Abriana manages the Early Care and Education Funders Collaborative (ECEFC) at Washington Area Women’s Foundation where she works collaboratively with both the ECEFC and Grantee Partners to increase the quality and capacity of, and access to, early care and education in the Washington region. A native of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, through her upbringing in marginalized communities and experience in poorly funded schools, she realized her passion for Education Policy and Advocacy. Before joining Washington Area Women’s Foundation, Abriana served Public School Students in North Carolina, New York, and the District of Columbia as a data analyst and strategist. Her work has driven policy and decision-making concerning Special Education Services, ECE Site Openings, and College Readiness Programs for students of color. Abriana affirms that quality, purposeful, and accessible education is a mechanism for liberation that all young people deserve. Abriana is excited to continue her Education Equity work with the Washington Women’s Foundation alongside the ECEFC. Abriana received a B.A. in Communication and M.S in Management from Wake Forest University. In her spare time, she enjoys working in her garden, supporting women as a Birth Doula, and watching Youtube!

Chika Onwuvuche manages the Young Women’s Initiative, which engages young women and gender-expansive youth of color as change agents through the Rock Star Fund and regional advocacy efforts. Additionally, she coordinates the safety and violence prevention portfolio, which directly supports Grantee Partners, providing culturally-specific resources for survivors in the region. Before her role at The Women’s Foundation, Chika coordinated youth-led initiatives to empower youth through a systems-change and racial equity analysis of agencies, policies, and institutions meant to serve its community. In the past, her role as a social worker has helped her assist, learn from and work alongside youth who have emancipated from the child welfare system and navigated the higher education and immigration systems. Her personal philosophy on the necessity of engaging those most affected as decision-makers for policies and practices drives her passion for the change that needs to happen to invest in women, girls, and gender-expansive folks of color. Chika has an undergraduate degree in political science and social work from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and a master’s degree in social work from the University of Pennsylvania. In her free time, she is an avid walker, loves to read, and frequently jams to hits from around the globe.

Crystal Rucker currently serves as the Director of Development for Washington Area Women’s Foundation, providing leadership of the Foundation’s fundraising strategies and operations. Crystal began her career over 20 years ago working with an investment banking firm, where she realized that she wanted to find a way to align those client relationships with the opportunity to make a broader social impact in her community. Her expertise in the philanthropic development space has intersected fundraising, donor cultivation, community engagement, strategic partnerships, grantmaking, marketing, communications, and program management. As a native Washingtonian, Crystal’s personal commitment to serving and impacting the lives of children and youth influenced her desire to connect financial wealth with organizations where she has worked to help provide equitable opportunities for children and youth, especially those in under-resourced communities in the Washington, D.C. region. Crystal serves on the Board of Directors of Access Youth, Inc., on the Leadership Advisory Committee of the Shaping Futures Foundation, and in 2017, she was recognized as the first-ever Volunteer of the Year by the Homeless Children’s Playtime Project for her devotion and service to unhoused children. Crystal holds a Bachelor of Arts in Legal Communications from Howard University and an executive certificate in Nonprofit Management from Georgetown University’s School of Public Policy. In her spare time, she enjoys tending to her houseplants, writing, traveling, baking, and hosting dinner parties for her friends.

Donna joined the Foundation team in 2008 to provide executive administrative support to the President and CEO and Board of Directors. In addition, Donna provides operations management including office and technology management and finance and development support. Donna’s first “real job” as a Girl Scout camp counselor set the tone for a career in the nonprofit arena, working in such varied positions as a child-care worker at a residential treatment center for children, a bus driver for slightly less troubled children, a general manager for a puppet company, and an administrator for a pet-therapy organization.  She spent 15 years working for In Trust, Inc., an organization that works with trustees and key administrators to improve the governance of graduate theological schools in the U.S. and Canada. While there, she provided the administrative support that saw the organization grow from a project of the Lilly Endowment into a 501(c)3 membership organization with multi-faceted educational programs and a broad funding base. In her spare time, Donna is working to re-landscape her suburban corner lot into a native habitat to attract and sustain native flora and fauna (including bunnies, butterflies, and bees, while hoping Bambi stays in the woods). That is when she’s not tending to her (non-native) vegetable garden!

Kate Brooke–Davidson serves as the Development Associate at the Women’s Foundation, working to grow the Foundation’s fundraising capacity in order to better serve the DMV. Kate has worked for the past several years in the nonprofit sector here in DC, specifically in the realms of immigrant services and advocacy, transnational community building, and positive youth development. Her work is informed by the practices of asset–based and representativecommunity development, mutuality, and empathy. Kate holds a B.A. in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and is a Global Citizen Year alumnus (Ecuador ‘16). She enjoys learning about history, reading novels from around the world, and hanging out with her cat, Jinx.

Sarah serves as Director of Communications, where she leads the Foundation’s communications and digital marketing strategies. She takes pride in her unique background and creative perspective of developing and strengthening business relationships among corporate bodies, NGOs, and C-Suite leaders to increase revenue and accelerate results. With years of experience, Sarah has served as a congressional staffer in the United States Senate, worked in government and corporate affairs at Caterpillar, Inc., and served as a Director of Client Experience at Handshake Partners – a social impact and influence agency. In 2018, she founded Sarah Weatherby Public Relations, offering a blend of communications, digital marketing, and event strategies to help brands across multiple industries achieve their most desired business goals. She’s worked with brands including, but not limited to: Abercrombie & Fitch, BMW, BP, the Caterpillar Foundation, Caterpillar Remanufacturing, Cottrey Consulting Group, Global Solidarity Fund, National Parent Teacher Association, Ownership is the New Black, The Robert F. Kennedy Foundation, and The Witness Foundation. She holds a Master of Professional Studies in Public Relations and Corporate Communications from Georgetown University, a Master of Science in Digital Marketing and Design from Brandeis University, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre from the University of Mississippi. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, singing, traveling, and spending time with her fur baby, Kaizer.