About

Margarita is the Chief of the Disparities Research Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital, and a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Margarita has published over 200 papers, editorials, intervention training manuals, and several book chapters, on topics such as improvement of health care services delivery for diverse racial and ethnic populations, conceptual and methodological issues with multicultural populations, and ways to involve communities into the design and implementation of health services.

Among her awards are the Health Disparities Innovation Award from the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities (2008) and the Cynthia Lucero Latino Mental Health Award from William James College (2016). In 2011, she was elected as a member of the National Academy of Medicine in acknowledgement of her scientific contributions. Margarita was selected as El Planeta’s (Massachusetts’s largest circulating Spanish-language newspaper) 2013’s Powermeter 100 most influential people for the Hispanic community in Massachusetts.

Margarita earned her B.A. in psychology from Georgetown University in 1978 and her Ph.D. from Temple University in 1989.

Rosanna is the Foundation’s chief financial and administrative officer. She regularly interacts with Board members and investment managers to preserve and grow our endowment and meet all regulatory and tax requirements. She also is responsible for coordinating infrastructure processes as diverse as budgeting, accounting, investments, human resources, facilities, and information technology.

Rosanna brings to the Foundation more than two decades of experience in the nonprofit field. Prior to joining the Foundation in 2017, she was the Chief Financial Officer/Chief Administrative Officer of the Posse Foundation, where she managed the financial and administrative side of a nationwide expansion which brought dramatic growth of the organization. Previously, she served as Accountant & Assistant to Chief Investment Officer and VP of Finance at the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation. Rosanna currently serves on the Boards of Philanthropy New York and Ithaca College.

Rosanna earned both an M.B.A. and a Bachelor of Science in business administration and finance from Manhattan College. She has also served as Adjunct Faculty of strategic business management at Manhattan College.

Sonia is the first point of contact for guests of the Foundation and is responsible for ensuring that external contacts are directed appropriately. A member of the Finance and Administration department, Sonia also provides regular assistance with bookkeeping tasks and provides a range of operational and administrative support across the Foundation.

Natalie supports the Foundation’s editorial and communications strategies to inform and engage grantees, applicants, researchers, and other audiences. She writes and edits blog posts, news, and other content. She also maintains the Foundation’s social media presence and measures and reports analytics. Natalie holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Amherst College.

Kim provides leadership for the Foundation’s programmatic areas to advance the Foundation’s mission of supporting research to improve the lives of young people. From 2011-2020, Kim worked as program officer and then senior program officer and was instrumental in the reshaping the Foundation’s focus on the use of research evidence, the launch of our focus on reducing inequality, and the development and implementation of the Institutional Challenge Grant program. Kim was the inaugural Vice President and Managing Director of an initiative that aimed to contribute to society through substantive and systemic improvement in the lives of workers, students, and communities. Earlier in her career, Kim worked as a research scientist at New York State Office of Children and Family Services and on the research faculty at New Jersey Medical School.

Adam provides leadership for the William T. Grant Foundation’s strategic direction, shapes its agenda and tactics, and partners with the Board of Trustees to advance its mission and objectives. Since joining the Foundation, he launched a new initiative to support research on reducing inequality in youth outcomes, and has continued the Foundation’s ongoing work to improve the use of research evidence in policy and practice decisions that affect young people.

From 1984 to 2013, Adam served on the faculty of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he held the John D. MacArthur Chair in Sociology and Educational Policy Studies. From 2001-2004, he chaired the Department of Sociology, and from 2004-2013 he directed the Wisconsin Center for Education Research.

Adam’s research focused on educational inequality and school reform. Recent publications include “Does racial isolation in school lead to long-term disadvantages? Labor-market consequences of high school racial composition” (American Journal of Sociology, 2016) and “Effects of school segregation and school resources in a changing policy context” (Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 2016). Earlier, he edited Standards-based reform and the poverty gap: Lessons for No Child Left Behind (Brookings Institution Press, 2007) and co-edited Stratification in higher education: A comparative study (Stanford University Press, 2007) and Methodological advances in cross-national surveys of educational achievement (National Academy Press, 2002). His research was funded by the National Science Foundation, the Institute of Education Sciences at the U.S. Department of Education, and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, as well as by the Spencer and William T. Grant Foundations.

Adam is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and National Academy of Education and was twice appointed by President Obama to serve on the National Board for Education Sciences. From 2014 to 2020, he chaired the Board on Science Education of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. In 2013, he received the Spencer Foundation Award for contributions to research on education policy from the Association for Public Policy and Management, and in 2014 he was honored with the award for Distinguished Contributions to Research in Education from the American Educational Research Association.

Adam earned his Ph.D. in education from the University of Chicago in 1984.

Billy works with staff, grantees, and partners to craft meaningful, accessible communications that advance our work. As our communications lead, he manages all of our editorial and creative processes, oversees our website, upholds our brand and identity standards, and collaborates on strategic outreach and engagement efforts.

Jenny Irons is a Senior Program Officer at the William T. Grant Foundation, where she directs the Institutional Challenge Grant program and the major grants funding initiative that supports studies to reduce inequality among youth. She also serves on the Foundation’s senior program team, which sets program directions, develops new initiatives, and reviews grants.

Before joining the Foundation, Jenny directed student leadership and engagement programs at Tulane University’s Newcomb College Institute. Prior to that, she worked in evaluation research as a consultant for the Greater New Orleans Foundation and as a senior research analyst for The Policy & Research Group in New Orleans. She was also an Associate Professor of Sociology at Hamilton College, where her research and teaching focused on race, gender, and social movements. She has published peer-reviewed articles, essays, and a book, Reconstituting Whiteness: The Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission. Jenny earned her Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Arizona and her B.A. in sociology-anthropology from Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi.

Zanella supports accounting functions and assists the Vice President, Finance and Administration in running, maintaining, and improving day-to-day office operations. She also works closely with the Senior Accountant on an ongoing basis. Zanella brings seven years of bookkeeping experience to the Foundation. Zanella has a B.A. in media and communications from SUNY College at Old Westbury.

Gary manages the Foundation’s accounting and financial reporting functions and supports its audit, tax, budget, and financial operations. A licensed CPA, Gary brings more than 15 years of experience across public accounting, nonprofit organizations, auditing, and taxation.

Dwayne leads the Grants Management Team. One of his primary responsibilities is to ensure that the grants management system meets the needs of the Foundation and its applicants, grantees, and staff. He coordinates with the Senior Program Team and other Foundation departments to create and maintain efficient operations and systems in support of the Foundation’s strategic goals. Dwayne was the Director of Operations at the Shine Campaign, where he had responsibilities related to administration, budget, communications, and strategic planning, in addition to grantmaking responsibilities. Prior to this, he held positions with increasing responsibility in grants management and operations at the Ford Foundation.

Selina coordinates administrative activities for grantmaking programs including William T. Grant Scholars, Mentoring Grants, and Youth Service Capacity-Building Grants, and is the key point of contact to applicants, grantees, and reviewers on matters related to grants administration. Selina works closely with the Grants Management Team, under the direction of the Director, Grantmaking Operations, to foster greater coordination, efficiency, and effectiveness of grants administration and work processes. Prior to joining the Foundation, she handled development and grant writing at True Colors United. Selina holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Mount Holyoke College.

James coordinates human resources and administration activities. He advises on current and potential human resources policies, benefits, and practices to strengthen staff and operations. He also organizes all facets of personnel management, including recruiting, orientation, training, and performance. James’s purview also includes a variety of duties related to facilities and finance.

Vicente Malavé is responsible for managing all in-house technology for the foundation. He implements solutions, methods and procedures to help the foundation fulfill its strategic goals.

Vicente is certified in ITIL IT service management and has over 17 years experience in infrastructure, networking, systems administration, and IT project management. Prior to joining the Foundation, he managed a diverse team of IT professionals providing 24/7 IT operations support to e-commerce facilities throughout New York City and the Northeast.

Vicente holds an MBA in information systems from Fordham University and a BA in design from University of Pennsylvania.

Richard is the Thompson Research Professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Over the last 40 years, he has studied relationships between the U.S. economy and the U.S. educational system. His numerous books include The Impact of School Resources on the Learning of Inner City Children (Ballinger, 1975), Who Will Teach? (Harvard University Press, 1991), Teaching the New Basic Skills (Free Press), The New Division of Labor (Princeton University Press, 2004), and Methods Matter (Oxford U. Press, 2011). Most recently, Richard and economist Greg Duncan, a William T. Grant Foundation Trustee, co-led a large research project examining the respects in which growth in family income inequality in the U.S. has affected educational opportunities for children from low-income families and the effectiveness of alternative strategies for improving life chances for these children. Products of this project included the 2011 edited volume, Whither Opportunity (Russell Sage), and the 2014 book, Restoring Opportunity (Harvard Education Press and Russell Sage). Richard is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Education and is a Fellow of the Society of Labor Economists.

Ruth is the lead support to the President and Board of Trustees on all administrative matters. She is responsible for the management and daily operations of the executive office and the coordination and support of the President’s activities. As the key contact to the Board of Trustees, she interacts with all members to coordinate the logistics of all Board meetings and other sensitive correspondence.

Nancy coordinates our research grants (major grants and Officers’ research grants) and Institutional Challenge Grant programs. She administers the grant lifecycle from request to award to reporting. Nancy has been involved in all aspects of grants management during her more than twenty years of experience in the philanthropic community. Nancy also is a member of Hispanics in Philanthropy and Grants Managers Network. She received her M.P.A. from Baruch College.

Maddie coordinates the Foundation’s letter of inquiry process for research funding, including managing deadlines, corresponding with applicants, and assisting in application reviews. In this role, Maddie works closely with program staff to foster efficiency in grants administration and work processes. She also writes and conducts research for the department. Maddie holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and Spanish from Saint Anselm College.

Anupreet directs the Foundation’s portfolio of studies to improve the use of research evidence in ways that benefit youth. In addition, Anupreet reviews letters of inquiry and full proposals for research grants, represents the Foundation with applicants and grantees, and works with other funders to grow the field of study on the use of research evidence, including contributing to planning for meetings of the Transforming Evidence Network. Anupreet recently completed her postdoctoral studies at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, where she pursued research at the intersection of regulatory science, health communication, and program evaluation. She has received funding from the Food & Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health, and has published in a range of peer-reviewed journals, including BMC Public Health, Addictive Behaviors, Tobacco Regulatory Science, and Pedagogy in Health Promotion.

Maya oversees the grant life cycle of the Youth Service Improvement Grants program. With a strong commitment to equitable grantmaking, Maya manages essential administrative activities within the Program department. Prior to joining the Foundation, Maya served as a Program Manager and Associate on various youth development programs at the Research Foundation at CUNY and Center for Justice Innovation. Maya holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from CUNY John Jay College.

Melissa directs the William T. Grant Scholars Program and Mentoring grants programs. Beyond these responsibilities, her role as a Program Officer includes reviewing major grants letters of inquiries and proposals, enhancing the Foundation’s existing research initiatives, and representing the Foundation with applicants, grantees, and other funders.

Most recently, Melissa served as the Senior Director of Educational Equity and later as the Associate Vice President for Academic Equity within the Division of Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement at Rutgers University, where she worked to increase institutional supports for historically excluded students, faculty, and staff populations. Prior to these roles, Melissa was an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where her scholarship brought the tools of organizational sociology to examining how colleges and universities provide supportive, challenging, and resource-rich environments for black students.