Tamara Alvarado
Before becoming the Executive Director of the Shortino Foundation, Tamara served as Executive Director for the School of Arts and Culture at MHP in East San José since it was started in 2011. During Alvarado’s leadership at the School of Arts and Culture, the School and the Mexican Heritage Plaza earned a positive reputation for their commitment to their East San José communities and the excellence of their programs. The School has developed a strong financial position and enjoys the committed support of many multi-year funders. It recently completed a long-term strategic plan to carry out its vision for enriching the arts and culture of the people of San José.
Prior to her service at the School, Alvarado was director of the Multicultural Arts Leadership Institute at 1stAct Silicon Valley before it became a program at the School of Arts and Culture, and was Executive Director of MACLA Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana in San José. A long time traditional Aztec dancer, she is a member of Calpulli Tonalehqueh, organizers of the largest Aztec New Year celebration in the United States. She has a bachelor’s degree in Spanish Literature with an emphasis in Chicano Studies from Stanford University.
Armando Castellano
Armando Castellano is an arts advocate and philanthropist who resides in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is a professional musician and bilingual teaching artist who plays the French horn, performing and teaching internationally. He sits on 4 boards including as a founding board member of the Donors of Color Network. Additionally, he is a second generation family member and trustee of the Castellano Family Foundation, a community embedded foundation funding Latino serving and lead nonprofits throughout the region, as well as championing DEI and cultural competency within the philanthropic field at large.
Karen Grove
Karen chairs the Grove Foundation and is president of Grove Action Fund. Karen’s parents are refugees and Holocaust survivors who found safety, support, acceptance and opportunity in the United States; and the Grove organizations seek to make their experience universal, with particular focus on women, immigrants, and people of color. The Grove organizations support reproductive health and justice, immigrant and refugee legal services, climate justice, civic and political engagement of the New American Majority, and safety net services in our community. Grove assets are mission-aligned, and the team aspires to infuse all of our work with a drive towards racial justice. Karen enjoys community leadership and philanthropic mentoring, and has organized in support of reproductive freedom and progressive women's political participation. She serves on her city’s housing commission and on several non-profit and political organizations’ boards, including Groundswell Fund, Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, and the California Donor Table. Karen has raised four endlessly interesting children, now adults, age 20-26. She loves reading, hiking, and hanging out with her wonderful, enjoyable, amazing husband.
Judi Powell
Judi Powell is Vice President of Program at Pacific Foundation Services, LLC, a philanthropic advisory and management firm that works with foundations to champion meaningful, inclusive, and effective philanthropy. Judi oversees all programmatic services PFS provides for clients and serves as senior program staff for two family foundations. She is also responsible for leading PFS’s initiatives to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout the organization and through clients’ grantmaking.
Prior to joining PFS in 2016, Judi was founder and principal of the consulting firm Seven Hills Philanthropy. She held program leadership positions with Northern California Grantmakers and Peninsula Community Foundation, where she directed the education and youth development portfolio and the scholarships program. Judi also participated in national forums with the Council on Foundations, Exponent Philanthropy, and the D5 Coalition.