Hidden Leaf Foundation is happy to announce the appointment of Leslie Lindo to the role of Executive Director. When Leslie steps into the role on January 28, 2025, she will be the third person to lead the Foundation -- following previous ED, Supriya Lopez Pillai (now President of Libra Foundation), and founding ED, Tara Brown. Leslie brings decades of experience to the role, having dedicated her career to identifying and advancing solutions to address wealth disparities in economically and environmentally marginalized communities and to promoting approaches that are less extractive on social and natural ecosystems. Leslie’s extensive experience in community development and social impact investing, her deeply collaborative leadership style, and her lifelong commitment to contemplative practice make her distinctly suited to lead Hidden Leaf in pursuit of our mission to promote inner awareness within liberatory movements in order to advance a more just, ecologically healthy and compassionate society. “This transition and search process affirmed Hidden Leaf Foundation’s priorities and direction,” said Alta Starr, board member. “Among the 500 applicants were numerous candidates who could have led us forward effectively as we deepen our investments in community asset-building and social justice movements and continue to center inner awareness in all that we do. The search committee, board, staff, and extended Brown family all experienced a sense of profound alignment with Leslie; we felt compelled by her shared vision and relational style as well as the relevant experience and leadership she would bring to the role.” Most recently, as the Managing Director of the Olamina Fund at Candide Group, Leslie has been working to shift the power dynamics of traditional finance and increase access to capital in communities across the U.S. that have experienced exclusion from our economy. In her prior role as VP of Strategic Partnerships at Common Future, she brought together diverse stakeholders to help decolonize access to capital and promote equitable financing tools, democratize finance and governance structures, integrate entrepreneurial ecosystems, and advance shared ownership of land, housing, and business. Leslie currently serves on the board for RichmondLAND, Pacific Community Ventures, and Just Futures, and has served the executive committees of New Economy Coalition, Oakland Grown, and The Green Chamber of Greater Phoenix. Leslie attributes her community-centered focus to her father, who dedicated his life to the economic empowerment of Black communities across the country by developing shared ownership models. Leslie's first step in this direction was establishing a nonprofit entity to gain site control of vacant buildings and lots to develop community-determined projects. Reflecting on the arc of her journey and decision to embrace this opportunity with Hidden Leaf, Leslie said, “I am excited to bring my personal and professional experiences to this leadership role. I see this role with Hidden Leaf as both a culmination and evolution of my life’s work. I feel a strong sense of alignment with Hidden Leaf’s values, in particular, its movement orientation, focus on trust-based relationships, and commitment to redistributing power. I’m inspired by the impact of centering transformative change in this work and the imprint it will leave for future generations.” “We are delighted to welcome Leslie to the Hidden Leaf community!” said Tara Brown, board member. “We feel enlivened by the ease and joy Leslie exudes and look forward to supporting her leadership as she guides Hidden Leaf in promoting inner and outer transformation within movements.”
We would be remiss in making this announcement if we did not offer our deep gratitude to a number of individuals who made this search and transition possible. First, we want to thank Lorelei Williams for her powerful leadership as Interim ED for the last five months -- not only did Lorelei keep Hidden Leaf on a steady course, she advanced several critical programmatic and institutional projects. Second, we give thanks to Walker & Associates, and especially Jeannine Walker, for leading an inclusive, thoughtful and robust search process. Finally, huge gratitude to our search team members who provided a range of perspectives and put in countless hours to our intensive search: our Board (Karie Brown, Tara Brown and Alta Starr); Jenny George, our Program Officer; Taj James, financial advisor and partner; and Nathan Shara, somatics coach and institutional consultant.