

Technology

Board of Directors

Our governing board.

Dr. Patricia MartinezBoard Chair

Former Dean, School of Public Health, University of Michigan

James WhitakerVice Chair

Chief Executive Officer, Whitaker Community Bank

Elena RodriguezTreasurer

Chief Financial Officer, Hartwell Investment Partners

Dr. Aaron KimSecretary

Director, Brookings Center on Communities

Maya Singh

Executive Director, National Civic League

Robert Chen

Retired Federal Judge, U.S. District Court

Dr. Constance Bell

Professor of Public Policy, Howard University

Marcus Thornton

Founder, Thornton Family Foundation

Dr. Yvonne Patel

President Emerita, Westview Community College

Harold Greene

Senior Partner, Greene and Associates Law

Read full board profiles

Community Advisory Council

Practitioners and partners who guide our work.

Our Community Advisory Council brings frontline practitioners, organizers, and researchers into our strategy and funding decisions. They review grant portfolios, challenge our assumptions, and keep our work grounded in the realities of the communities we serve.

Tomasa Aguilar

Executive Director, Vecinos Unidos Community Center

Rev. Daniel Mwangi

Lead Organizer, Eastside Faith and Labor Coalition

Dr. Hannah Sokolov

Senior Researcher, Center for Community Health Equity

Keisha Brown

Founder, Sisters in Stride Youth Mentoring

Antoine Beauchamp

Director of Programs, Riverbend Community Health Clinic

Dr. Imani Hayes

Public Health Practitioner, Tri-County Health District

Wei Chen

Executive Director, Asian American Workers Alliance

Father Miguel Santos

Parish Outreach Director, Sacred Heart Parish

Naomi Bird

Cultural Programs Director, Northern Tribes Coalition

Joseph Ramirez

Rural Field Organizer, Heartland Communities Project

Dr. Linda Whitehorse

Director, Indigenous Wellness Research Institute

Marcus Bell

Reentry Programs Director, Second Chance Initiative

Join us

Help us build the next chapter.

We are always looking for thoughtful, committed people to join our staff, board, and advisory council. If you care about the work, we want to hear from you.

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