Geeta Pradhan

President

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.

Carrie Eason

Administrative Associate

Carrie brings over 30 years of experience in both the for-profit and nonprofit worlds. She started her career as a Landscape Architect, moved on to Mom-of-4 for a time, and has worked as an event and wedding coordinator, art teacher, and various roles in nonprofit organizations in Maine and Pennsylvania. She served as the Election Warden in Mount Desert, Maine for the past four years, and worked as an enumerator for the 2020 US Census. Most recently, she was the inaugural Administrator for ArtWaves, a nonprofit arts studio that served the Mount Desert Island community. She also worked in development at the MDI Biological Laboratory and was the Administrative Assistant at the High School Guidance Office. She and her husband, recent empty nesters, moved to from Bar Harbor to Roslindale earlier this year with their two cats.

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.

Jennie Woo

Director of Development

Jennie is a nonprofit fundraising professional with over ten years of experience in the nonprofit sector. She was previously the Director of Philanthropy for BUILD Boston, where she supported corporate and institutional engagement, donor communications, major gift cultivation and stewardship, and event planning. Prior to that, she helped to develop donor engagement strategies for individual supporters at Bottom Line, Habitat for Humanity Greater Boston, and Literations (formerly known as Generations Incorporated). Jennie graduated from Rutgers University with an honors degree in Art History. She recently completed the Institute for Nonprofit Practice’s Core Certificate program and earned a certificate in Social Impact Management and Leadership. Jennie is also active in her community, as a Town Meeting member for the Town of Norwood, a member of local action group Progression Norwood, and volunteer at community events. She likes to cook and be active with her family, including their energetic lab mix.

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

Senior 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.

Gabe Ziaukas

Digital Communications Officer

Gabe Ziaukas is a creative digital strategist, virtual storyteller, and outside-the-box thinker. He joined CCF in September 2024, coming from S-3 Group, a boutique communications firm where he worked on a broad set of client accounts, ranging from product companies to nonprofits, including the Drum Major Institute and Martin Luther King III, crafting the brand and media strategy for the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington. Before S-3, Gabe was a Curatorial Assistant at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, developing content for exhibitions highlighting the work of Black architects and designers. Prior to NMAAHC, he was a Curatorial Fellow at Dumbarton Oaks, building a website with diverse content including interactive media and a podcast series. Gabe is a graduate of Harvard College, where he concentrated in Art, Film, and Visual Studies with a focus on curation. He interned for CCF as a college senior, storytelling as part of the Cambridge Cultural Visionaries project.