Who We Are
Our Mission
Hidden Leaf promotes inner awareness within liberatory movements in order to advance a more just, ecologically healthy and compassionate society.
We believe that when organizations, leaders, movements, and foundations cultivate inner awareness and tend to the spiritual as well as the strategic, the power we build with others and the changes we engender are deeper, more lasting, and more likely to heal the historical injustices that shape our current relationship to the Earth and to each other.
Our Vision
We envision a future of joy, love, justice, and collective liberation.
In this future, power and resources are shared equitably, and everyone has the space and support they need to realize their potential, build community, weather hardships, and fulfill their dreams; people and planet exist in a sustainable relationship and society operates from a sense of sacredness and responsibility for future generations.
Our Team
Hidden Leaf is governed by a board of two family members and two community members. We have a staff of three. It is our intention to practice the value of power sharing as core to transformation, especially within our own structure. To that end, we hired our first non-family, woman-of-color Executive Director, Supriya Lopez Pillai, in 2018. As a further expression of our commitment to shifting power, we invited Supriya to join the board in 2020. The following year, we expanded our board to include Alta Starr, a somatics practitioner currently working with Black Organizing for Leadership and Dignity (BOLD) with deep experience in the communities that Hidden Leaf supports.
Hidden Leaf is governed by a board of two family members and two community members. We have a staff of three. It is our intention to practice the value of power sharing as core to transformation, especially within our own structure. To that end, we hired our first non-family, woman-of-color Executive Director, Supriya Lopez Pillai, in 2018. As a further expression of our commitment to shifting power, we invited Supriya to join the board in 2020. The following year, we expanded our board to include Alta Starr, a somatics practitioner currently working with Black Organizing for Leadership and Dignity (BOLD) with deep experience in the communities that Hidden Leaf supports.
Lorelei Williams
Interim Executive Director
Lorelei Williams is a poet and philanthropic strategist committed to strengthening global social justice movements by resourcing the organizations, networks, and leaders that drive change. She recently served as the founding Executive Director of the Warner Music Group / Blavatnik Family Foundation Social Justice Fund ("SJF"), a ten-year, $100M fund advancing racial justice through education, criminal justice reform, arts and culture. During her tenure, Lorelei grew the Fund from its initial concept to a high-impact grantmaking institution operating across six global markets. She led the SJF in making $35M+ investments in the areas of education, criminal justice reform, arts and culture; built a global employee giving program; and partnered with WMG artists on their social justice initiatives. Previously, Lorelei was Senior Vice President of Grant Programs at Comic Relief US, where she managed a $50M portfolio that leveraged the power of entertainment to address child poverty in 38 countries. At Comic Relief / Red Nose Day, Lorelei launched a new grantmaking pillar focused on economic empowerment, providing thousands of low-income youth with access to job training, job placement, and investment in youth-led social enterprises. As a philanthropic strategist, she has advised numerous multinational, private and family foundations on strategic planning, organizational development, program design, and community investment. Lorelei holds a B.A. from Yale University and a Master's Degree in Public Policy from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. She is fluent in Portuguese and has received multiple honors for her work, including the New York Women's Foundation Radical Generosity Award.
Jenny George
Program Officer
Jenny George is Hidden Leaf’s program officer. Before she joined the foundation in 2009, she worked as program coordinator for the Seasons Fund for Social Transformation, a collaborative fund whose aim was to catalyze vibrant and effective social change movements by coupling the power of personal transformation with the public work of creating a just and sustainable world. Alongside her work in social justice philanthropy, Jenny is also a poet. She holds a Masters Degree in Poetry from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and an undergraduate degree in Human Ecology from the College of the Atlantic. She lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Mia Lewis, PMP
Finance and Operations Administrator
In the evolving landscape of finance and operations, Mia Haywood stands out as a transformative leader. With a sharp mind for project management, process optimization, customer experience, and progressive thinking, she excels in navigating the dynamic world of operational efficiency.Mia pursued higher education at California State University, Hayward, earning a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a minor in African American Studies. She has also completed the CSUEB Project Management Certificate program. With experience in both corporate and nonprofit sectors, Mia brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to her role. Her strengths lie in turning challenges into triumphs, resolving inefficiencies, and constantly seeking innovative ways to elevate the organizations she collaborates with. As a mother of three, from toddler to teen, Mia balances her professional and personal life with grace and determination. Integrity, deep healing, spiritual practices, and personal growth are at the core of Mia's values. Beyond her professional realm, she finds solace in simple joys such as podcasts, fairies, and quality time with her cherished family. Mia’s approach to life and work is holistic, ensuring that every step she takes aligns with her higher purpose and contributes to the greater good.
Allison Darrow
Finance and Operations Administrator
Allison Darrow, based in Berkeley, CA, has a background in Math and Accounting from UCLA. She has hands-on experience in retail forecast analysis, marketing, operations, and event planning. She loves using her analytical skills to tackle challenges and find creative solutions that keep things running smoothly. When she’s not at work, Allison enjoys traveling with her husband and daughter, discovering art and flavors around the globe. Her adventures fuel her creativity and bring a fresh perspective to her role, making her a key player in blending strategic thinking with practical solutions.”
Karie Brown
Board Chair
As the Principal of KLB & Co., formally known as KB Consulting, Karie has been partnering with nonprofit organizations and foundations to promote effective philanthropy and social change for the last two decades. Through coaching, consulting, and collaboration, Karie helps her clients: clarify strategy and direction, strengthen leadership, manage successful transitions, and foster healthy organizational cultures. From 2017 – 2021, Karie served as the SVP of Grants Programs for Comic Relief USA, a new fundraising and grantmaking institution working to end child poverty in the US and around the world. Over the course of her career, Karie has held multiple senior roles in the philanthropic sector including: Interim Executive Director for the Discount Foundation; Director of Programs for Tides Foundation; Director of Programs for Katalysis North/South Development Partnership; and Executive Director for International Development Exchange. Karie has a Masters degree in regional planning from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an undergraduate degree in economics from Stanford. She currently serves as a trustee for Hidden Leaf Foundation, Yoga Dana Foundation, California Yoga Teachers Alliance, and Reynolds & Brown Corporation. She is a dedicated yoga practitioner and an occasional yoga teacher. She derives sustenance from nature and her three grown children.
Tara Brown
Board Treasurer and former Executive Director
Tara began her work for transformational social change with a Masters degree in Integral Anthropology (after ten years working in international community development). For six years, she directed the Institute for Deep Ecology, which articulates a mind/body/spirit worldview addressing many of today’s pressing social and environmental quandaries.Tara directed Hidden Leaf for 17 years. During this time, she also helped co-found the Seasons Fund for Social Transformation, a collaborative fund advancing transformative leadership for movement building. Tara’s current passions include surfing, dancing, and lively conversations with beloveds.
Alta Starr
Board Member
As the current Director of Training at BOLD (Black Organizing for Leadership and Dignity), Starr is a somatics practitioner offering coaching and bodywork to individuals, and an organizational consultant skilled in building high-performing teams and partnerships. A former teacher, counselor, and radio news producer, for 25 years, Starr also worked as a program officer and grantmaker at the New World and Ford Foundations, funding community organizing, capacity-building, and leadership development. She has served on many boards, among them the Progressive Technology Project, the Peace Development and Needmor Funds, the Seasons Fund for Social Transformation, and the National Domestic Workers Alliance.
Lorelei Williams
Interim Executive Director
Lorelei Williams is a poet and philanthropic strategist committed to strengthening global social justice movements by resourcing the organizations, networks, and leaders that drive change. She recently served as the founding Executive Director of the Warner Music Group / Blavatnik Family Foundation Social Justice Fund ("SJF"), a ten-year, $100M fund advancing racial justice through education, criminal justice reform, arts and culture. During her tenure, Lorelei grew the Fund from its initial concept to a high-impact grantmaking institution operating across six global markets. She led the SJF in making $35M+ investments in the areas of education, criminal justice reform, arts and culture; built a global employee giving program; and partnered with WMG artists on their social justice initiatives. Previously, Lorelei was Senior Vice President of Grant Programs at Comic Relief US, where she managed a $50M portfolio that leveraged the power of entertainment to address child poverty in 38 countries. At Comic Relief / Red Nose Day, Lorelei launched a new grantmaking pillar focused on economic empowerment, providing thousands of low-income youth with access to job training, job placement, and investment in youth-led social enterprises. As a philanthropic strategist, she has advised numerous multinational, private and family foundations on strategic planning, organizational development, program design, and community investment. Lorelei holds a B.A. from Yale University and a Master's Degree in Public Policy from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. She is fluent in Portuguese and has received multiple honors for her work, including the New York Women's Foundation Radical Generosity Award.
Jenny George
Program Officer
Jenny George is Hidden Leaf’s program officer. Before she joined the foundation in 2009, she worked as program coordinator for the Seasons Fund for Social Transformation, a collaborative fund whose aim was to catalyze vibrant and effective social change movements by coupling the power of personal transformation with the public work of creating a just and sustainable world. Alongside her work in social justice philanthropy, Jenny is also a poet. She holds a Masters Degree in Poetry from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and an undergraduate degree in Human Ecology from the College of the Atlantic. She lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Mia Lewis, PMP
Finance and Operations Administrator
In the ever-evolving landscape of digital marketing, Mia is not just a strategist; she's the secret sauce behind success stories. With a sharp mind for project management, process optimization, customer experience, and progressive thinking, Mia navigates the dynamic world of digital marketing and execution. Hailing from Tulare, California, Mia's journey led her to the Bay Area, where was educated at California State University, Hayward, earning a Bachelor's of Science in Business Administration with a minor in African American Studies. Boasting over 15 years of experience in both corporate and nonprofit realms, Mia brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table. Her magic lies in turning challenges into triumphs. Mia thrives on resolving inefficiencies, constantly seeking fresh and innovative ways to elevate the client or company she collaborates with. Beyond the digital realm, Mia finds solace in the simple joys of podcasts, fairies, and quality time with her cherished family. Integrity is at the core of Mia's values, intertwined with her commitment to deep healing, spiritual practices, and personal growth.
Allison Darrow
Finance and Operations Administrator
Allison Darrow, based in Berkeley, CA, has a background in Math and Accounting from UCLA. She has hands-on experience in retail forecast analysis, marketing, operations, and event planning. She loves using her analytical skills to tackle challenges and find creative solutions that keep things running smoothly. When she’s not at work, Allison enjoys traveling with her husband and daughter, discovering art and flavors around the globe. Her adventures fuel her creativity and bring a fresh perspective to her role, making her a key player in blending strategic thinking with practical solutions.”
Karie Brown
Board Chair
As the Principal of KLB & Co., formally known as KB Consulting, Karie has been partnering with nonprofit organizations and foundations to promote effective philanthropy and social change for the last two decades. Through coaching, consulting, and collaboration, Karie helps her clients: clarify strategy and direction, strengthen leadership, manage successful transitions, and foster healthy organizational cultures. From 2017 – 2021, Karie served as the SVP of Grants Programs for Comic Relief USA, a new fundraising and grantmaking institution working to end child poverty in the US and around the world. Over the course of her career, Karie has held multiple senior roles in the philanthropic sector including: Interim Executive Director for the Discount Foundation; Director of Programs for Tides Foundation; Director of Programs for Katalysis North/South Development Partnership; and Executive Director for International Development Exchange. Karie has a Masters degree in regional planning from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an undergraduate degree in economics from Stanford. She currently serves as a trustee for Hidden Leaf Foundation, Yoga Dana Foundation, California Yoga Teachers Alliance, and Reynolds & Brown Corporation. She is a dedicated yoga practitioner and an occasional yoga teacher. She derives sustenance from nature and her three grown children.
Tara Brown
Board Treasurer and former Executive Director
Tara began her work for transformational social change with a Masters degree in Integral Anthropology (after ten years working in international community development). For six years, she directed the Institute for Deep Ecology, which articulates a mind/body/spirit worldview addressing many of today’s pressing social and environmental quandaries. Tara directed Hidden Leaf for 17 years. During this time, she also helped co-found the Seasons Fund for Social Transformation, a collaborative fund advancing transformative leadership for movement building. Tara’s current passions include surfing, dancing, and lively conversations with beloveds.
Alta Starr
Board Member
As the current Director of Training at BOLD (Black Organizing for Leadership and Dignity), Starr is a somatics practitioner offering coaching and bodywork to individuals, and an organizational consultant skilled in building high-performing teams and partnerships. A former teacher, counselor, and radio news producer, for 25 years, Starr also worked as a program officer and grantmaker at the New World and Ford Foundations, funding community organizing, capacity-building, and leadership development. She has served on many boards, among them the Progressive Technology Project, the Peace Development and Needmor Funds, the Seasons Fund for Social Transformation, and the National Domestic Workers Alliance.
Core Partners
Full Spectrum is an incubator-accelerator that brings people, ideas, and capital together to grow regenerative economies powered by impactful solutions. FSL works to build ecosystems and marketplaces for innovation that lift up solutions and leaders emerging from communities that have been marginalized historically. By building innovation clusters in communities and connecting them to communities of capital stewards with a commitment to social and ecological impact, they make it easy to come together and align growing financial value with our deepest shared values.
RBC Wealth Management is a values-based investment manager with a focus on sustainability and philanthropic giving.
Certified Public Accountants is a full service accounting firm offering a broad range of services for business owners, executives, and professionals.
Nathan Naik Shara, MSW is a somatic therapist, writer and teacher whose work focuses on the intersections of individual healing and structural transformation. Nathan is a lead teacher and practitioner with generative somatics, bringing embodied transformation to social and environmental justice leaders, organizations and alliances. He is also a senior teacher for Strozzi Institute, offering courses on embodied leadership, somatic bodywork, and trauma, as well as leading SI’s teacher training program. Nathan maintains a small private practice in Oakland, CA. His recent essay “Facing Shame: From Saying Sorry to Doing Sorry” can be found in the anthology Beyond Survival: Stories and Strategies from the Transformative Justice Movement, edited by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha and Ejeris Dixon (AK Press, 2020).
Our Founder
David (Dave) Brown was born in 1936 and grew up in the small farming community of Walnut Grove, California. After studying agricultural economics at Berkeley, David decided to apply his business acumen toward real estate. With his partner, Jon Reynolds, Dave founded Reynolds & Brown, a Concord-based company that quickly grew into a successful commercial real estate development firm. Reynolds & Brown’s success continues to provide the core of Hidden Leaf’s assets. At age 35, Dave began to look inwards to find deeper meaning beyond the success he had already realized. Inspired by Buddhist meditative practice, he embarked on a decades-long pursuit of spiritual discipline and awareness, which led him to an interest in philanthropy. Dave was a generous spirit throughout his lifetime. The creation of the Hidden Leaf Foundation (in 1988) was an outcome of his desire to support organizations doing good work and creating transformational social change. When he passed in 2013, David endowed Hidden Leaf with 90 percent of what he owned. This decision flowed from his commitment to mindfulness and presence; he envisioned a place where his family could come together to be in conscious relationship to wealth and to the world. David’s daughters worked closely with him to develop the foundation, and continue to dedicate their time to carrying on Hidden Leaf’s commitment to growing space for inner awareness in social justice and environmental work. We are grateful for Dave’s legacy, vision and passion for helping everyone access the power that is hidden in all of us.
from our grantees
