Who We Are
Mission: The Andrus Family Fund seeks to foster just and sustainable change in the United States. We do this by supporting organizations that advance social justice and improve outcomes for vulnerable youth.
Vision: We envision a just society in which vulnerable youth have more than one opportunity for a good life.
History: The Surdna Foundation’s Board of Directors launched AFF in January 2000 as a next generation philanthropy to engage more than 400 extended family members between the ages of 25 and 45 in public service and organized philanthropy. While AFF is legally a fund of Surdna, it manages its own grant making program and processes.
Much of AFF’s earlier grant making was guided by the Transitions Framework and the belief that social change efforts will have a better chance for success when the emotional and psychological effects of the change process are recognized and addressed. AFF’s Board and staff adopted this framework and applied it broadly to social change in two program areas: (1) youth’s passage from foster care to independence; and (2) community reconciliation.
After an extensive review, we learned that while this framework was helpful to our grantees in managing their own internal organizational transitions, it limited our overall ability to impact change. The past 15 years also taught us the value of working closely with grantee partners and allowed us to support a myriad of organizations both large and small.
Building on the lessons learned and best practices of our previous work, in 2014 we announced a new strategic direction. One that will allow us to make a greater impact in the lives of America’s most vulnerable youth, while still continuing a “grant plus” approach that provides our grantees with connections to people and resources that can build their capacity while advancing their work.
Our Board
Meg Belais
C’Ardiss Gardner Gleser
Lindsey Griffith, Vice Chairperson
Raymond Holgado
Kim Kaupe
Julia Kelly
Megan Kelly, Secretary
Duncan Macpherson
Kaitlin Spensley, Treasurer
Courtney Bourne Spensley
Molly Thorpe, Chairperson
Edgar Villanueva
Julia Voorhees
Our Team
Leticia Peguero
Executive Director
Manuela Arciniegas
Associate Program Officer
Jennifer Kaizer
Program Associate
Laura Lemus
Program & Communications Associate
Katrina Mitchell
Key Consultant
Bari Katz
Key Consultant
Executive Director
Leticia brings over 20 years of experience in social justice programming and philanthropy to her role at the Andrus Family Fund. She has dedicated her career to issues related to equity and justice for young people and women with the goal of building capacity in underserved and oppressed communities and the organizations that serve them. Leticia has worked at organizations throughout the Tristate area such as the Posse Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation–LFP Program, Planned Parenthood of New York City, the Door and the Adolescent AIDS Program.
She is a graduate of one of the country’s top leadership program—the National Urban Fellows. Leticia graduated with honors with a MPA from the School of Public Service at Baruch College–City University of New York and has a BA from Fordham University.
Outside of her role at AFF Leticia spends a lot of time working and thinking about the arts (dance was her first love). She helps run Areytos Performance Works—a dance theatre company working at the crossroads of African-Caribbean forms, contemporary modern dance and performance art.
Associate Program Officer
Manuela Arciniegas is the Associate Program Officer for the Andrus Family Fund, where she manages the capacity building initiative and a national community organizing portfolio.
Manuela brings over 15 years of experience in social justice, community organizing, youth development, and cultural arts education. She is a member of the New York City Youth Funders, Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy NYC Steering Committee and an advisory board member of the Funder’s Collaborative on Youth Organizing. She is currently conducting dissertation research for her PhD at the CUNY Graduate Center focusing on how Afro-Caribbean religious music creates power and cultural change. When not working at AFF Manuela directs The Legacy Women, a drum ensemble for women ages 23-55 that teaches and performs folk Afro-Caribbean music of resistance.
Manuela graduated cum laude with a Bachelors in Government from Harvard University.
Program Associate
Jennifer Kaizer is the Program Associate for the Andrus Family Fund team where she provides programmatic and administrative support to the team and its partners.
Over the past five years Jennifer has provided fundraising and program support through various roles in the nonprofit sector. She worked at The Posse Foundation, focusing on youth leadership development and the International Institute of New England in Boston assisting immigrants and refugees prepare and transition into American life.
While abroad in Ayacucho, Peru in 2009, Jennifer volunteered at Finca Peru, a nonprofit organization integrating women into the community’s economy.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and Economics from Boston University. Jennifer is currently pursuing a Masters in Public Administration in Public & Nonprofit Management & Policy at New York University’s Wagner School of Public Service & Policy.
Outside of graduate school and work, Jennifer loves Vinyasa yoga, running marathons and biking. Every now and then you can find her wandering museums in New York City or searching for new places to visit.
Program & Communications Associate
Laura Lemus, a proud Mexican immigrant, joined the Andrus Family Fund as a National Urban Fellow in September 2017.
National Urban Fellows is a prestigious leadership program that offers a nine-month mentorship. The program culminates with a Master’s Degree in Public Administration on July 2018, from the School of Public Service at Baruch College-City University of New York.
Now that her fellowship is complete, Laura is staying on as a part time Program & Communications Associate with Andrus Family Fund through October 2018.
Laura manages AFF’s Education Anew Shifting Justice 2018 Conference and our #OutOfTheMargins podcast.
Throughout her career, Laura has been committed to several social justice issues including non-profit work in immigration advocacy at Long Island Wins, and with the United Nations as a Youth Representative for Soroptimist International, an NGO that empowers women and girls globally.
In her spare time Laura enjoys running, reading, and spending quality time with her close-knit family.
Key Consultant
Katrina is an experienced and respected leader with more than 15 years of experience working on a national and regional level. She has worked in the non-profit and philanthropic sector, including serving as AFF’s Program Officer. Currently, Katrina is testing how partnerships between philanthropy and government can work on behalf of our most vulnerable youth and their families as the Director of Strategic Partnerships at the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services.
Connect with Katrina on Linkedin.
Key Consultant
$4M
Awarded each year in AFF grants
$55M
Awarded since 2001
54,148
Youth residing in juvenile detention, correctional or residential facilities*
46,545
Children ages 16-20 who exited foster care in 2015**
*As of 2013. Figure provided by KIDS COUNT data center, a project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
**Figure provided by KIDS COUNT data center.