Board of Directors

Cheryl D. Alston

Cheryl D. Alston, MBA, is Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer of Employees’ Retirement Fund (ERF) of the City of Dallas, a $3.6 billion pension fund. Ms. Alston is responsible for strategy development, finance, operations and investments. She is the first African American and the first woman to serve as the executive director of ERF. Ms. Alston has over 20 years of expertise in the financial services industry, including positions at ERF, Cigna Corporation and Chase Global Securities. Ms. Alston staffs a host of volunteer positions. Cheryl was appointed by President Barack Obama to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) Advisory Committee and served from 2011-2016. The PBGC protects the retirement incomes of more than 34 million U.S. workers. She also chairs the Finance & Strategy committee for a large Catholic healthcare system and a board member for the Texas Women’s Foundation. Her other board memberships include Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City and The Arts Community Alliance (TACA). Ms. Alston is a noted speaker on asset allocation, manager selection, and risk management for institutional investor conferences. In 2016, Ms. Alston received Institutional Investor’s prestigious Investor Intelligence Network Award for her significant contributions to the industry through her work with Emerging Managers. Ms. Alston has a MBA in Finance from The Leonard N. Stern School at New York University and received a B.S. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania.

Brickson Diamond, Vice Chair

Brickson Diamond is a consultant with Spencer Stuart. He brings expertise in diversity, equity & inclusion (DE&I), and works on infusing that experience into executive search, leadership succession, and development. He is based in Spencer Stuart’s Los Angeles office and is a member of the firm’s Telecommunications, Media & Technology Practice. Brickson brings 20 years of experience engaging with boards and C-level executives to build and transform businesses across industries. He is also a well-respected thought leader and practitioner in discovering, developing, and connecting leadership talent from historically underrepresented groups, and advancing DE&I in corporations and nonprofit entities across multiple industries. Prior to joining Spencer Stuart, Brickson founded and led the consultancy Big Answers, which helped clients amplify their values, success, and commercial leadership and board strategies for DE&I.  Brickson is also the founding chairperson of The Blackhouse Foundation, a nonprofit partner of the Sundance, Tribeca and Toronto International film festivals that seeks to increase diverse representation in film and content creation. He spent 17 years at Capital Group Companies, rising to the level of SVP in their Private Client Services business. Brickson is engaged in a variety of board and community leadership roles, including serving as an investment committee member at the Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands; trustee and member of the alumni affairs, development and investment committees at the Cooper Union for Advancement of Science and Art; board member and DE&I committee chair at Middlesex School; and board member of private software firm Gentreo. He received his undergraduate degree from Brown University and his MBA from Harvard University.

 

Marc Diaz

Marc Diaz is a leader in the impact investing field, focused on scaling sustainable businesses. As Senior Vice President at TerViva, a food and agriculture technology company, Mr. Diaz directs efforts to commercialize TerViva’s pongamia oilseed food products and tree cultivation worldwide. He is committed to the company’s work toward helping farmers restore agricultural lands into productive sources of food and bioproducts in an innovative, sustainable and responsible way. Mr. Diaz works with TerViva’s stakeholders to grow carbon-negative food that achieves environmental, social and governance goals with strong financial performance. Prior to joining TerViva, Marc launched and led NatureVest, The Nature Conservancy’s impact investing platform, building a $2 billion portfolio to deliver conservation outcomes at an ecosystem scale. He helped establish the UNICEF Bridge Fund as Managing Director, providing a source of flexible capital to fast-track life-saving goods to children in need worldwide. Mr. Diaz has served in Board leadership roles in community development finance, real estate, philanthropy, theater, and The Episcopal Church. He earned his MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School and holds an MPA from Harvard Kennedy School. He graduated cum laude with a B.A. in Government from Harvard College.

 

Sid Espinosa

Sid Espinosa’s career has spanned the philanthropic, government and business sectors. He is currently the Head of Social Impact at GitHub. Previously, Mr. Espinosa has served as the mayor of Palo Alto, CA, and as the director of philanthropy at Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard for a combined 20+ years. He has worked for a U.S. ambassador overseas, served as an aide to former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno at the U.S. Department of Justice, and worked in the speechwriting and public liaison offices in the White House. Mr. Espinosa has served on numerous non-profit, business and foundation boards of directors, as well as boards at his alma maters, Wesleyan and Harvard.

 

Janiece Evans-Page

Janiece Evans-Page is the Chief Executive Officer of Tides, leading the organization as it seeks to shift and strengthen power in BIPOC leaders who face systemic barriers to opportunities. Ms. Evans-Page’s lifelong passion for social and racial justice brought her to Tides at a pivotal moment in grounding the organization’s work in equity leading towards systems change. Prior to Tides, Ms. Evans-Page served as the inaugural Chief Sustainability and Diversity Officer at Fossil Group and Head of Fossil Foundation. She launched Fossil Group’s global philanthropy practice, leading the strategic modernization of Fossil Group’s social impact investment portfolio and environmental sustainability framework. During her 20-plus year tenure at Hewlett-Packard Co., Ms. Evans-Page served as vice president and general manager of HP’s Imaging and Printing Attach Organization, which she launched and grew into a profitable $600M+ global enterprise. She was also the inaugural Global Director of HP’s e-inclusion organization and strategy. In 2021, she was selected as one of San Francisco Business Times’ Most Influential Women in Business. In 2018, she was honored by Ebony Magazine as one of its Power 100 awardees. She currently serves on the boards of Southern New Hampshire University and IDEO.org.

 

Michael Fernandez

Michael is Co-Founder and CEO of Threadeo, a software company building productivity tools. He is Co-founder and Chairman Emeritus of Little Kids Rock, a national non-profit restoring and revitalizing music education in disadvantaged public schools by donating instruments and music lessons to over 100,000 kids annually across the U.S. and in 25 cities. Little Kids Rock has been featured in Forbes and Rolling Stone, and supported by Bruce Springsteen, Lady Gaga, Metallica, and many other musical luminaries. Michael served on the board of NCIRE, the leading nonprofit medical research institute in the United States devoted to pioneering new treatments and providing medical care for military Veterans. He served in the US Army and was the #1 ranked Distinguished Military Graduate of his ROTC class and ranked #1 in his Officer Basic Course. He was promoted to the rank of Captain after graduating from the JFK Special Warfare Center and while serving in a special operations unit; US Army Reserves. He is a Marshall Memorial Fellow, a White House Fellowship-National Finalist, and is recognized as “One of the most influential Bay Area Latinos” by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Born in NYC, he is the son of hard-working immigrant parents and the first to attend college earning a BSE from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and an MPA from Harvard University.

 

Trista Harris

Trista Harris is the founder and president of FutureGood, a consultancy that helps leaders build a better future through diversity, equity and inclusion, organizational change consulting and strategic visioning. She is an experienced board director and a visionary change agent who brings a unique blend of strategic leadership, operating expertise, and philanthropic vision to boards that prioritize social and environmental impact. She is a founding board member for Arts + Rec, a start-up that is re-inventing recreation across the country with deep partnerships with artists and trailblazing chefs. She was on the Host Committee for Super Bowl LII, which brought over $450 million in economic activity to the state of Minnesota. She holds a Certificate of Scenarios Planning from the University of Oxford, a Master’s of Public Policy from the University of Minnesota, and a BA from Howard University.

 

Regina Jackson

Regina Jackson is the Interim CEO for the Center of Environmental Health. She was President and CEO of the East Oakland Youth Development Center (EOYDC) until she retired from her position in January 2022. Under her leadership, EOYDC completed an $11.5 million renovation and expansion of the campus in 2015, and has become a model environment for nurturing young minds, establishing and expanding community engagement, youth empowerment, and leadership development resources.Through her theory of change, character-based leadership model, and her “comprehensive compassion/emotional intelligence”concept, she has established an excellence-driven culture in the heart of the East Oakland community, 30,000 students strong, establishing ties with HBCUs, Ivy Leagues, and the NBA. She completed a Robert Wood Johnson Interdisciplinary Research Fellowship focused on identifying upstream factors for youth violence, and is an adviser to numerous nonprofits, finance and educational organizations. Appointed by the Mayor of Oakland to serve on the inaugural Police Commission, Jackson has been unanimously elected to chair the commission three consecutive years. Under her leadership, critical policies and protocols have been reimagined to conform to national standards of constitutional policing.

 

Antoinette Klatzky

Antoinette Klatzky is Executive Director of the Eileen Fisher Leadership Institute and host and co-producer of Women Together, a series of interactive, live-stream gatherings. She facilitates leadership programming and empowerment workshops and was responsible for hosting and producing a global movement of 13,000 changemakers during COVID-19. In her role of Strategic Partner for Eileen Fisher, Ms. Klatzky developed an Emergency Relief Fund for employees affected by COVID-19, prior to which, she led the development of Choose Handloom, a human rights initiative in the Eileen Fisher supply chain and supported the launch of a recycled clothing initiative, now known as Eileen Fisher Renew. Ms. Klatzky has a certification in Advanced Facilitation from the Presencing Institute, where she also completed a two-year MasterClass and became co-faculty on their Ecosystem Leadership Program. She has been recognized by the YWCA’s Salute to Women and Racial Justice as a “Person to Watch” and continues to serve as an advisor to various networks on systemic and strategic action for racial equity and justice. She serves on the boards of Westchester Community Foundation, Presencing Institute, and Women’s Funding Network.

 

Edward G. Lloyd

Edward Lloyd retired from the US Fund for UNICEF in 2020 after serving for 18 years as CFO and COO. During his time with the US Fund, he oversaw finance, budgeting, IT, strategic planning, revenue processing, donor management, investments and building operations. In 2019, his last year at the US Fund, he assumed the presidency of the UNICEF USA Bridge Fund, also referred to as the Impact Fund for Children, whose objectives were to build the board and staff,  develop a strategic plan and diversify program products to include impact investing to benefit children. His entire professional career has been spent in the Not-for-Profit sector and has focused on growth, compliance and sustainability. Prior to his US Fund tenure, Ed served as the Senior Vice President for Finance & Administration at the United College Fund. From 1989 to 2001, he was Executive VP & CFO for the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), a social investment bank. He has served on numerous boards and committees, including: The Abyssinian Development Corporation, Make A Wish Foundation board, and currently, president of the River Arts Cooperative Board in New York City, as well as the Tides Executive Committee and Finance Capital Committee, where he currently serves as chair. Mr. Lloyd graduated from the University of New Mexico with a BA and MA in administration, and received an MSW from The Hunter School of Social Work and an MBA from Pace University.

 

Jessica Carvalho Morris

Jessica Carvalho Morris is an international lawyer, scholar, and a consultant on human rights, governance, rule of law and education, serving regions such as Latin and North America, North Africa, and Eurasia. Selected projects include teaching, lecturing and providing training in Argentina, Azerbaijan, Brazil, México, Panamá, Portugal, Russia, Turkey, U.S., among others, conducting the Section Recognition Evaluation of Amnesty International Brazil, providing training to federal judges in Brazil on U.S. Constitutional law and human rights, and providing training to the Tunisian Task Force established to analyze the Tunisian legal framework. Morris was executive director of Conectas Human Rights in São Paulo, Brazil, and director of International Graduate Law Programs at the University of Miami School of Law. She holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Miami and is a PhD candidate in Human Rights at the University of Coimbra. She is currently an associate researcher with the Feminist Research and Intervention Group at IIEG, Universidad de Buenos Aires, and the Sexualities Research Group at CES, University of Coimbra.

 

Dylan Orr

Dylan Orr is the deputy director of the Environmental Health Services division at Seattle and King County Public Health, where he oversees efforts to promote healthy and equitable environmental conditions and prevent disease through sanitation, safe food and water, and reduction of exposure to hazardous materials. Prior to this role, he was the first director of the Office of Labor Standards for the City of Seattle, where he was responsible for setting up a new department to implement and enforce Seattle’s labor laws. Orr served at the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) under President Obama’s administration as special assistant and chief of staff in the Office of Disability Employment Policy. He was the first openly transgender person appointed to a U.S. presidential administration, and the first openly transgender person appointed to serve on a Seattle Mayor’s Cabinet. He completed his undergraduate work at Smith College and received his juris doctor from the University of Washington School of Law.

 

John Oxtoby

John Oxtoby is Vice President and Director of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Investing for Ariel Investments. Mr. Oxtoby is responsible for leading the company’s efforts to integrate ESG research into its investment process. Under his direction and in concert with Ariel Investments’ core domestic ESG research analyst, he proactively works with portfolio companies to adopt and strengthen their social and environmental impacts, and improve governance practices to create shareholder value. Prior to joining Ariel Investments, Mr. Oxtoby worked in the White House with Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett and Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers Austan Goolsbee on public-private partnerships, including the CEO-led President’s Jobs Council. He is a Fundamentals of Sustainability Accounting Credential holder, which is administered by the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB). He graduated with an A.B. degree in economics from Harvard College and earned an MBA from Harvard Business School.

 

Roslyn Dawson Thompson, Chair

Roslyn is CEO of DAWSON Communications + Strategy + Governance, a consultancy serving corporate and nonprofit organizations. She was previously President & CEO of Texas Women’s Foundation from 2011 to early 2022, where she led ambitious strategic initiatives in women’s economic security and women’s leadership. During her tenure, the Foundation raised more than $85 million, increasing its assets by 43 percent, and its grants and programs by 180 percent, and deployed 100% of its assets in a mission-aligned gendered impact portfolio benefiting women and girls. From 1986 to 2011, Roslyn was Chair and CEO of Dawson + Murray + Teague Communications, a marketing communications agency she founded that served regional, national and global clients in a broad array of industries – from technology and telecommunications, banking and professional services, to healthcare and nonprofit. Roslyn is a frequent speaker on women’s leadership, philanthropy, gender equity and gender lens investing. She is chair of the board of Tides, former chair and board member of Women’s Funding Network, the global association of women’s foundations, and currently serves on the boards of International Women’s Forum – Dallas and Dallas Medical Resource, as well as the advisory boards of the Dallas Mavericks and the Jane Nelson Institute for Women’s Leadership at Texas Woman’s University. She is a graduate of Baylor University BA) and Vanderbilt University (MA). She is married to Rex Thompson, retired professor of finance at SMU. Their family includes three adult children.

 

Linda Verhulp

Linda Verhulp is the Executive Director and Board Member of the Morgan Charitable Foundation, a private foundation that focuses its philanthropic goals on early childhood education, empowering women, environmental conservation and nonprofit leadership development. The foundation identifies and selects promising leaders who have the potential to create positive change in their communities and beyond. She played an instrumental role in contributing to and overseeing the publishing campaign for “Applied Wisdom for the Nonprofit Sector,” a highly-regarded book that offers practical leadership insights and management principles. Linda has held executive positions in finance, operations and marketing in both the non-profit and for-profit sectors. She has provided leadership on governance, strategic planning and audit committees for nonprofit boards and helped negotiate the merger of two nonprofit organizations. Linda serves on the national board of the Positive Coaching Alliance, a catalyst for a positive and inclusive youth sports culture in communities all across the U.S. She is a member of the Leadership Council for Children Now, a non-partisan organization that conducts research, develops policies, and advocates for the well-being of children in California, ensuring they have the necessary resources for healthy and productive lives. In 2021, Linda was named one of the “Top 100 Women of Influence in Silicon Valley” by the Silicon Valley Business Journal. Linda holds an Economics degree from UCLA.

 

Jacob Weldon

Jacob Weldon is a change management and brand reputation strategist for corporate and nonprofit organizations focused on social justice and next-gen leadership. He previously served as Global Director of Corporate Affairs at Estée Lauder Companies Inc, joining in 2012 to modernize and strategically align philanthropic investments across the company’s 30+ brands and six global regions. His role soon expanded to include oversight of global thought leadership and stakeholder engagement for Executive Chairman William Lauder, and strategic initiatives in the company’s Sustainability, Regulatory Affairs, and Inclusion & Diversity functions. He is also the architect behind the company’s inaugural corporate identity as a family of brands, which launched in 2018 as The Global House of Prestige Beauty. Jacob conceived ELC’s NextGen Leadership Team and served as founding Chair of the company’s LGBTQ+ employee resource group. Before joining ELC, Jacob was Chief of Staff at Taproot Foundation, which connects nonprofit organizations and changemakers with pro bono expertise to solve urgent social challenges. Prior to Taproot, he held positions in Social Innovation and Corporate Responsibility at Weber Shandwick and Time Warner Inc. With a special passion for LGBTQ+ social justice, Jacob has served as a Fellow to the CEOs of GLAAD and The Trevor Project, and on the Advisory Board of The Tyler Clementi Foundation. He is a Point Scholar Alumni and graduate of Columbia University.

 

Tim Wang

Tim Wang is a partner at The Westly Group, one of the largest sustainability-focused venture funds in North America, with $500M under management. Mr. Wang joined the company in 2015 and manages the firm’s deal flow and due diligence process, investing in startups and companies focused on accelerating the pace of change in areas that lead toward a sustainable, equitable, and just world: energy transition, electric mobility, and healthy buildings. Previously, he was a co-founder and head of business development at ChinaScope, a China-based financial startup, where he raised $5M from Moody’s Corporation. Mr. Wang began his career as an analyst at S&P Capital IQ, a leading financial data provider for financial institutions and advisory firms. He is passionate about social justice and education and is excited about bringing his experience, institutional knowledge, and fund-raising networks to further Tides’ mission to build a world of shared prosperity and equity. Mr. Wang holds a BA in international relations from Brown University and an MBA from the USC Marshall School of Business.

 

 

Tides is a network of nonprofit organizations. The Tides Board of Directors oversees Tides as a whole, and its members also make up the directors for each Tides organization.