KAREN TOERING

Interim Program Director

Interim Program Director, Karen Toering, previously spent seven years leading Giving Projects as an SJF Senior Project Manager and Project Manager. She is a grassroots organizer, cultural worker, and consultant for non-profit arts and social justice organizations. Her work includes base-building and collaboration on media justice and media policy initiatives through her work on the ground and on the boards of national media advocacy organizations.

BANA ABERA

Project Manager

Project Manager Bana Abera is an organizer, facilitator, and project manager based in Seattle. In 2016, Bana co-facilitated the Alternatives to Youth Detention Project, a collaboration with SJF and EPIC (Ending the Prison Industrial Complex). Prior to that, she served as the Criminal Justice Policy Research Specialist for the Seattle Office for Civil Rights. 

MAGAN DO

Grantmaking Director

Grantmaking Director, Magan Do, joined SJF in 2011 as a Practicum Student through UW’s School of Social Work, served as a Board Member, and participated in two Criminal Justice Giving Projects. Magan has many years of experience in local non-profits and community organizations. 

RAHEL GAGURO

Financial Associate

Financial Associate Rahel Gaguro was born in Ethiopia and raised in Seattle, Rahel grew up balancing two different cultures. Her experience of injustice in the U.S. and abroad led her down to a path in the nonprofit sector. She’s worked in nonprofit management, social services, and donor relations in refugee and immigrant communities locally and globally.

MARC MAZIQUE

Operations Associate

A writer and musician, Operations Associate Marc Mazique has served in administrative roles for nonprofits and universities for many years. He has also been active in various struggles around police accountability, immigrant rights, and the occupation of Palestine, among others, and been a member of two radical marching bands.