Our Team

Coral is an experienced grantmaker and policy innovator with demonstrated success in building programs that employ climate change solutions while centering racial and economic equity. Coral joins Invest in Our Future following seven years with the State of California’s Strategic Growth Council (SGC). In her time at SGC, Coral led the development of programs that focused on supporting frontline communities to build the capacity and partnerships needed to access climate-related funding and implement community-led climate change mitigation and resilience projects.

She has extensive experience building relationships across sectors and engaging communities in the design of programs and policies to ensure equitable, integrated outcomes in program investments. Before her time at SGC, Coral worked as a Research Assistant at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project, where she conducted archival research on Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement.

Coral has a Bachelor of Science in Earth Systems with a minor in Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity from Stanford University. She lives in her hometown of Sacramento, CA, where she can be found trying to identify plants on a hike in her free time.

Luke is an experienced fundraiser, political strategist, and operations professional with experience supporting high level officials from national campaigns to the federal government. He has supported the creation of Invest in Our Future as a climate consultant since February and became its first employee when it launched in August 2023.

Most recently, he served as an appointee in the Biden administration in various roles at the U.S. Department of Energy, including in the Office of Nuclear Energy, the Office of the Secretary, and the Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs. He specializes in government and industry relations, fundraising, and political strategy. He is an expert in donor relations and brings years of fundraising experience for campaigns at the local, congressional, and presidential level to the Invest in Our Future team.

Luke holds a B.A. in Business Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles. Based in Seattle, WA with his wife, dog, and two cats, Luke enjoys hiking in the summer and skiing in the winter, building things in his garage, and reading.

Aaron is an experienced grantmaking professional whose work is rooted in curiosity, relationship building, and a commitment to supporting communities working to realize their plans for a healthier future.

Most recently, Aaron was a founding Program Officer for the REI Cooperative Action Fund, where he led grantmaking and strategy development for an investment portfolio focused on improving access to and belonging in the outdoors. Previously, at Houston Endowment, he helped establish the foundation’s learning and evaluation function and supported the air quality and emissions reduction grantmaking portfolios, among others. He began his career at the Houston Health Department, where he cultivated community relationships and built cross-sector coalitions to inform program strategy.

Aaron holds an MPH in Management, Policy, and Community Health from the University of Texas Health Science Center. He lives in his hometown of Houston, Texas where you can find him at an Astros game, eating his way through the city, or (prematurely) adding another book to his reading list.

Peter is a dynamic leader, advocate, and strategist who brings to Invest in Our Future 30 years of experience building coalitions, guiding complex organizations, and overseeing successful programs.

Most recently, Peter provided strategic planning, campaign development and executive coaching support to the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the Open Society Foundations and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), among others. He played key roles in several major cross-organization collaborations, including the Social & Economic Justice Leaders Project (SEJ)—a scenario-planning operation that catalyzed the Democracy Defense Coalition to protect the integrity of the 2020 elections—and Real Recovery Now—which united labor, climate, care and immigration groups to advocate for federal legislation addressing shared goals.

Peter was previously the Senior Advisor to the President and Secretary-Treasurer for the SEIU, managing long-term planning projects and partnerships across the wider progressive movement. Additionally, Peter served as SEIU’s Chief of Staff and, before that, as Government Relations Director from 2011 to 2016, leading the union’s legislative, policy and issue campaign work. From 2004 through 2010, Peter was at 32BJ SEIU—a local representing 120,000 workers on the east coast—first as Political Director and later as Chief of Staff.

Peter was raised in the Bronx and attended Yale University and the University of California’s Goldman School of Public Policy. He lives in Maryland with his wife and three children.

Melissa brings over 20 years of high-level administration experience supporting executives, with expertise in strategic planning, project management, time management and interpersonal communication. She joins IOF from Amazon where she supported the Global Executive Development Team which focused on developing leaders and maintaining Day 1 culture. There Melissa specialized in implementing administrative technology and was responsible for educating other employees on using systems and applications, including accounting, communication procedures, and organizational apps.

Prior to Amazon, Melissa was an Executive Assistant with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).

Melissa resides in Virginia with her partner and dogs. She enjoys learning and development and holds a deep passion for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, believing that if you give a person the right tools, success is inevitable. Relationships matter and helping make others’ lives easier along the way is a bonus.

Jess is a solutions-focused leader with a demonstrated record of building and executing successful environmental and energy public policy campaigns at the federal and state level. Jess joins Invest in Our Future from the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), where she served as the Director of Public Engagement. In this role, she designed and executed engagement strategies to ensure diverse perspectives informed policy. She’s a coalition and partnership builder focused on tackling climate change and advancing environmental justice.

From 2008 to 2022, Jess held multiple roles at Earthjustice, including its legislative director for climate and energy. She led and managed a team developing and advancing equitable climate solutions at the federal and state levels.

Jess holds a B.A. in journalism, a B.A. in government & politics and an MBA from the University of Maryland. She lives in Washington, D.C. and enjoys traveling, reading and gardening.

Leah is an experienced policy implementor, advisor, and leader, with a commitment to equitable change through investment and partnerships. Leah joins Invest in Our Future from the public sector, where she advanced a variety of national and state climate change policy efforts including within community-driven grant making, transportation and energy, research and development, and climate adaptation and resilience. Leah is an expert at coordination and meaningful engagement, and leveraging both in strategy development and program implementation.

Most recently Leah led statewide climate change planning for the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), developing guidance and tools to align planning with the State’s climate and equity goals. Prior to joining Caltrans, Leah was the Senior Advisor for Research & Innovation at the California Strategic Growth Council and Governor’s Office of Planning & Research, where she guided integration of climate science into a variety of interagency policy efforts and established two grant programs that center racial justice and equity in advancing community-driven planning and research. Leah joined the State of California after five years supporting federal agencies in Washington, DC, including the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Leah is also an author for the Fifth U.S. National Climate Assessment’s Southwest Chapter. As an east coaster living in Sacramento, CA, she loves exploring the west coast, especially the mountains in all seasons.

Carlos Jimenez is a collaborative leader with a deep commitment to helping diverse stakeholders build teams and campaigns in pursuit of more inclusive, equitable economies.

Carlos joins Invest in Our Future from the AFL-CIO, where he focused on membership and organizational growth across the labor movement. While with the Federation, he helped incubate and launch numerous regional and national initiatives that aligned resources and strategies between labor, philanthropic, and community organizations, including the LIFT Fund and the Southern Worker Opportunity Fund. Carlos was previously the Executive Director for the Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO, where he worked to bring together the interests of over 150 local union presidents around a shared agenda. In that role, he grew the Council’s membership and budget, while increasing the Council’s political and policy impact overall. Before that, he spent more than a decade in labor and community organizing, including deep coalition building throughout the Midwest while at Jobs with Justice.

Carlos was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA, and moved to the D.C. Metro Area in 2006. Currently Carlos lives in Silver Spring, MD with his wife and 2 kids.

Juwon is a seasoned professional with a wide range of experience in project management, administration, and youth education. In supporting high-level officials in the public and private sectors, Juwon has developed a proven track record of overseeing unique projects and driving success with her meticulous attention to detail and unwavering dedication to excellence.

Through her most recent position at Forum One, a digital agency, Juwon provided invaluable leadership and support across multiple technology and creative projects, while managing outreach initiatives and ensuring smooth administrative operations in her previous roles.

Juwon holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Politics, with a minor in Gender and Women’s Studies, from The Pennsylvania State University. Driven by her passion for creating positive change, Juwon is committed to leveraging her expertise to make a meaningful impact. A Nigerian-American based in the D.C. Metro Area, Juwon finds joy outside of her professional endeavors in travel, handcrafting candles, swimming, and curating her tea collection.

With 20+ years of tactical and strategic experience seeped in grantmaking operations, Lucy brings demonstrated experience with designing grantmaking policies and procedures, systems implementation, and integrity-driven leadership. Lucy prioritizes collaboration, transparent decision-making, and a deep commitment to advancing equity and the trust-based philanthropy approach to grantmaking. As the Director of Program Operations at the California Wellness Foundation, Lucy was responsible for fostering coordination, efficiency, and effectiveness of grants policies and processes across all functions.

Prior to that, Lucy served as the Director of Operations and Grants Management at the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, a spend-down foundation based in San Francisco. She played a key role in the distribution of $1 billion in grants over ten years.

Lucy completed graduate coursework in U.S. history at Boston College and earned her B. A. in history with a minor in sociology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She is a former Communications Chair for the NorCal Chapter of Peak Grantmaking and an alumnus of the Rockwood Leadership Institute’s the Art of Leadership cohort.

She is an active member of PEAK Grantmaking and Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy (AAPIP). Lucy lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and enjoys historical fiction, watching Korean dramas, cheering for the Golden State Warriors, and fueling her coffee addiction.

Jimmy is a demonstrated program and operations leadership specialist with fifteen years of experience in philanthropy and government. He has extensive experience in climate change mitigation and clean energy grantmaking, including board relations, strategic partnerships, project and grants management, and event planning.

Jimmy comes to Invest in Our Future after serving in several roles at Tempest Advisors, a philanthropic advisory firm that provides professional consulting services to Sea Change Foundation, Sea Change Foundation International, and other foundations and charitable funders. Most recently, as Operations Director, Jimmy oversaw a wide range of services including budget development, grant payments and banking, monthly cashflow and accounting, annual planning, and network facilitation for grantees and other partners. Prior to his work in philanthropy, Jimmy served as Office Manager for the legislative office of Congressman Chris Van Hollen.

Jimmy holds a B.A. in Politics and a B.A. in Sociology from Ithaca College and is actively pursuing an MLA in Sustainability through the Harvard Extension School. Based in Washington, D.C. with his wife, daughter, and cat, Jimmy is an avid traveler and live music enthusiast.

Through experiences spanning the private, nonprofit, and public sectors, Stacie has honed a participatory, trust-based approach to stakeholder engagement, grants, and project management.

She joins Invest in Our Future from Rosewood Family Advisors, a multi-family office where she supported an annual deployment of more than $400 million in philanthropic capital. Prior to that, Stacie served as a Program Associate at All Stars Helping Kids—a non-profit accelerator program investing in Bay Area nonprofits working to disrupt the cycle of poverty for youth—and as a Community and Policy Fellow for Raquel Castañeda-López, the first Latina ever elected to the Detroit City Council.

Stacie originally hails from Michigan where she obtained her Master of Social Work degree from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and a B.A. in International Development Studies from Calvin College (now Calvin University). She is now based in San Francisco, CA with her partner, cat, and dog. In her free time, you can find her playing in a recreational soccer league or hunting for treasures at a local thrift store or antique faire.

Alyssa Thomas is an experienced workforce and economic development professional committed to creating a just and equitable transition to a clean energy economy. Alyssa joins Invest in Our Future with over ten years of private and public sector experience in industrial and clean energy workforce, small business, and community development.

Most recently, Alyssa served as a consultant to a variety of clean energy organizations providing workforce, contractor, and community development strategic planning services. Prior to that, she was the Senior Manager of Workforce Development and the SunPower Foundation for SunPower Corporation. In her role, she supported the development and implementation of initiatives to train, recruit, and retain a skilled and diverse workforce, ranging from apprenticeships to employee resource groups. As the lead of the SunPower Foundation, she redesigned the mission, funding areas, and standard operating procedures to increase transparency and equitable outcomes.

Alyssa’s public sector experience includes workforce and economic development roles for the City of New York and City of Philadelphia. Here she launched and led initiatives including: ApprenticeNYC for Advanced Manufacturing, Inside Industrial for NYC DOE, and an Industrial DE&I Taskforce.

Alyssa holds a Master of Science in Urban Strategy from Drexel University, and a Bachelor of Science in International Business and Marketing from Quinnipiac University. She currently resides in Oakland, California and in her free time can be found hiking the coast and mountains with her dog, Apollo.

Amy Vruno has spent two decades building powerful coalitions across communities, labor, faith, schools, government, and businesses that deliver far-reaching wins on clean water, public transit, energy bills, green jobs, housing, weatherization, and building decarbonization. After beginning her career as a workers’ rights lawyer, Amy served in a variety of leadership roles with the Industrial Areas Foundation—a network of organizations focused on building power and driving policy change from the ground up. There, she designed, launched, led, and contributed to numerous successful campaigns at the intersections of climate, environment, racial equity, and economic justice.

Most recently, Amy consulted on projects aimed at unlocking the transformative potential of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) for underserved communities. She helped assemble a team of over 150 technical assistance providers specializing on the IRA’s Community Change Grants program, which offers nearly $2 billion for projects that will reduce pollution and increase community resilience against climate impacts. Within a matter of months, the team supported more than 1,100 applicants from community-based organizations, local governments, institutions of higher education, and federally recognized tribes from most U.S. territories and every state in the Union.

Amy earned a Juris Doctor from Columbia Law School, a BA in Sociology from the University of Minnesota, and an ACC certification from the International Coaches Federation. She grew up in Minnesota and resides in the D.C. Metro Area. She spends her free time alongside friends and family soaking up the exhibits, performances, lectures, and cultural and community events in the region and beyond.