Geeta Pradhan

President

Geeta Pradhan, president of the Cambridge Community Foundation (CCF), draws on her deep experience in philanthropy, urban planning, and community development to address the needs of Cambridge. She led CCF’s transformation from a local grantmaker to an organization that ensures Cambridge is a vibrant, just and equitable city for all. For 108 years, CCF has been there for the community – supporting nonprofits to meet local needs and responding to community crises. Today, it is a data-informed strategic grantmaker, tackling the city’s most intractable problems in partnership with nonprofits and others, the philanthropic home for Cambridge’s generosity, and an influential civic leader.  

In 2021 she co-authored the Foundation Equity & Innovation Cities report, highlighting the growing income disparities amidst Cambridge’s growing prosperity. She helped envision and structure the City’s $22 million Rise Up Cambridge, the only city-wide effort to offer a non-lottery cash assistance program and is leading the research that will help make the case for policy change.   

Geeta is regularly called upon to speak on issues of poverty and social change, the changing role of philanthropy, and collaborative action. She serves on several public-sector task forces, boards, and committees, including the City of Cambridge’s Youth & Family Policy Council, Community Benefits Advisory Committee and the Rise Up Cambridge Steering Committee. She serves on the boards of the Kendall Square Association, Central Square Business Improvement District, and Philanthropy Massachusetts.   

Geeta is a close collaborator of the Cambridge and Greater Boston nonprofit sector. She co-authored two reports on the financial health of the MA nonprofit sector, organized the creation of Massachusetts Nonprofit Network, and facilitated the founding of the Institute of Nonprofit Practice. She previously worked for the Boston Foundation, serving as the associate vice president for programs and co-founded the Boston Indicators Project. Prior to that she worked for the City of Boston as director of Sustainable Boston and assistant director for neighborhood development. A trained artist, she completed her Bachelor’s of Architecture in India and holds a master’s in urban design from the Harvard Graduate School of Design. In 2022, Geeta received the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from Lesley University, in recognition of her ‘changemaking leadership and dedication to growing the nonprofit ecosystem at every turn.’   

Elizabeth Patton

Chief of Staff

Elizabeth supports the President to manage and successfully implement the Foundation’s five-year strategic plan, coordinates organizational priorities and workflows across Foundation teams, and serves as a liaison to the Board of Directors.

She comes to CCF from the Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard University, where she served as Senior Program Director for Research and Curriculum at the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative. She spent five years leading a cross-functional team, collaborating across departments and institutions, and creating organizational systems to improve project implementation and strategic decision-making. She supported the creation and growth of the Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard and also co-founded the Initiative’s Racial Equity Working Group. She brings a decade of experience in teaching and administration at K-12 and executive education organizations, and a talent for helping teams be their best together. Elizabeth has a master’s in public policy from Harvard Kennedy School of Government and a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard College.

Elizabeth is a North Cambridge resident with a deep commitment to the city she and her family call home. On weekends, you can find her at local playgrounds and coffee shops, or out walking her dog.

Michal Rubin

Vice President, Philanthropic Partnerships

Michal brings to the Foundation a wide range of experience in leading the development functions of notable nonprofits, growing organizations, and providing strategic direction during organizational change. Most recently, Michal established the strategic partnerships department of the Taub Center for Social Policy Studies, a nonpartisan think tank in Jerusalem. There she created an in-house fundraising function, sat on the Center’s senior management team, and played a key role in five-year strategic planning, implementation, and evaluation.

Michal earned her Master’s in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, a Master’s in Sociology and Anthropology from Tel-Aviv University, and her bachelor’s degree at UMass Amherst.

Christina Turner

Vice President, Programs and Grantmaking

Christina Turner brings to the Foundation decades of programmatic and leadership experience at nonprofit institutions focused on education, youth development, and arts and culture. In her previous role, Christina served as the Director of Education and Public Programs at the New Bedford Whaling Museum. She previously directed the museum’s award-winning High School Apprenticeship Program, earning the 2017 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award. Christina serves on the board of Our Sisters’ School and the Equity Institute, which develops systems to cultivate culturally responsive schools and communities.

Christina holds a BA in Sociology from Boston University and a Master’s in Public Administration from Baruch College’s Marxe School of Public and International Affairs. She recently completed the Institute for Nonprofit Practice’s Core Certificate program earning a certificate in Social Impact Management and Leadership.

Danny Dicamillo

Programs and Grantmaking Associate

Danny joined the Foundation in 2023 as a recent graduate of the Urban Studies program at Vassar College. He brings experience in community development and grant management through internships in local government and with grassroots nonprofits. Connecting communities to resources has been at the heart of Danny‘s work since his time on the Development and Operations team at City Blossoms. He authored a literature review assessing the relationship between urban green space and mental health to support funding proposals for community programming. Danny‘s role at the Foundation centers around expanding grantmaking capacity and strengthening targeted programming. He is interested in activating Cantabrigians’ local knowledge to carve new pathways of participatory grantmaking.

Brandon Solis

Programs and Grantmaking Associate, Cultural Vibrancy

Brandon joins the Foundation after gaining experience in the media world. He earned his B.S. in Sociology and Dance from Skidmore College and has always been connected to work that brings communities together and pushes people to look past their perspective. Brandon’s experience includes an internship with Tufts-Skidmore in Madrid, where he researched BIPOC-led community building. While interning at Berklee City Music, he created songs that provoked thoughtful conversations among Boston youth. Brandon’s role will assist with the Foundation’s goal of strengthening cultural vibrancy in the Cambridge area. He is interested in learning more about Cambridge’s arts and culture landscape and finding ways to uplift the voices of local creative thinkers.

Geoff O’Connell

Chief Financial Officer

Before joining the Foundation in March 2021, Geoff was the V.P. and Director of Operations of the Massachusetts/New Hampshire Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association where he established and executed against long-term strategic and short-term operational goals. As a senior management team member, he was responsible for the chapter’s infrastructure including finance & accounting, human resources, information technology, and office administration and operations.

Prior to the Alzheimer’s Association, Geoff was Senior Vice President in State Street Corporation’s Global Relationship Management Group, charged with maximizing satisfaction of complex mutual fund and investment management clients worldwide. Earlier in his career, Geoff spent 12 years in sales, marketing, and management with IBM and the IBM Credit Corporation. Geoff holds his B.S. in Business Administration from the University of New Hampshire and a Master’s in International Business from the University of South Carolina.

Wen Lo

Finance Officer

Wen joins the Foundation after serving as Senior Accountant at Perkins School for The Blind, where he helped maintain and grow several business units, including manufacturing braillers, international grants, federal contracts, and accessibility consulting. During his time at Perkins, he improved operational cash by 82% through enhanced communications with stakeholders, which reduced open receivables and organized payments to organizations.

Wen has 15 years of accounting and finance experience at various nonprofit and for-profit organizations across health care and service industries. Wen holds a bachelor’s in Accountancy from Bentley College and a master’s in Taxation from Bentley University. He completed both degrees cum laude in under four years with a minor in American History.

Lauren Marshall

Vice President of Marketing & Civic Engagement

Lauren came to the Foundation in the spring of 2018 from Harvard, where she worked on communications strategy at the Harvard Art Museums and on major university priorities over 15 years. Prior to that, Lauren worked at Columbia University as a senior public information officer. She is a Cambridge resident with a true commitment to our city. Lauren plays an important role in the Foundation’s work to strengthen connections across all sectors of our city. She is amplifying the Foundation’s civic leadership, communicating the important work of its programmatic partners, and serving as a spokesperson on a range of issues. Lauren oversees all communications, including annual reports, announcements, web, social media, newsletters, and more.